There are millions of people in this country who feel the government is trampling on rights they personally consider important or precious. At the same time, it seems that most people approve of the government imposing restraints on behavior they disapprove of. Our liberty is being strangled because we are divided into thousands of different groups who support prohibition of one kind or another.

There are two types of crimes: crimes with victims, and political crimes. Violent crimes, theft, and fraud all have victims who are unwilling participants. Political crimes have no victims or involuntary participants. Political crimes include ownership of politically incorrect firearms; unapproved carrying or use of firearms; unauthorized possession, consumption, or sales of drugs or alcohol; engaging in illicit sexual conduct or lifestyles; belonging to a religion not approved by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF); refusing to subject your children to public school social indoctrination; refusing to fork over half of your hard earned income to swarms of tax extortionists; or attempting to travel or earn a living without the proper papers. The prisons in America are overflowing with political criminals while rapists and murderers are turned loose to make room for them.

The desire to be left alone and live in freedom is a fundamental concept this country was founded on. America is supposed to be a haven and a refuge for every kind of wacko, weirdo, religious extremist, gun nut, political misfit, and social outcast who is willing to support his or her lifestyle without initiating force, theft, or fraud against anyone else. We don’t have to like or approve of other people’s behavior in order to be tolerant. But we do need to support everyone else’s right to be free if we want freedom for ourselves.

Our rights are being trampled on, an increasingly tyrannical government is strangling our liberty, and there is nothing you or I individually can do about it. Resistance will only get us killed, or thrown in prison. Dropping out or going underground just turns us into handy targets. What we need is a way to combine the numbers and the strength of individuals who just want to be left alone and live in peace and freedom, but are willing to work together to achieve those ends.

Incident Command System

Most emergency services use the Incident Command System (ICS) to coordinate the efforts of different agencies and groups of personnel when they respond to an emergency or disaster. The ICS was developed to enable various unrelated agencies to work together to fight the wildfires that frequently consume huge portions of California. The system is flexible enough to be used in response to any type of incident, no matter how large or small.

The first responder to arrive on the scene of an emergency is the incident commander (IC). He sizes up the scene and radios for whatever additional resources will be needed to deal with the situation. That person is IC until he is relieved or passes on the responsibility to a more experienced or better-qualified individual.

The ICS is based on the premise that one person can effectively keep track of between three and seven other people. On a small incident, the IC will perform all command functions by himself. On a larger incident, the IC will delegate responsibility to other Incident Management staff and officers. In a full blown incident the IC will appoint an Information Officer to deal with the media, a Safety Officer to monitor safety conditions, and a Liaison Officer to act as a go-between among the various responding agencies.

As the need arises, the IC will establish a Planning Section to develop an Incident Action Plan for utilizing available resources; an Operations Section to direct and coordinate agencies and personnel; a Logistics Section to arrange for necessary equipment, personnel, and facilities; and a Finance/Administration Section to track costs and arrange for payments for equipment and personnel.

Each Section can be further subdivided into branches, divisions, task forces, strike teams, and single resources so that in most cases no one is responsible for more than seven other people. The ICS can coordinate the efforts of a half a dozen firefighters putting out a small grass fire, or thousands of personnel responding to the aftermath of a hurricane that destroyed several hundred miles of coastline.

Liberty ICS

The ICS can be used to coordinate grassroots freedom efforts on three different levels. On the first level, freedom lovers can set up networks and learn to coordinate their efforts by working together on legal, peaceful projects. This can include forming agreements to protest the arrest or harassment of network members for committing victimless (political) crimes, and conducting video surveillance of government officials and agents. The grassroots networks can also use the ICS to mobilize volunteers to assist in emergencies, and to coordinate special events like Fourth of July celebrations and charitable projects.

At the next level, massive civil disobedience movements can coordinate open defiance of unjust laws. If the erosion of our liberties continues unchecked, the ICS can be used to facilitate secession from an increasingly corrupt, tyrannical government on an individual basis. By developing immense support networks, freedom lovers will be able to draw a line in the sand if necessary, and assist and protect each other as they reclaim their liberty and live as sovereign individuals.

Finally, the ICS can coordinate armed resistance to governmental oppression if peaceful methods are unable to turn the tide of tyranny. Individually, there is no chance. But if freedom lovers combine their strength and numbers, they’ll be unstoppable.

Working For Freedom

To effectively work together, freedom lovers need to form local teams and networks that are trained in the ICS. Individuals can form teams using a pyramid system of recruiting a group of friends who will in turn form their own teams by recruiting at least five members, and so on. Grassroots groups and organizations can also adopt the ICS. The teams can be linked together in county or regional networks using email, phone lists, mobile phones, Family Radio Service and ham two-way radios, and alphanumeric pagers.

The beauty of the ICS is that each of the teams or grassroots groups can decide what issues are most important to them and what activities they feel would be most beneficial. The different groups can form mutual aid agreements to provide cooperation, assistance, and protection to each other. The teams and groups can learn to use their ICS training by providing assistance in the event of a disaster such as a tornado or flood, or helping with community activities.

With the ICS, long term demonstrations, surveillance projects, and protection of members can be maintained by organizing shifts that last from 4 to 48 hours, depending on the incident and available personnel. Long-term participation will be possible if the activities can be organized around work schedules.

More Of Us

How many freedom loving individuals in this country would be willing to work together protect their liberty and reclaim their rights in an effort that has a reasonable chance of success. One million? Ten Million?

According to Bureau of Justice statistics, there were 74,500 federal agents authorized to carry guns and make arrests in 1996. That number included 10,400 FBI, 3,800 IRS, 2,650 Marshals, and 1,900 ATF agents.

It is mind boggling that numbers like that can maintain a stranglehold on a country of 250 million people. 80 million Americans own guns. 14 million Americans bought deer hunting licenses last year. That’s more firepower than all the armies in the world combined.

All that is necessary to reclaim our rights and liberty is a way for freedom lovers to band together and work in concert. An incident command group of 26 people can coordinate more than 3,000 people just three levels down, 15,000 people four levels down, and 400,000 people six levels down. Imagine the different outcome that would have been possible if a grassroots incident command network had been in place in 1993, and tens of thousands of protesters descended on the scene in Waco with video cameras, two-way radios, and rifles to referee the situation. Stranger things have happened. More than 300,000 people spontaneously showed up at Woodstock.

With the Incident Command System and instantaneous worldwide communication, freedom lovers can combine their strength and resources to reclaim their liberty and freely exercise their rights without restriction or harassment.

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