brandon.robison

Regarding Ben’s ridiculous question of “why are you here [in the United States]?”…

Despite claims that “the government derives their powers from the consent of the governed,” in this day and age that “self evident truth” is no longer true. As a result, I have no (real) choice in the matter of where I live.

Yes, I could move to another country, but I still wouldn’t have any more rights there (Full disclosure: I believe that anywhere I could move to, I am about 99% sure that I would in fact have fewer rights there as opposed to here).

The point is that the Founders all recognized that the government gets its power from me only if I consent to it. The very act of declaring independence from another government points to this undeniable fact. But ironically, in a country that was founded on the principles of freedom of association and the freedom of self-government, I no longer have this right. Ironically, when the Southern states attempted to do the same thing that the Colonies had done less than a century earlier, it was deemed illegal. I would fight for my freedom, but I wouldn’t stand a chance against the US military. Self preservation supersedes the flame of liberty here.

On the other hand, you may say that my being here is my consent. Well, it’s not. I’m pretty sure the Redcoats used that line of reasoning, too. But it appears that Washington and crew disagreed. That’s why they declared independence. That’s why Jefferson thought it was important enough to include in the second paragraph of the Declaration that people have the right to alter or abolish tyrannical governments. Do we have that right today? I didn’t think so.

So you ask “why are you here?”…

I ask: What else can I do? Where can I go?