Non-Violent Resistance With My Commentary

In case you're wondering what to do about the things going on in the US today, here are some pointers from the Activist Post website that can get you started. Everything here is the original text, except for the material in brackets, which is my own personal addition.

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10 New Year’s Re-Solutions For Non-violent Rebellion

Activist Post
December 28, 2010

As the United States edges closer to becoming a third world country; anger, frustration, and cynicism continue to mount in the minds of the American population. In fact, a recent Pew Research poll showed that 80% of baby boomers are pessimistic about America’s future. This seems warranted as authentic political solutions appear to be in short supply in our corporate state.

The democratic political system is now clearly run by crony cartelism. The multinational banks have hijacked the economy and are openly looting the public. Mounting and impossible-to-pay off debt is crippling local governments. The entire spectrum of our rights continues to degrade. Crimes that would land regular citizens in jail are now openly being committed by the elite and their organizations with no justice. And perhaps most telling, the power structure is establishing a control grid to eliminate due process for the Internet and beyond to stifle any dissent.

Given the current situation, it can seem impossible to affect real change. However, the exact opposite is the case. The only reason the system is maintained is because the majority still acquiesce to it. However, change won’t come by electing new establishment politicians, because no matter how noble they may be they still must play the corrupt game. Change won’t come through violent protests or offensive cyber hacktivism, as that only invites and justifies the creeping police state. We must stop accepting and supporting the system, individually, in order to change it.

Because our representative democracy has become a fraud, and the media and courts are clearly shills for the oligarchs, our only action appears to be non-violent rebellion; one person and community at a time. We can expose the crimes and immorality of the corporate state through civil disobedience and conscientious objection. We can punish multinational companies who commit flagrant fouls on humanity and the environment by boycotting them. Additionally, we can peacefully regain our liberty by becoming less dependent on the system for our basic needs.

Here are ten solutions through non-violent activism:

1. Buy Local Food: One of the most powerful cartels that has their tentacles into government is the food cartel. Their agenda has been to control the basic resources of food (corn, wheat, soy, rice). The best way to conquer this cartel is by eating local; produce your own food, join and contribute to local cooperatives, and engage your neighbors and community for more local food solutions. Local co-ops are also a great place to trade locally crafted goods and even services. Obviously, do your best to avoid GMO food and eat organically when you can. Finally, be vocal and active in your opposition to GMO foods and the cartel control of the FDA. [Obviously, given your local soil conditions and high water table down there in Naples, FL, having your own vegetable garden isn't a real possibility, but you can still patronize local farmers' markets, and buy from small, mom-and-pop Kosher or immigrant food outlets. Unlike us native-born Americans, immigrants haven't yet learned to stomach the crap that you and I buy from our local mega-marts.]

2. Become More Self-Sufficient: Our modern society has made us dependent on something or someone other than ourselves for most necessities such as electricity, food, water, medicine, security, and education. This dependence puts us at the direction or disposal of the cartel state. Therefore, the only entity that has the power to grant us liberty is ourselves; and we can take back our independence through self-sufficiency. Being self-sufficient means learning skills that will help you and your family survive economic downturns or other emergencies. These skills may also help you to be less dependent on your job as they’ll make you a useful independent producer. Lead your neighborhood and community toward production and away from dependence. [In other words, re-create a European Medieval or pre-1492 Native American local artisanal specialist economy. (In my case, I'd obviously be the baker and journalist.)]

3. Get Healthier: The increasing pace of life seems to offer a wealth of distractions from the importance of living a truly healthy and free life. Our modern world offers easy choices like fast-food in place of fresh produce; TV in place of reading, exercise, or meditation; Internet social networks in place of meaningful personal relationships, etc. Identify the areas lacking in your own life and resolve to make the necessary changes that will increase your physical fitness, mental acuity, and your spiritual evolution. These three areas are what truly sustain us in both good times and bad — not smart phones, computer games, and the virtual world.

4. Buy Silver and Gold: America desperately needs a monetary revolution before the dollar experiment completely collapses. Like all revolutions this must start from a groundswell of rebellious action. A good place to start is to convert your devaluing dollars to physical gold and silver. This will punish the banks, especially JP Morgan and the Federal Reserve, as well as protect your assets. Furthermore, if the dollar continues to collapse, silver and gold may well become a viable currency in society once again, as it already is in some parts of Michigan. Buying junk silver is something anyone can afford to do and is highly recommended. [The term "junk silver" simply refers to pre-circulated silver coins with sufficient wear and tear to eliminate any significant numismatic premium above melt (the term "melt", in this context, meaning the price of the coin in terms of the value of its silver content, and nothing more).]

5. Expose the Agenda: The “agenda” is one of consolidation of wealth, power, and control in every facet imaginable. The international elite are approaching near one-world control, which they call full spectrum dominance of economies and societies. In other words; national, local, and individual sovereignty is all but gone. It is extremely important to engage your local community, especially community leaders and police, to reiterate their obligation to serve the local community under the Constitution, and not to follow illegal Federal demands. Above all, do not give in to the temptation of apathy as you begin to learn more about the systems of control. These systems first count on your ignorance, then they count on laziness. Finally, say what you stand for such as peace, liberty, and genuine justice with even more force than shouting about what you oppose. [In other words, state your positive program (i.e., restore the Republic, restore the rule of law under the Constitution, etc.) more frequently than you enunciate your negative program (i.e., no TSA body intrusions, no state surveillance of Constitutionally protected activities, etc.).]

6. Boycott: In the U.S. it has become obvious that a system has taken hold which is economically designed for one thing: consumption. This is the value that each person has been given from birth. So, one key way to assert your power and value in such a system is to vote with your wallet. Every purchase you make either contributes to, or boycotts this corporatist structure. Become aware of who the real owners are and what inhumane practices are behind the products you purchase, so that you can make intelligent choices that support your health and promote justice. Additionally, it is important to learn the true contents of the products you buy, so that you don’t fall prey to slick advertising and corporate misdirection. Join or create campaigns to educate shoppers and force better labeling of products so it is easier for others to consciously boycott them.

7. Local Politics: Forget wasting any of your energy and resources on Federal politics — they have sold out long ago to the higher authorities that fund their multi-million dollar campaigns. Instead, get involved in small town politics and community initiatives. The future will be built from the ground up, starting right in your own neighborhood. Local politics is where you can affect tangible changes. Everything from removing chemicals from public water, to throwing the TSA out of your local airport, or refusing military recruitment or fusion centers in protest of the war on terror, can be accomplished at the local level. Each minor victory will send shock waves to other small communities and the country as a whole, so be sure to document the steps you have taken to achieve victory, then share your story for others to emulate. [Two points here: they shouldn't have advocated opposition to the War on Terror without first having indicated the fraudulent nature of the War on Terror, which means, not necessarily getting into the 9/11 Truth issue, but just recognizing the Christmas Day 2009 underpants bomber (whose own father in Nigeria had already warned US authorities concerning his activities and intentions) as having been escorted past security by US diplomatic personnel and seated aboard the aircraft he would bomb without a passport, with this episode being used to justify the sexually assaultive searches by the TSA against the American people, even while flying from one US city to another. Just condemning the War on Terror without indicating the war's fraudulent nature can be used to bad-jacket the antiwar movement as being sympathetic to Islamic (or other) terrorism. Secondly, the point about sharing your local experience with others is CRITICAL: figuring out what's worked in one area might help another area to succeed in the same way, or, should another area fail in implementing someone else's formula for success, it might reveal fundamental social and cultural differences between areas which further indicate the necessity of a different approach in a different area.]

8. Military refusal: Do not contribute to fraudulent wars, and do not succumb to the pressure of feeling “unpatriotic.” There are countless groups of veterans who have seen through the government lies that have led to unnecessary deaths, as well as the financial destruction of the country. There is, in fact, no more patriotic action that can be taken than to demand that our military be used properly to strengthen the country, rather than to weaken it. For some, there is absolutely no excuse for war, ever, and merely the act of showing up contributes to this affliction. It is a profound resolution of courage to live by your convictions. So, if opposing the fraudulent wars is your main issue, file as a conscientious objector and contribute to peace instead of war. As Gandhi said, “There is no path to peace; peace is the path.” [By use of the phrase: "...demand that our military be used properly to strengthen the country, rather than to weaken it.", their position might be misrepresented as advocating military action abroad designed to enforce global military dominance for purposes of commercial exploitation of the territories so dominated (such as cutting the flow of Iraqi oil from global markets, and ensuring the flow of Afghan heroin into global markets (the two primary aims of the fake "War on Terror" revealed so far). As a Constitutionalist who seeks to restore the Republic, I perceive a fundamental conflict between Republic and Empire: the former requires public involvement in the affairs of state and a concept of justifiable warfare as being in the defense of the republic and of the people who created the republic (obviously, I'm not a pacifist), whereas the latter requires public acquiescence in a global military posture administered by professional statists, so long as the public continues to value the material goods that they receive from such imperial exploitation beyond the ability to raise moral condemnation against the oppression of foreigners necessary to ensure the flow of such material goods. In turn, the latter requires strict information control within the metropolitan society ("metropolitan society" being a scholarly term used by those interested in the political economy of Empires to indicate the central society or favored ethnic group within an empire (such as the position of the Japanese within the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere", in which, as a US Army propaganda film of the period put it (I here paraphrase): the Japanese got the "Prosperity", while the rest of East Asia got the "Co-"). In other words, the people within the metropolitan society must be kept happy with bread and circuses, while being kept rigorously isolated from the truth of what's going on. The immorality of such an approach, as well as the consequences thereof, is revealed in the Biblical accounts recorded in the Prophecy of Hosea:
Hosea 1 (King James Version)
Hosea 1

1The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

2The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.

3So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.

4And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.

5And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel, in the valley of Jezreel.

6And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.

7But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.

8Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.

9Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.

10Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.

11Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

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My point is that, in order to keep happy subjects for an empire, the empire needs to keep the masses dumb, whereas, in order to keep responsible citizen of a republic, the republic needs to make the masses smart. Which would you support: those who want you to be stupid, or those who want you to be smart?]
9. Don’t Use Banks: The banks have proven to be some of the most immoral, dare we say “evil,” institutions on the planet. Besides their Ponzi-style Wall Street casino and mortgage/foreclosure fraud, they also profit heavily from wars, Mexican drug gangs, and fleecing the public. Some are finding their actions so horrific that they’d prefer to default on their debts rather than give them another dime. That may be extreme given the consequences; however, we can at least vow not to take on any new bank financingredit unions instead of the big banks that make up the cartel. Another powerful action is to start or support a regional competing currency. On the Federal level, we can tell our Congress reps to support Ron Paul’s effort to legalize competing currencies nationwide. of any kind — mortgages, credit cards, or car loans, etc. Where possible, bank with local credit unions instead of the big banks that make up the cartel. Another powerful action is to start or support a regional competing currency. On the Federal level, we can tell our Congress reps to support Ron Paul’s effort to legalize competing currencies nationwide.

10. Tax Resistance: Becoming a tax resister is a **** action of civil disobedience that comes with serious consequences — unless of course you’re Tim Geithner who gets to say “oops, my bad” in order to qualify as the head of collecting said taxes. However, when the electoral process and two-party system proves to be a farce, corporations clearly win on every issue, and the will of the people is no longer represented in the media or the courts, people are left with little choice but non-violent rebellion in all its forms. Tax rebellion is often cited by conscientious objectors who oppose how the government uses taxpayer dollars to fund immoral deeds such as war, authorizing torture, building the police state, and fraudulent bank bailouts. A second group of tax protesters refuse to file because they don’t believe income taxes to be lawful under the Constitution. [Warning: this step is only for the most committed (which group, seeing as you've recently called for the prosecution of Julian Assange for his having revealed information which might challenge the US' current status as a global power (i.e., US imperium), I would guess you're not a member). I'm not accusing here: I'm simply indicating the direction towards which your spiritual and intellectual growth need to aspire: you'll learn, and you'll grow. However, another thought occurs to me: when I lived in Hartford, Connecticut, I used to have breakfast at a restaurant frequented by FBI agents who worked at the Federal Building across the street. During the heyday of the militia movement, I heard them complaining about how "We don't even know who these people are!". So, anonymity seems, to me, to be a potent weapon in itself. Throwing away one's anonymity via tax resistance (unless one is very, VERY committed) seems to me not to be such a good idea.]