Thank God for Obamacare, in the most literal of tone.

“Solve et Coagula”, Latin, phrase meaning “tear down and come together again”.

That's where we are in this country, at this point in time. Our government, just like our society as a whole, is completely and truly FUBAR.

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States of America decided that a government-mandated tax penalty was “constitutional” if people did not did not purchase individual health insurance.

Justice Roberts, a so-called “conservative” appointed by Bush II, was the swing vote on this decision.

Justice Ginsberg bluntly stated that we had no “right” to abstain from something that takes the product of our labor without receiving (or, for that matter, even asking for) our permission.

There are some who think that voting in November will somehow solve this crisis, by electing a congress dedicated to overturning Obamacare.

You're a complete f***ing retard if you think this law had anything to do with our government trying to help people get “affordable health care”. This wasn't about general welfare of this nation, it was about setting legally-binding SCOTUS precedent for control.

SCOTUS ruled that, pursuant to a law prohibiting injunctions on taxation through the courts, that A) Obamacare is a “tax”, B) Congress has the authority to declare just about anything it desires as a “tax” for the purposes of promoting the “general welfare”, C) you must sue the government and maintain legal standing in order to get a refund on the taxation they have placed upon you, and D) congress has the authority to punish you with taxation if you disagree with their demands.

Let us remember certain facts about this case. It was ruled “constitutional”, because the tax penalty was not “excessive”...even though its punitive nature was not denied. Because it is a so-called “voluntary” tax, meaning you had the choice of paying for something you didn't want or choosing to pay the tax, it was found to not be prohibited by the COTUS prohibition on non-proportioned taxation.

Whether you believe this decision follows the constitution, or doesn't, is completely and totally irrelevant. The choice is not up to you. That same constitution has vested the power of such determination within these nine individuals, and has placed them in the sole position of God-like power of deciding what is and isn't allowed by said constitution.

In short, what you think may be right or wrong really just doesn't matter any more. This “constitution” that makes you American, grants America the right to tax you into oblivion, grants America the right to jail you for refusal to pay for taxes, and and the right to shoot you if you refuse jail.

In other words, do what they say or they will kill you. You are a slave. Are you realizing this yet? If you're just now waking up to this, I have to things to say to you.
1) Congratulations. You understand what's going on now. You're awake. Make use of it.
2) You're a complete idiot for not realizing this sooner. This ruling means absolutely nothing new, and the tyranny you've been living under is over 200 years old.

This nation is FUBAR, because even those who call themselves “conservatives” think it's okay to FORCE someone to do what they think is right...and use the full government-sponsored monopoly of force upon those who disagree. Those who call themselves “liberals” have been doing this all along.

This government, as I have often stated before, is much like an ingrown toenail. The toe will not heal until the nail is ripped out.

For that reason, I thank God for the ruling on “Obamacare”, as it brings “The Nation As We Know It” (aka “TNAWKI”) one very huge massive leap toward its eventual destruction. It was flawed from its inception, as it allowed a majority-rule tyranny to cast its power over the minority. Anything that speeds its destruction is welcomed in my personal view.

Much like you cannot build a home on the ruins of a dilapidated home without removing the remnants of the original structure, you cannot build a society upon a portion of something that is crumbling. We must start fresh, from nothing.

Solve et coagula, and God bless you all.

Do I get your vote?

The political platform for the candidacy of Barry Hayes

1) The treatment of convicted felons:
In this society, everything from capital murder to the mere possession of a credit card number is now legally a “felony offense”. In a society so quick to felonize minor crimes, as well as actions which do not harm another non-consenting person, it is imperative that we remove the stigma of “convicted felon” until we are able to reverse the actions of our legislature that will criminalize such actions to the level of “felony”. In response to this, I pledge to author legislation that will revoke the authority of the state to stamp “Convicted Felon” on state-issued identification cards, reinstate voting privileges, and reinstate firearm ownership privileges to all convicted felons who have been released from state custody or supervision. Such legislation will require judges to remove rights of convicted felons based upon the nature and severity of the offense, at time of sentencing, while leaving open the option of the convicted to petition the court for reinstatement of rights at any time. The burden of showing why a convicted felon should have his rights removed shall be upon the state; both at the initial trial, and in any further petition by the convicted.
2) The legalization of personal choice:
The tendency of government to regulate everything short of flatulence and attitude has left our society with an ever-increasing list of things that are criminalized for the sheer fact that a small group of people decided to criminalize the actions of thousands, even though these actions harm no one. In response to this, I pledge to author legislation that requires a prosecuting attorney to produce a complaint by an actual nameable and living person, which states actual harm has been committed upon an actual non-consenting victim.
3) The accountability of taxpayer-funded officials:
For far too long, our government has operated above the law, being subjected typically to “administrative review panels” and the like, when they are caught committing offenses that the average person would be arrested and tried for. In response to this, I pledge to sponsor legislation which will outlaw the doctrine of “qualified immunity” for police officers and other public servants caught breaking laws, employing-agency written policies, or any other official guidelines governing their actions. I pledge to sponsor legislation which will remove the criminality of resisting an unlawful detention, arrest, or search from the state penal code. Such a removal will require the state to prove that, before convicting a person of resisting detention, arrest, or search, that such detention, arrest, or search was lawful. I also pledge to sponsor legislation that will remove special penalties for persons found to have committed a crime against persons of specific demographic groups, making equal justice for everyone a legal requirement.

Just for the record...

Looking back on it, last night's email could have been misconstrued as being the writings of a crazy man hellbent on some sort of Columbine-type shooting spree. Let me assure you that nothing could be farther from the truth. My headspace is squared away, more so than it has been in quite some time. I apologize if I alarmed you with what I had to say, that certainly wasn't my intention. I suppose I should have clarified. I am at peace with myself, and in general, am at peace with the rest of the world.

The point I was getting at there was, essentially, that I've “evolved”...at least, from a philosophical standpoint. There was once a time when I actually bought into all the “America! Fuck yeah!” bullshit, thinking that I actually had cause to celebrate the existence of this nation. I no longer feel this way.

There was once a time when I thought that the issues plaguing this nation were the result of some sort of problem or glitch within the system we were brought up to recognize as “the American Way”. The America you once knew as a child, “the way it used to be”, is no more. This is not because America's system of government has been subverted, it's because America's system of government has been utilized as intended.

I remember you once telling me about how my grandfather, your father, once said that we as “Southerners” were damned lucky to have lost the civil war...because every one of us “poor boys” would be slaves by now. Sadly, that's pretty much how it ended up anyway, even though no one has stood us up on an auction block and offered us up for public sale.

I once had a lot of hate in my heart. Hatred for the police, for the judges who gave them the “authority” to do the things they do, for the legislature who gives them their legal basis to fuck with you and I, etc.

I've moved past it. I'm doing my best to let go of the hate in my heart. I understand that there is no lever I can pull on election day, there is no sticker I can put on my car or sign I can put in my yard, and there is no membership card I can show to the next cop that will inevitably pull me over.

I likely won't change them, I won't stop them from doing what they do. I won't change their minds. The best I can do is keep living my life, and attempting to lead by example of doing what is right instead of raising hell about what other people are doing wrong.

It just feels a bit weird, knowing that I've once sworn my life to uphold and defend something...and then realize that the very thing you've sworn such an oath to is the very thing that has its' boot on your neck. At the end of the day, it matters not if it's a left boot or a right boot. What matters is being able to spot the fact that there's a boot on your neck.

That's where I'm at today. I am seeing “the system” for what it truly is. There is no savior, no matter who it may be, who is going to wave his Freedom Wand and remedy the situation. Our remedy for the situation is going to be to get to know our neighbors and take care of ourselves, like it was done back in the day.

I remember discussing this with a preacher a while back, after he gave a sermon about the things going on in this country. Abortion, pointless wars, a welfare state that breeds laziness, and a police state that breeds fear...all of which are paid for by the American taxpayer, who are forced to fork over thousands of dollars to this system every year.

I asked him, “At what point do we say 'enough is enough' and stand up against it?”. I was confused, because I was told that a lack of a government would lead to lawlessness and the destruction of some sort of “order required by God” or something. I was directed to the chapter of Romans 13, the first seven verses telling us to submit to slavery.

I found the strangest irony in the fact that most churches in this nation proudly display an American flag, often make it a point to “pray for the troops” (and in the case of Sam's church, even praying for the safety of the police), and continue to reinforce the notion of obedience to government. “God bless America” is a common theme, even though this nation was founded by a very small percentage of people who took up arms against government over what amounts to a slight fraction of the taxation we currently pay. If we are commanded by God to submit to those who rule over us, how can we truly ask God to bless a nation born of revolution against its masters?

Going even further, how can a nation born of revolution against taxation which in reality was a mere pittance of what we are shelling out today, sit and be proud of a nation that taxes every working man into the ground at every turn? The idea of “freedom” is a sad joke in this country, one that so many of our fellow countrymen don't even understand.

You can't drive a car, sell a house, buy a cheeseburger, or even get married in this country without having to get some form of government permission slip and/or pay a tax for the privilege of doing so. I think I've finally realized that there is no stopping Leviathan. Written into the United States Constitution is the authority of government to do this. Our constitution does not prevent government from taxing or regulating the ever-living shit out of everything we could ever think to do or own, it merely dictates whether it's the federal, state, or local government that gets to do it to you.

If you resist taxation or other government-sponsored impositions on your life, you are fined. If you resist fines, you are jailed. If you resist jail, you are shot. I suppose, in the case of America, what makes us such a “great nation” is the fact that we aren't just taken outside and shot for not giving up what we have to government goons, they have to give us “due process” before they shoot us!

It finally dawned on me that a man can understand and accept something as being the way it is, the way it was, and the way it's going to be...without accepting it as being morally righteous.

Funny thing about those oaths...

No matter how long ago it may have been when you took it, you still retain a feeling of assholishness if you don't keep it.



I'm having a slight crisis of conscience. A little over 15 years ago, I signed a blank check to the United States Constitution, payable with my life if necessary. Thankfully, the “powers that be” decided my life wasn't worth having, and I didn't have to experience the hell so many of my friends and loved ones have lived through. Every gun that's ever been pointed at my head was held by an officer right here in Texas!

Along the way, I've come to realize that thing called the “constitution” wasn't exactly all it's made out to be. At the end of the day, it still allows for man to rule over his fellow man, which is just absurd on its face and truly insane when one truly delves into the implications of such a thing. While we as a nation no longer live under the authority of a monarch, we still live under the authority of the majority's whims.

Sadly, because we live under a “representative democratic republic”, our society doesn't even make their voices heard when a decree is passed. We've shirked our “civic responsibilities”, in the name of expedience and efficiency, upon those who are least deserving of such power...but even if each and every one of us were to take a direct part in legislating, what right do we truly have?

Today, my father likely hopped on his bike and rode a hundred miles or more, without wearing a helmet. On this same day, if I were to even ride in the back seat of a four-wheeled vehicle without wearing a seatbelt, I would be given a citation for such a thing. The absurdity of this was, unfortunately, voted upon by our so-called “representatives” who were in turn voted into their respective offices by the voting majority.

I can buy enough firecrackers to blow up a large home and store them in a cardboard box next to my fireplace, but I am guilty of “manufacturing a destructive device” if I mix an extremely stable chemical mixture purchasable without signature off the internet for the purposes of making reactive shooting targets sooner than “immediately prior to use”...and I'd likely have my name slandered in the papers as a “potential terrorist”.

My aunt, whose chronic illness recently cost her half a leg, cannot smoke the buds of a plant our own government owns every medicinal-use patent on...but you and I will pay through the nose for taxes, so pharmaceutical companies can push toxic pills upon her. If she decided to go against the law and ingest this plant, she would be guilty of a crime. If she were to buy a hundred bucks worth of it, she'd be guilty of a felony.

In this state, as in every other state of this union, courts recognize what is known as the “qualified immunity” of police officers. Except in extreme cases that happen to be captured on videotape, a policeman at most runs the risk of being fired from his job when he abuses, injures, or kills a person and is generally found to be immune from civil liability due to his nature of employment. It is still illegal in this state to resist unlawful arrest or the use of excessive force, and the only recourse is a civil suit against the officer's department. Because of “qualified immunity”, the officer who breaks the law while acting under the color of law will suffer no legitimate consequences. If an officer's life is taken by a man acting in self-defense, he is automatically guilty of capital murder solely because of the chosen employment of the slain.

Even though my father has owned the property our shops sit on since before I began school, I cannot repaint either shop without first getting a permit from the city and then ensuring that the palette conforms with the pre-determined color standards chosen by our city council.

Even though we are not a corporate entity, have no business license, have no posted business hours, and are not open to the public, government tax assessors and “code inspectors” have a so-called “legal authority” to enter our premises during their working ours to inspect our shops on their whims with no warrant, and we have no true legal recourse because we are zoned commercially.

Amongst the many things the city of Angleton has told me include
I can't have a privately-owned car parked in a privately-owned residential driveway, if it doesn't have current tags and inspection...and if it sits there for more than a month, they confiscate my car and send me a tow bill.
I can't grow a certain mint plant that used to be available in the lawn & garden center of Walmart, because you can catch a five-minute buzz if you smoke its leaves...even though it's a hardy and beautiful landscape filler, and my Comanche ancestors have used it to remedy everything from diarrhea to depression.
If a police officer decides that I may be committing a crime against my own property, that officer may demand my ID in my own yard...and threaten my life, and the lives of my loved ones, if I refuse to comply.
If I chose to engage in a profession completely legal in this state, but disapproved of by my neighbors, an obscure zoning ordinance will be used to prevent me from pursuing my chosen profession.

Keep in mind, I haven't even gotten into things that go completely against the US constitution, currently being perpetrated by our government. Every single thing I've mentioned is 100% legal under our constitution.

We have the right to life, liberty, and property...so long as the abuses of these rights don't go against “due process of law”, which is decided by the elected and sometimes unelected.

At first, it kinda pained me to say this. I used to take that oath seriously...but fuck that oath. Constitution? It's a great idea, if you're the one getting elected by the majority. If you're trying to do your own thing without hurting another living soul, you're probably just fucked.

It doesn't hurt any more. I've let go of the guilt I used to feel for having doubts about the oath I took. I swore that oath not because I held allegiance to my government, but because I held allegiance to the ideas my government was supposed to stand for. My government, who was empowered by voters I was too young to legally consent to when I swore that oath, never thought twice about using me for all I was worth...and they continue to do so now, when I'm old enough to vote for the lesser of two evils.

I'm done with voting. I'm done with complying. I'm done with giving a fat flying fuck about them. I know not what will be written on my tombstone...but those who know me will say that I did my damnedest to hurt no one, I asked forgiveness when I had hurt others, and I did my best to help others when they asked.

Not sure where this will take me, only time will tell...

What I learned over the weekend...

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to spend some time with some like-minded people (as well as a pair of very strange individuals), in order to receive classroom and hands-on instruction on a variety of topics including map reading and navigation, first aid, radio communications, first aid, proper draw, grip, and use of a pistol in defensive situations, and quite a few other things.

Among these lessons are the following:

1) Narcotics, extreme heat, and exercise are a generally bad idea.
One student in the group was suffering from a knee injury being treated medically with morphine patches at the time, who fell out while walking across a field in the East Texas heat.

2) It's generally best to go over safety information beforehand, so everyone knows where everything is.
There were several current and former members of the medical profession in this group, and there was a fully-equipped first aid kit on site. I was toward the rear of the group when the call to get the kit, so I dropped everything and hauled ass toward the campsite to get the kit. Unfortunately, I heard "Get the kit! It's in the back of my truck!", and I had no idea what truck it was in...or the fact that the medic was, in fact, driving an SUV and not a pickup.

3) If you have equipment considered "essential", and it runs on batteries, make sure you have good batteries.
When you're carrying a hand-held radio for purposes of communicating with someone else in deep woods, and you can't see or hear the person you're trying to communicate with, your radio is dead weight when your batteries die.

4) You should have paid more attention in school.
Some of the most basic instruction we sat through during the classroom sections of the weekend were stuff you likely could have deducted from what you learned in the 9th grade...math, especially. Stuff learned in the map-reading/navigation portion makes a lot more sense if you have a basic understanding of geometry.

The smallest minority

Most of us within what is commonly known as the "liberty movement" are aware that, at the core of the idea, the world's smallest "minority" is the individual person.

To us, it's not about "black rights", "gay rights", "women's rights", "immigrant rights", or "pasty white protestant heterosexual English-speaking male rights". It's about the human rights inherent within us all and granted by our creator as a member of the human race.

We have the right to be free from the aggression of others, the end.

With that in mind, I have difficulty understanding the opinions of some within the movement, claiming we need to "stick together", "overcome our differences", etc in the aftermath of Rand Paul's endorsement of Mitt Romney.

Sorry, but I wasn't dependent upon someone else's opinions when I chose to vote for Ron Paul in the 2012 primary. I neither asked for acceptance, nor permission, when I voted in the 2008 primary and abstained in the 2010 general election. I did it of my own volition, and don't really give a flying fuck what your opinion of my decision happens to be.

I'm not some trained seal that will bark for a fish or vote for a politician using buzzwords like "freedom" and "liberty". I won't bother go and vote for the "other republican" because he's "anyone but Obama". I won't vote for Obama, because he's going against Paul's opponent. I won't vote for Chuck Baldwin, Wayne Root, Gary Johnson, Ralph Nader, or any other 3rd party candidate.

Likewise, I don't give a damn who you think I should be getting behind, what issues you think I should be supporting, or what you think I should be doing. You don't like my proposed solutions to the problem, or what I'm doing to fight statism? Get fucked, I don't care. You disagree with my unwillingness to vote for some random "replacement Paul"? Get fucked, I don't care. You disagree with the notion that people should resist instead of going impotent when confronted by armed agents of the state? Get fucked, me and my rifle don't care. You disagree with my drinking or eating habits, because they include stuff that may or may not include things you disapprove of? Get fucked, me and my Chelada don't give a damn.

In short, I really don't give a rat's ass about your opinions if they differ from mine. That's the glory of this whole "personal liberty" thing. I can tell you to fuck off if you don't like what I'm doing, or if I don't like what you're doing. You can do your thing, and I can do my thing, and I don't have to give a flying fuck about it.

The right to resist...

Below is a letter being sent to Representative Dennis Bonnen. Wonder if he'll answer, or duck and run like he did when I asked him about sponsoring open carry?

************************************************************

Representative Dennis Bonnen:

It has recently come to my attention that the state of Indiana passed Senate Enrolled Act 1, which recognizes that the right to defend ones' home against unlawful intruders is still valid when that unlawful intruder happens to be wearing a badge or other ornament on his state-issued costume signifying his employment as a “public servant”.

Please note, this law does not grant carte blanch to any citizen wanting to “go kill a cop” who happens to kick the door in, as it applies only to unlawful entries. Situations where a warrant or probable cause, which would grant legal entry into the home of a private citizen, are not covered in this law.

What this law does accomplish is to give immediate recourse to unlawful force, without having to sue ones' government in a civil court, when a public servant commits such an offense against the homeowner.

Sadly, in the state of Texas, Section 38.03(c) of our penal code states that we have no right to resist an unlawful arrest or search, even if it occurs within the confines of our own homes and it is plainly evident to all involved that that the arrest and/or search was blatantly unlawful.

While I do not wish to see harm done to any person, I do recognize that wearing a badge does not instantaneously change a person into a superhuman justice machine who can commit no wrong.

Will you, as my elected representative, take the initiative and sponsor a bill so our legislature will allow us to be secure in our homes from unlawful aggression as demanded by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution?




Barry Hayes,
Citizen of Angleton

Exercising my right to not vote...

I'm gonna clue you in on something right quick-like. I'm an anarchist. If you know me, and haven't figured this out yet, you must be mentally deficient.

That said, yes. I support the presidential campaign of Congressman Ron Paul. Why would an anarchist do such a thing? Well, it's for two reasons, really.

1) As my congressional representative, he has a proven 30 year track record of honesty.
2) While an anarchist such as myself is content to sit at home and live out my life as freely as possible, I pick my battles as I see fit. I fight them here at home, calling public attention to the injustices and aggression found within our local communities, be it issues with police, city council, et cetera. Dr. Paul, on the other hand, has chosen to take his "small-government" message to Washington. He is in the position to effect change instantaneously on a federal level, and has pledged to do so.

You see, the President of the United States has the authority to direct every federal agency, and this authority has been granted to him by the constitution of these United States. One of his campaign pledges has been to eliminate ONE TRILLION DOLLARS from the US federal government's budget.

While congress alone has the authority to approve the spending of federal tax dollars by federal agencies, the president alone has the authority to allow these agencies to use these tax dollars. If one were to cut a trillion dollars from the federal budget, there would instantaneously be millions of federal employees without jobs.

That is the end result I, as a supporter of Dr. Paul's work, would refer to as "a good start". For this reason, I would rather see Dr. Paul as president over any other current candidate.

I voted for him in the 2008 primary. I gave him my vote in the 2010 election. I was a district delegate in the 2010 election cycle. I've been a registered republican for quite some time now. It's not exactly as if I've completely abandoned politics, or have never been a part of it. I have my credentials, do you?

And I didn't vote in the 2008 presidential election, because Dr. Paul dropped out of the race.

Why? We were given the choice between a warmongering statist who thought the ultra-rich should pay a 0 to 5% income tax while making their money from hedge funds and other capital gains as the working man forks over a third of his paycheck, who thought it was a great idea to torture innocent civilians and lock them away indefinitely without charges in foreign countries, who thought our civil liberties were useless relics of a by-gone era, who thought we should be using drone attacks on defenseless innocents around the globe to benefit the military-industrial complex, who thought we should keep imprisoning people for what they chose to ingest...or we could choose to vote for John McCain.

Personally, I'm proud of choosing not to vote for either one of them.

Not only do I stand behind my choice in 2008 (and in 2012, provided Dr. Paul does not win the RNC nomination), but I also question your choice...

God Bless America!

Today, June 6, is "D-Day". The 68th anniversary of the Allied Powers' landing at Normandy. Tom Hanks' seminal portrayal of Capt. John Miller in "Saving Private Ryan" showed the world what is, perhaps, the most brutal and gory portrayal of war those of us who've never experienced it will ever know...and know this, seeing a man trying to hold his guts in his torso on film is a bit closer than I ever really wanted to see it. I thank God I wasn't there, or for that matter, any other place where men are actively trying to take my life by any means necessary. We should all take a moment to pray for an eternal end to war, and strive to live in peace.

That said, I'm gonna shift gears here for a bit. A while back, I wrote a letter to the pastor of a church I attended in a few times, asking his opinion on certain matters. I must say, I was rather shocked by his response.

Prior to my other half finding this church a few miles down the road from her home, we had been attending a different church in another city. One Sunday, a preacher in that church gave a sermon about Paul the Apostle and his dealings with certain congregations of the early church, this sermon specifically being on the subject of Galatians.

I have always been what most would label as "anti-authority", and reading Chapter 5 of Galatians kinda stuck out with me. If you've never read it, and you're of the libertarian bent, I'd highly suggest you do so.

Anyhow, I wrote the preacher after attending a dinner/gaming night with some of the other "young adults" from the church. During a discussion, one of our group had asked the preacher about the use of violent force in self-defense, from a "Christian perspective".

I learned that the preacher was raised as, according to him, a "defenseless pacifist" who was taught to take the whole "turn the other cheek" thing quite literally. He explained that his views had changed, and he saw no problem with someone using violent and potentially lethal force in situations such as the protection of others or even in cases of home invasion.

It was also around this time that my study of anarchist philosophy was really gaining ground, as well as a revisitation of the Judeo-Christian bible in accordance with my own beliefs as a follower of Christ.

So there I was, writing him this letter. It was no secret that he was not a huge fan of government, especially since the election of the Socialist in Chief. If I didn't know any better, I'd even wager that he might be a closeted member of the John Birch Society...not that such a thing would, in any way whatsoever, be a bad thing!

My questions, essentially, revolved around questions of scale and costume. If it was acceptable to defend ones' life from murder or property from theft when threatened by Tyrone Q. Crackhead, how does one excuse the act of taxation? I reminded him, of course, that taxation is what pays for both government warfare and government welfare...which we were in total agreement as being very bad things.

I also reminded him that resistance to involuntary taxation invariably ended in imprisonment, and that resistance to such imprisonment invariably ended in the use of force by government...which invariably ends in death, if a person resists hard enough.

So I asked him...at what point do "we the people" start to fight back?

He responded with what I've found to be almost stereotypical of those who support the state, especially those who hold a belief in the Christian faith. It almost always ends up going back to Romans 13, and sadly, his personal response was no different. The "submit to your leaders in government", "submit to those who hold you in slavery", etc.

Then I was hit by the "Without government, we would not have the order that God demands of society", which is also something I've heard countless times before.

My response to this, "Do you make a habit of raping, robbing, stealing, or killing? Do you refrain from such activities because government says you can't, or because you know these activities are morally wrong? If you don't do these things simply because you know they are morally wrong, why do you need government?".

If written words could make a sound, his response to these questions would have been a deafening silence.

Today, while viewing all the D-Day art and posts on the internets that occasionally weren't even trying to not look like pro-war propaganda, I came across a photo captioned "God Bless America".

For some reason, it brought me back to the discussion I had with the preacher. If we are to "submit to our rulers", "obey the law", "pay our taxes", etc because it is necessary to preserve some supposed order required by God, how can we honestly ask God to bless a nation born of violent revolution against these very ideals?