Saturday, December 24, 2011

A Christmas Gift


I am happy to be spending this Christmas with our daughters and grandson. The love shared with family is most precious.  So far we are lucky enough to live in a country where we can express our love in liberty and honor.  Though there are threats to that freedom, there are also opportunities to spread the word about what it takes to keep it.  Because the raising of consciousness is the way of love.  May your holidays be happy.


A Christmas Gift for My Daughter

by Harry Browne


 This article was originally published in 
December, 2002.  A previous version of it was published on December 25, 1966, dedicated to Harry’s then 9-year-old daughter.

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It’s Christmas, and I have the usual problem of deciding what to give you. I know you might enjoy many things – books, games, clothes.

But I’m very selfish. I want to give you something that will stay with you for more than a few months or years. I want to give you a gift that might remind you of me every Christmas.

If I could give you just one thing, I’d want it to be a simple truth that took me many years to learn. If you learn it now, it may enrich your life in hundreds of ways. And it may save your having to face many problems that have hurt people who’ve never learned it.

The truth is simply this:

No one owes you anything.


Significance

How could such a simple statement be important? It may not seem so, but understanding it can bless your entire life.

No one owes you anything.

It means that no one else is living for you, my child. Because no one is you. Each person is living for himself; his own happiness is all he can ever personally feel.

When you realize that no one owes you happiness or anything else, you’ll be freed from expecting what isn’t likely to be.

It means no one has to love you. If someone loves you, it’s because there’s something special about you that gives him happiness. Find out what that something special is and try to make it stronger in you, so that you’ll be loved even more.

When people do things for you, it’s because they want to – because you, in some way, give them something meaningful that makes them want to please you, not because anyone owes you anything.

No one has to like you. If your friends want to be with you, it’s not out of duty. Find out what makes others happy so they’ll want to be near you.

No one has to respect you. Some people may even be unkind to you. But once you realize that people don’t have to be good to you, and may not be good to you, you’ll learn to avoid those who would harm you. For you don’t owe them anything either.


Living your Life

No one owes you anything.

You owe it to yourself to be the best person possible. Because if you are, others will want to be with you, want to provide you with the things you want in exchange for what you’re giving to them.

Some people will choose not to be with you for reasons that have nothing to do with you. When that happens, look elsewhere for the relationships you want. Don’t make someone else’s problem your problem.
Once you learn that you must earn the love and respect of others, you’ll never expect the impossible and you won’t be disappointed. Others don’t have to share their property with you, nor their feelings or thoughts.
If they do, it’s because you’ve earned these things. And you have every reason to be proud of the love you receive, your friends’ respect, the property you’ve earned. But don’t ever take them for granted. If you do, you could lose them. They’re not yours by right; you must always earn them.

My experience

A great burden was lifted from my shoulders the day I realized that no one owes me anything. For so long as I’d thought there were things I was entitled to, I’d been wearing myself out – physically and emotionally – trying to collect them.

No one owes me moral conduct, respect, friendship, love, courtesy, or intelligence. And once I recognized that, all my relationships became far more satisfying. I’ve focused on being with people who want to do the things I want them to do.

That understanding has served me well with friends, business associates, lovers, sales prospects, and strangers. It constantly reminds me that I can get what I want only if I can enter the other person’s world. I must try to understand how he thinks, what he believes to be important, what he wants. Only then can I appeal to someone in ways that will bring me what I want.

And only then can I tell whether I really want to be involved with someone. And I can save the important relationships for those with whom I have the most in common.

It’s not easy to sum up in a few words what has taken me years to learn. But maybe if you re-read this gift each Christmas, the meaning will become a little clearer every year.

I hope so, for I want more than anything else for you to understand this simple truth that can set you free.

--December 2002

The late Harry Browne, the author of Why Government Doesn't Work and many other books, was the Libertarian presidential candidate in 1996 and 2000. See his website.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Redress of Grievances Against Oppression

After discussion with a friend on the deterioration of our constitutional rights and what could be done about it, he emailed me a draft of a possibility. First a text to me on 12/09/2011 concerned some realizations of the possibility we discussed:

 “Apologies… I’ve hit a snag or two. 1st is, the realization that there is a dichotomy inherent within the political process which fails to see the power and fundamental base of the Constitution, to which the political factions ascribe as being peculiar to their political party (i.e. inalienable rights of individuals)… the document [the Constitution] does not say, white men only, nor capitalists, nor corporations, nor Republicans only, nor religious peoples only, but ALL individuals… No political party holds to this natural principle, but to its own social special interests using its own interpretation to foster its special interests. 2nd So, this leads to my concern that the grievances petition will not succeed unless it brings together a much broader, thus popular political base, uniting all free persons in their appeal. 3rd I now think the old fashion town hall meetings would become mired down (I’m at a stand still trying to outline how, who,… comprises such a meeting on a national scale, and the enormity of the task on such a short timeline. And it made me realize, the only way is to go digital, to find the right techies, volunteers to create a website to carry this petition from the people to the Government their redress of grievances; the current campaigning process will not succeed in this, as recent and earlier history has shown, that money controls the elections, not the voters, as we witness how the Media ignores the popularity of Ron Paul, who is the closest candidate supporting the Constitution, whereas the Republicans seem hell bent on invalidating it (the Constitution) in favor of a Fascist State. Ron/Rand Paul would do well to broaden his/their political base by supporting such a petition about which we are discussing. Peace, Ken.”

 [P.S. I do not know how such a petition is formally legalized, or how to go about it; but I do know for a certainty, that such is legally established by the Bill of Rights. It would be an impossibly beautiful thing if this petition became the focus of the candidates in the upcoming election campaigns, don‘t you think?]

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 [See draft below…which was being created to format how actual “town hall meetings” would be structured to handle the petition…now I am suggesting that Ron Paul? You? A techie friend of yours? A Constitutional lawyer? take over this idea and draft it into a website to handle the petition; I‘ve done what little I can; someone needs to pick up my banner and carry it forward; I haven‘t the know-how on how to formalize a legal document to protect it, nor do I know of anyone personally of such capability.] 

[DRAFT 12/10/2011]

 “DECLARATION OF GRIEVANCES” [abbreviated title]

“PETITION OF REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES” (As legally granted under the Bill of Rights, Amendment I) [legal / formal title]

STATEMENT OF INTENT OF THESE TOWN HALL MEETINGS: March 4, 1789 Bill of Rights: Amendment I: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

This meeting is being lawfully convened based upon the Bill of Rights, Amendment I, to peaceably assemble and to discuss a compilation of a list of grievances by the citizens of these United States, in light of the actions of the present Government in power, which continues to diminish the Laws of this nation as originally stated and written and established by our Founding Fathers of the original Constitution of these United States. In light of this, it is also an appeal to the policing agencies of these United States, to the militias of the States of this Republic, and to the military forces of this nation, all of whom are sworn to defend this Constitution of these United States, to protect and defend such meetings across this nation for this purpose, as defined by Amendment I of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of these United States.

We are not assembled to protest, nor to disrupt social order whether legal or illegal. We are not “terrorists”. We are not meeting with the intent of seeking to be arrested, tear gassed, beaten, threatened, imprisoned, killed, but are convening a legal / lawful meeting for the purposes of appealing to the “Government presently in power“ and who are unlawfully and illegally establishing laws detrimental to the Constitutional Laws of these United States, and detrimental to the inalienable rights of the citizen’s of these United States, who are naturally and Constitutionally endowed with inalienable rights as set forth by the Bill of Rights and are legally protected by the Constitution and by those authorities of this nation, who are sworn by oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of this nation, to uphold and to allow and to protect such meetings as defined by the Constitution of this nation.

TITLE OF THESE LEGAL TOWN HALL MEETINGS ACROSS THIS NATION IS AS FOLLOWS: “Petition of Redress of Grievances”. (As legally granted under the Bill of Rights, Amendment I)

DATES FOR THE MEETINGS TO BE HELD ACROSS THIS NATION: Beginning on January 2012 any Sunday of any week until the date of: 2012-07-04 at which time the list of grievances, as established, written, and finalized by the people of this nation, will be submitted as a petition to the Government (i.e., the President of these United States, the Speaker of the House of these United States, the Senate of these United States, the Justices of the Supreme Court of these United States, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the military, the Generals of the States Militia and the National Guard.

WHO MAY ATTEND THESE MEETINGS: These meetings MUST be open to all peoples who possess inalienable rights, which is, all freemen (free-persons) who accept, recognize and uphold the Constitution of these United States, and who are seeking collectively to petition the Government a redress of grievances‘. Neither specific political exclusions , nor specific preferred inclusions are to be allowed in order to avoid narrowing down the political impetus and popularity of this petition.

This Petition will not succeed politically so long as it remains politically divisive. All political differences must come together as one voice. And it is by virtue of the Constitution which must be the legal commonality of this Republic if it is to succeed in its petition. Otherwise, the usual political partisan splits will continue to compromise the Constitution and the Republic will be compromised such that special interests will seize political power from its citizenry, and a globalist Fascist tyranny will result. 

PLACE/S WHERE MEETING/S SHALL BE CONVENED/HELD: Town Halls, Civic Centers, Public Auditoriums (places in which are local, traditional places for legitimate civic meetings, for purposes of maintaining a civil and legitimate meeting, not requiring policing to disband the meeting, but for protection of the participants attending the meeting, that is, for the protection of the people holding the meetings to be protected from outside interference, or closure. And also protection from participants who try to use the meeting to protest, to demonstrate, to disrupt, the meeting’s purpose as defined in Amendment I, Bill of Rights.

PERSON/S TO PRESIDE OVER MEETING/S TO MAINTAIN ORDER AND TO MAINTAIN ADHERANCE TO THE MEETING/S GUIDELINES (Strictly all must be volunteers): MODERATOR: The person who shall preside over these meetings should be any local civil servant who is presently in a civil office or in an elected office who has sworn to uphold and to defend the Constitution of these United States, such as the a Mayor of the community. Oversees action of meeting by: reading this paper aloud to attendees, introduces the persons fulfilling the roles outlined in this section, times the progress of the meeting to make certain the schedule is maintained, limit’s the time involved in the attendees presentation of their grievance by their reading aloud and submitting their grievance to the Panel (no more than 5 minutes).

 CONSULTANT/ADVISOR: Ideally, a Constitutional Lawyer, or a local Judge in or a person who has local recognition of being in good standing, known as articulate leader. PANEL: group of individuals, professionals (local radio, local editor), but laborers as well, even unemployed, successful (own business, own farm), cross cultural/races/gender. Comprised of 12 persons (using jury # as guideline). The Panel will accept the grievance and compile, sort according to paralleling similar grievances,…… this is where I find this too cumbersome and unsuccessful…and that a website needs to serve as a collection/compiling/condensing the grievances, and present a condensed list of grievances, on the website, then have the population to vote on approval or disapproval of the grievances listed…..but again, how to manage this….circulate a printed petition in every township taken from the website, and have each township to send their signed petition by the people, to their local rep, or at the website offer the finalized petition in document format for the public at large….but I don’t know how to keep it all together as one formal document rather than it becoming a chaotic unorganized and illegal debacle….so I’m back to my frustration on how to proceed….so I stopped here and will send it as is…

RECORDER: Secretary to record, and transcribe the meeting as is done in a court of law.

SECURITY: County Sheriff (if meeting encompasses a collective of townships within a given county, or a small town not having a police in its township). Police (if small towns do have a police within its township, or larger towns). [It is at this point I realized that it is reinventing the wheel, that is, the political and social infrastructure is already in place, and is failing in not petitioning the Government; there needs to be an efficient, and unprecedented vehicle whereby the petition is much faster, and covers an availability/access to all individuals within this nation, and is made visible and does not subject its participants to harm since it does not attempt to interfere with the welfare of the social order. It may take a court order to provide this protective legal umbrella, and to prevent those in power who would seek to sabotage the petition.]

 DECLARED GRIEVANCES: [Ok… I am not a lawyer, nor a Constitutional lawyer, so I am only stating a grievance number 1 to serve as an example of a grievance. It is vital/of utmost importance that these grievances be put forth in the meetings, discussed, and written in a simple and clear and accurate (Constitutionally based) statement so that it is self-evident as the Founding Fathers stated, “We hold these truths to be self-evident”, to all peoples. And the list be formalized into a legal document (?). 

GRIEVANCE NUMBER 1: No Branch of the Government of these United States has been Constitutionally empowered to corrupt, nor to redefine, nor change the very fundamental base of the inalienable rights of the peoples of this nation as established and defined within the Constitution and its Amendments, the Bill of Rights. This grievance derives from the Supreme Court Justices who have corrupted that base by ruling that CORPORATIONS are individuals, thereby establishing a treasonous ruling to dis-empowered and disenfranchise the individual voter monetarily in any elective and political process. Corporations do not have inalienable rights; the individuals within corporations as well as at large have inalienable rights. A corporation is not an individual and the Supreme Court Justices cannot overrule the fundamental base upon which the Constitution derives.

 [ok, help keep it simple, and truthful and Constitutional…otherwise it goes down an unpaved road into mire and mud as history has shown.]