Stand and Deliver - Hunter - Price of Liberty

03/20/10

Stand and Deliver
by The Hunter

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August 16, 2004

Originally published 11.01.00 -- Even more meaningful today.

Lately I'm beginning to think that a lot of patriots and libertarians have been watching too much Monty Python. "Run Away!" seems to have become the battle cry. From individuals who are wrapped up in plans to escape to a foreign country to "build a refuge" to worthy groups like Gunowners of America counseling against in your face tactics; even the craven "patriotic" Republicans, nobody seems to want to take the bull by the horns. To my mind, they're forgetting everything they ever knew about school yard bullies, a species to which the tyrant wannabes in the federal government bear a quite remarkable resemblance.

Just like the young thug trying to steal your lunch money, running away and attempting to hide from the federal goons is not the answer. Sooner or later they will stretch out their greedy hands and attempt to take and control whatever haven you find (or create), for such is their nature. The American public controls a vast percentage of the world's small arms; two fifths according to the United Nations (though I've seen higher estimates in other sources). The people who own those firearms often have a fairly clear understanding of the concept of freedom, and even if they don't are often open to the concepts. Where, pray tell, are you going to find a situation better for taking a stand?

The ocean you say? Go watch "Titanic" to remind yourself that ships can sink. Then get hold of a copy of "Janes Fighting Ships" and look over the section on the US Navy. There are press reports making it clear that "drug interdiction" actions are taking place far beyond territorial waters. Talk to some of the people who are ALREADY living aboard about their run-ins with the Coast Guard. There are an AWFUL lot of problems with this solution. Not least that you're never going to get more than a handful of people who are interested in doing it.

And even if you get enough to fill five or six ships the size of "Freedom City", so what? That gives you maybe 200,000 people forming your "free" nation. Well above the self-sustaining threshold on a societal level. But even IF all of them are willing to bear arms in the defense of your flotilla, one carrier air wing and an associated Marine Expeditionary Force could wipe them off the map any time whatever successor to Clinton needs a diversion from HIS sexual peccadilloes. Or a couple of dozen Tomahawks, a few sorties by long range bombers... you get the picture.

Don't think they'd bother? Remember the aspirin factory? I'll put it this way. If any such scheme is successful, it would be the biggest threat on the face of the planet to the statists. They might take a few years to notice and figure that out, but sooner or later they would. You're going to hide, you say? Just how do you propose doing that? Spread people out in small boats? Have you ever been out in a small boat on the ocean in CALM weather? Better yet, in a storm? There are very few hardy souls who enjoy that sort of thing. And if your ships are big enough to be stable platforms for living, they are VERY easy to find. The assorted navies of the world do that for a living. Even they can't easily hide from each other.

Another rosy plan I've heard more than once involves becoming an expatriate to lay the groundwork for cross-border refuges to be used by freedom fighters on some ill-defined future day. There are entire web sites dedicated to the difficulties of the expatriate or "PT" life. But even before you run afoul of those practical impediments to your noble plan, one should look at some of the reasons the American situation is vastly different from the Korean communists falling back into China to escape McArthur, or the Viet Cong using Laos and Cambodia as refuges.

For starters, we have very little in common socially with either Canada or Mexico. Or rather, the freedom-loving elements of America have little in common. The socialist, statist elements we're opposing are quite cozy with both countries, often citing them as glowing examples of what America should be. I've been to both, and all I can say is if I wanted to live like that I'd have moved there already.

Since I've spent the past 20 years or so living within a few hours drive of Canada, my experience mainly speaks to that situation. But I'm pretty sure from what I know of Mexico that neither one of them is going to be at all excited about American rebels seeking refuge in their territory.

From my interactions with Canadians over the years, I'd say most of them would be horrified at the very notion of resisting a "legitimately elected government". Most of them just don't have the philosophical background. They seem frankly mystified by the American system and ESPECIALLY by our insistence on individual rights. Now I suppose its possible that the several dozen Canadians I've known from all parts are atypical, but that seems to match with others I've heard, read, and seen in the media. All it takes is one local reluctantly turning in those nice folks from America, and you're screwed. Or more accurately, dead. Best case you get pointedly uninvited by the host government, worst case you get pointedly perforated by a cross-border raid.

Notice I haven't said anything about their government, which I figure you can immediately write off as a source of support. Its *possible* to operate in a useful fashion in the territory of a nation that doesn't approve of what you're doing. But then, what have you really gained? Even then, you HAVE to have the support of the people, at least, for any cross-border shenanigans to be at least tacitly ignored. There are parts of the northern border that I suppose are deserted enough on both sides to get away with quite a bit... but that also says any people who ARE moving through there are going to be pretty obvious to just about any surveillance attempts.

Our neighbors to the south present an even tougher situation. The border is already fairly heavily patrolled, though of course both illegal immigrants and the drug trade show that its possible to move significant material across the border. Language is much more of a potential barrier in Mexico. The culture does have more of a revolutionary tradition, and at best rather mixed feelings about the colossus to the north. There are definitely possibilities there, probably better ones than Canada, but its going to be dangerous, delicate work at best.

I'm sure you're by now thinking of Costa Rica, or any of the other countries scattered around the world that actually show more respect for many freedoms than these United States do any more. I am unconvinced of the utility of moving significant assets overseas. All you're doing is removing people and material from the theatre of operations, even if you CAN find a place willing to challenge the federal beast. Which I am rather dubious of in the first place. Most of the vaunted banking refuges of the Caribbean have been folding as soon as the DEA and State Department leaned on them. How do you think any of them are going to react when Billzebubba or his designated replacement sends in the Marines - or the bombers?

For the same effort and investment of time, resources, and people you can accomplish a lot more right here. The one slight possible use for an overseas refuge that I can see is a potential for funding. If of course you can get the funds IN to where they will do any good fast enough to make any difference. All the controls that the federals have been busily putting in place to make it difficult for the drug trade to move funds are going to work against you. Again, its quite apparent that with ingenuity and patience people are circumventing those laws every day. But of course there are problems to consider.

If your investments and stockpiles of material are large enough to be useful in a full scale civil conflict, they're going to be large enough to be noticed. As well as large enough to be what the Air Force refers to as "high value targets". Though if they're on top of their game, they'd wait for you to expend effort overcoming your next headache: transport. Funds, material, or people; they're all much more vulnerable in transit than sitting in some hypothetical overseas depot. All the assets in the world are useless if you have no way to apply them.

I haven't checked a map recently, but last I knew Mexico and Canada are the only two countries we share a land border with. (I don't THINK the Eastern Socialist Worker's Republic is listed as a separate country yet.) How many airlift capable aircraft do you have available? How many fighter wings to defend them against the no-doubt hostile Air Force? How many sea lift transports can you field? Where's your navy? Any significant flow of men and material from these hypothetical friendly bases is going to of necessity require land access.

Yes, material CAN be smuggled in via sea and air, but it requires a lot more capital to get the pipeline flowing. The VC supplied entire divisions over the Ho Chi Minh trail, in some places by the simple expedient of loading material into packs and carrying it in on foot. You can do that with a gunny sack if you're determined enough. I suppose its POSSIBLE to run a supply chain across the Caribbean, say, with guys in inner tubes or something. But it seems to violate the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) factor pretty badly to my way of thinking.

And let's not hear about your clever schemes to hide your whole operation from both the host country and our hypothetical Tyrannical States of America. Its not exactly easy to hide "freedom fighters" nor the material to equip said from either. They've had many years of practice on Arab terrorists, the IRA, and the drug trade. You can bet the bully boys are just itching to institute all sorts of restrictions to make the sort of operating tactics the IRA and the Arab cells have used to evade capture for years useless. It doesn't take much study of the tactics used by the professional terrorists to reveal that they COUNT on being able to move about more or less with impunity in a "free" society. The "host" countries that provide refuge, funding, and cover for their operations are rather unlikely to do the same for a movement truly dedicated to restoring liberty here, even if you were dumb enough to make that sort of bargain with the devil.

There is a fascinating book about the effort to finance and equip the fledgling state of Israel called "The Pledge", by Leonard Slater. Its currently out of print, but scheduled to be reprinted this spring (see Amazon.com) The history revealed in its pages is both inspiring and daunting for anyone contemplating something similar in any future struggle in these United States. The men and women who made the modern state of Israel possible were operating in a country where a LOT of the population was sympathetic. They had major connections both politically and in law enforcement - and some of them STILL ended up being caught and jailed. They also had an extensive network of millionaires bankrolling the operation, a whole bunch of dedicated lawyers scheming to figure out every angle, and a huge pool of freedom-loving idealistic recently battle-hardened talent to draw upon. Probably other advantages I'm forgetting - when you line up all of the above, I'll be interested, until then my assessment is that the best bet is to work on the ground HERE. Where I know the language, understand the culture, already have significant contacts of varying degrees of usefulness, have pre deployed material in multiple locations, and there's already a fairly strong (and growing) opposition in place.

I'm not even going to go into the problems with a space exodus. Yes, it could be done. But it won't be easy, and the hard parts are not technological. The current system has been ACTIVELY working against private space efforts for 30 years. All the comments above (suitably modified) apply in spades. I could give you reams of info about this particular option; I came into freedom activism after spending fruitless years as a space activist. Vic Koman has already covered this ground far better than I can in his novel "Kings of the High Frontier". I strongly urge you to read it if you think escaping to space is the answer.

It is my belief that all these pipe-dreams are distracting from the real, ongoing struggle that is by no means a foregone conclusion. Despite the claims of many libertarians and patriots that "the system is broken beyond repair", the forces of freedom keep winning battles. The Communications Decency Act, the "Know Your Customer" rules, ending the advertising relationship between Rosie O'Donnell and K-Mart, forcing Citibank to rescind its policy of refusing accounts to the firearms industry, the ongoing destruction of Smith & Wesson after their craven appeasement - the list is endless. If some of the talent, creativity, and energy that is being poured into "dropping out" or "escaping" or "unsubscribing" were added to the forces that have already achieved those victories, what else might be accomplished? It might well turn out that the awful option of a "second American revolution" might never need be more than a credible deterrent.

I believe it would be irresponsible and immoral to throw away any chance at avoiding civil conflict. Ignoring the sheer raw pain and suffering, the ultimate outcome is by no means certain. Or rather I'm sure the federal system would be destroyed in the process, but I am unclear what would replace it. Most likely a rather nasty authoritarian system of some sort, that would turn the conflict outward and engulf a good portion of the world in a major war, if things follow the usual pattern.

I think it would require a quite remarkable set of circumstances for events to produce anything better than the constitutional federal republic we're SUPPOSED to have. Though I suppose anything is possible. That is really the one reason I see to work on preparing overseas havens. But I also doubt very much that refugees from a disintegrating America are going to be all that popular much of anywhere at the rate the Clintonistas are making enemies.

Its about time people stopped looking for some sort of a magic, peaceful solution and face reality. I won't argue that individuals might be able to forge relative freedom somewhere in the world no matter how bad things get. But if the most powerful society (economically and militarily at least) on the planet continues its slide into abject socialism, with the active encouragement and collusion of most of the other powerful nations, NO PLACE ON EARTH OR ABOVE IT WILL ESCAPE THE REACH OF STATISM. Win, lose, or draw the real battle is going to be right here. The wealth, weapons, know how, and philosophical underpinnings are all here for freedom to win the fight. The only question is whether enough people who understand the stakes stay the course or not.

Hunter's Eleventy-Third Rule: Respect often follows quoting Ben Franklin, which I suspect would amuse the old coot.

Free Hunter!

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