Thomas Jefferson's eccentric opinion was completely repudiated by the Framers of the Constitution which created a strong national government to suppress insurrections and in the Militia Act of 1792 to put privately owned weapons on inventories that were reported to the President of the US who reported them to Congress. President Jefferson enforced that provision of the Militia Act.
http://www.potowmack.org/parker.html
Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these: First, a right to life; Secondly, to liberty; Thirdly, to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can. These are evident branches of, rather than deductions from, the duty of self-preservation, commonly called the first law of nature.
--
In the state of nature every man is, under God, judge and sole judge of his own rights and of the injuries done him. By entering into society he agrees to an arbiter or indifferent judge between him and his neighbors; but he no more renounces his original right than by taking a cause out of the ordinary course of law, and leaving the decision to referees or indifferent arbitrators.
--
In short, it is the greatest absurdity to suppose it in the power of one, or any number of men, at the entering into society, to renounce their essential natural rights, or the means of preserving those rights; when the grand end of civil government, from the very nature of its institution, is for the support, protection, and defence of those very rights; the principal of which, as is before observed, are Life, Liberty, and Property. If men, through fear, fraud, or mistake, should in terms renounce or give up any essential natural right, the eternal law of reason and the grand end of society would absolutely vacate such renunciation. The right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty, it is not in the power of man to alienate this gift and voluntarily become a slave.
Those who understand individual sovereignty refuse the mantle of slavery.
Ah, the Potowmack group. I'd thought they'd faded into obscurity, but I see they're up to their usual statist shenanigans.
Incidentally, Kevin, you've identified THE answer to Rousseau & his children, who'se main difference from Locke & our brothers is that you CAN and HAVE renounced your rights unto society.
Those who understand personal soveriegnty also know that the mantle of slavery is implicitly or explicitly accepted...by the slave.
"Statists grasp the inherent logic that statism cannot coexist with a population that has not surrendered its personal sovereignty - a population with the ability and willingness to reject government's "monopoly on violence" is the keystone of individual rights and personal liberty"
That's the nail on the head. These are things this nation's founders learned at great expense and suffering. Fortuantely they had the moxie to stand up for themselves instead of being turned into colonial servants as happened to other peoples.
For me, there is "No King but Jesus, No Sovereign but God" as the revolutionary war battle cry goes. As an American Christian, I support the rights of others to worship differently, or not to worship my "Pappa Sky God" (as some call him) if they want. I also reserve my right to apply my boomstick if needed against those who would use force to violate my rights to worship as I choose.
They can come to my house if they wish to be my indentured servants. Otherwise, they can starve.
Note:
All avatars and any images or other media embedded in comments were hosted on the JS-Kit website and have been lost;
references to haloscan comments have been partially automatically remapped, but accuracy is not guaranteed and corrections are solicited.
If you notice any problems with this page or wish to have your home page link updated, please contact John Hardin <jhardin@impsec.org>
JS-Kit/Echo comments for article at http://smallestminority.blogspot.com/2007/01/personal-sovereignty-and-killing-their.html (5 comments)
Tentative mapping of comments to original article, corrections solicited.
Thomas Jefferson's eccentric opinion was completely repudiated by the Framers of the Constitution which created a strong national government to suppress insurrections and in the Militia Act of 1792 to put privately owned weapons on inventories that were reported to the President of the US who reported them to Congress. President Jefferson enforced that provision of the Militia Act.
http://www.potowmack.org/parker.html
GEErnst
Samuel Adams:
Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these: First, a right to life; Secondly, to liberty; Thirdly, to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can. These are evident branches of, rather than deductions from, the duty of self-preservation, commonly called the first law of nature.
--
In the state of nature every man is, under God, judge and sole judge of his own rights and of the injuries done him. By entering into society he agrees to an arbiter or indifferent judge between him and his neighbors; but he no more renounces his original right than by taking a cause out of the ordinary course of law, and leaving the decision to referees or indifferent arbitrators.
--
In short, it is the greatest absurdity to suppose it in the power of one, or any number of men, at the entering into society, to renounce their essential natural rights, or the means of preserving those rights; when the grand end of civil government, from the very nature of its institution, is for the support, protection, and defence of those very rights; the principal of which, as is before observed, are Life, Liberty, and Property. If men, through fear, fraud, or mistake, should in terms renounce or give up any essential natural right, the eternal law of reason and the grand end of society would absolutely vacate such renunciation. The right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty, it is not in the power of man to alienate this gift and voluntarily become a slave.
Those who understand individual sovereignty refuse the mantle of slavery.
Thanks for visiting, you statist fuckwit.
Ah, the Potowmack group. I'd thought they'd faded into obscurity, but I see they're up to their usual statist shenanigans.
Incidentally, Kevin, you've identified THE answer to Rousseau & his children, who'se main difference from Locke & our brothers is that you CAN and HAVE renounced your rights unto society.
Those who understand personal soveriegnty also know that the mantle of slavery is implicitly or explicitly accepted...by the slave.
"Statists grasp the inherent logic that statism cannot coexist with a population that has not surrendered its personal sovereignty - a population with the ability and willingness to reject government's "monopoly on violence" is the keystone of individual rights and personal liberty"
That's the nail on the head. These are things this nation's founders learned at great expense and suffering. Fortuantely they had the moxie to stand up for themselves instead of being turned into colonial servants as happened to other peoples.
For me, there is "No King but Jesus, No Sovereign but God" as the revolutionary war battle cry goes. As an American Christian, I support the rights of others to worship differently, or not to worship my "Pappa Sky God" (as some call him) if they want. I also reserve my right to apply my boomstick if needed against those who would use force to violate my rights to worship as I choose.
They can come to my house if they wish to be my indentured servants. Otherwise, they can starve.
Note: All avatars and any images or other media embedded in comments were hosted on the JS-Kit website and have been lost; references to haloscan comments have been partially automatically remapped, but accuracy is not guaranteed and corrections are solicited.
If you notice any problems with this page or wish to have your home page link updated, please contact John Hardin <jhardin@impsec.org>