The Danger That There Will Be No “Big Event”

“I’ve always maintained our freedom of choice, freedom of speech & freedom of movement have been eroded incrementally since 9/11.

Yet we are being prompted to expect another big event.

This article clearly questions the need for a big event, as incrementalised destruction of our freedoms is progressing steadily.”

– The Danger That There Will Be No “Big Event” (SHFTplan, May 28, 2015):

The following article has been generously contributed by Paylie Roberts, author of Bugging Out to Nowhere and Life After Bugging Out, and most recently, Memories of Poland, Lessons From Growing Up Under Communism.

Editor’s Note: Paylie was born behind the Iron Curtain, during the heydays of Soviet occupied Poland. She understands a thing or two about what a real collapse looks like, and as she explains in her highly informative commentary below, it may not all “go down” like some might expect. Though a large-scale waterfall event always remains a possibility given the current geo-political climate, Paylie argues that there is another possible outcome of what we are experiencing today. Rather than a full-blown, rapid decent into chaos, what if the “event” many are pointing to as the singularity for collapse is actually happening right now, as a slow and consistent degradation of our way of life? And what if the “other side” of this degradation, wherein most people expect a resurgence of individual liberty and sound economic policy, turns out to be even worse than the system we have today? We know the elite members of the political, financial and business classes will not want to let go of their power, just as was the case in Communist countries across Europe in the 20th century. Who’s to say they won’t make every effort to remain in power by way of the iron fist many of us understand is behind the command & control organizations managing global affairs?

 

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The Danger That There Will Be No “Big Event”
By Paylie Roberts

How many times do you hear preppers and liberty-minded folks make statements along the line of “When the schumer hits the fan, I will take such action,” or “After some event I will make that change,” or “If it gets to that point, then I’ll take a stand!”? These ideas are based on the premise that there will be “the big event.” The assumption among many preppers and liberty activists is that there will be a clear cut “before” and “after,” with a defining moment, event, or series of events, delineating between the two. Such events could include economic collapse, natural disaster, a pandemic, an EMP or CME, a “terrorist” attack, or martial law. I myself have at times fallen into this very trap.

However, what if this assumption, this premise, is in fact incorrect? What if the creeping trends of tyranny, economic impoverishment, and oppression just continue on, gradually, indefinitely, without an obvious “big event?” After all, the elitist Powers That Be are masters at gradualism, ever so careful not to wake the frog before the pot is boiling.

If this were not the case, we would likely not find ourselves in the present circumstances. Instead, we would already have had major changes that involved trials that dwarf Nuremburg. Many high level officials or participants of the BIS, IMF, World Bank, ECB, Fed, CFR, Trilaterals, Bilderbergs, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citibank, CIA, NSA, IRS, DHS, FDA, EPA, and BATF would already be serving life without parole, or feeding the worms, for treason or crimes against humanity.

Just look at recent events that resulted in militarized police actions that were never officially called martial law, such as those that occurred after Hurricane Katrina, or in Watertown, Massachusetts after the Boston Marathon bombing. Many folks I know fear martial law as the defining moment, but fail to notice it is already occurring — subtly — but not quite yet on a nationwide basis.

Yet here we are, with many people still waiting for the “big event.” Many people seem to have the mindset that when the “big event” happens it will wash away all the tyranny and corruption we now experience, like a Spring rain clears the air. But it is likely that nothing could be further from the truth. Any “big event” will likely only serve as an excuse or a tool to further escalate the tyranny and oppression that we are already experiencing. Remember, “they” “never let a crisis go to waste.”

The western world in general, and the US in particular, are rapidly moving in a direction of tyranny, destruction of civil liberties and property rights, and economic disaster which serves to reinforce the former. To anyone who values liberty, the US Constitution, and economic freedom and prosperity, this is beyond unacceptable.

It is important to note that if the “big event” were to occur, it would make the reality of the circumstances plainly obvious to a large percentage of the populace, and therefore would likely incite significant resistance. This is what those of us who value liberty should want, and is exactly what The Powers That Be do not want.

So what concerns me the most is not that we will have a significant event or events in the near future. What concerns me the most is that we won’t. And that would likely result in an indefinite creeping complacency among the populace that will allow elitist tyrants to complete the implementation of their total control grid, without the majority of people ever actually taking action to stop or prevent it, even though they may be prepared to do so.

The author Claire Wolfe wrote a line for which she became well known that states: “America is at that awkward stage. It’s too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards.” I wholeheartedly agree with that statement, and although she wrote it in 1996, it is still true today. While it may not yet be the time to take up arms for freedom, or more accurately (and ominously) take up arms to defend ourselves from alphabet agencies purchasing billions of rounds of ammunition, it is certainly possible that time will come. It is also entirely possible that that time may never come. Therein lies the risk: many people use this as their proverbial “line in the sand” for taking action.  And if this point is never reached, then they will remain complacent, potentially forever.

Yes, it is true that many people are becoming more prepared for various emergencies, crisis, and disasters. This is important, and needs to continue. But it is not enough. With only a few exceptions, such as Oath Keepers, there is very little true action. There is a lot of preparing to take action, but little actual activity to resist the tyranny. Despite all the talk, complacency is still the order of the day. We all have our various excuses: need to work to pay the bills, need to finish school, need to raise the kids, and so on. We all have lives such that we can’t drop everything to fight the wrongs, especially when those wrongs haven’t crossed our imaginary lines. However, as the tyranny gets ever closer to our lines in the sand, we don’t react when our lines are occasionally tested, just to see if we notice. In the end, our lines get moved without us realizing it, and what has already crossed the line, only appears as though it has not. That is both the power and danger of gradualism.

To anyone who has paid attention to politics over the last several decades, it has become glaringly obvious that the solutions to these problems are beyond the ballot box, as the ballot box is now inherently rigged, bought, and paid for, via multiple mechanisms.

I am not suggesting that people protest march on Wall Street (again) or in Washington DC (again and again and again). I am not suggesting that people riot. I am certainly not suggesting that people commit acts of terror or violence. While we may be beyond the time for the ballot box, and it may not yet be time for the cartridge box, we must continue using the soap box, and we must start using the jury box.

What I am suggesting is actually both more difficult and more effective than the strategies mentioned above. What I propose is more along the following lines:

1. Stop supporting the existing oppressive structures. Do whatever you can to minimize feeding the beast, and in the current context the beast is both government at the Federal and State levels, as well as certain major corporations, particularly major Wall Street banks. Structure your affairs to avoid taxes to the greatest extent possible. Similarly, don’t use major banks. Keep as little currency as possible in the banks, pay as little interest as possible to either banks or governments. Don’t buy products or services from companies that support and/or comply with oppressive government tactics. For example, some telecom and internet companies have been less willing to comply with the NSA spying on Americans. Support companies whose actions are more in line with your values, and boycott companies who are willing to contribute to your enslavement. Here is a web site/business idea for someone: create a site that investigates and rates companies based on their “liberty quotient.” Create a “Consumer Report” for liberty minded consumers. Maybe there is already something like this that I am not aware of. This is a way to vote with your wallet – a vote that is less subject to fraud, but is still effective.
2. Create positive alternatives to the existing oppressive institutions. If you merely remove a negative, even if you succeed, you are only left with the absence of that negative. You have nothing positive with which to replace it. So an even better approach is to create positives, or work on creating what you do want, rather than merely eliminating what you don’t want. Use precious metals, barter, or alternative currencies for financial transactions, not Federal Reserve Notes (FRNs). Have problems with your local police? Create a neighborhood watch or community security force to allow for competition to your local police force. If there’s competition, they might likely be more willing to follow the Constitution, rather than mindlessly obeying orders to maintain a paycheck. Support businesses that are in line with your liberty-minded values. If you can’t find a company to do business with that supports your values, if you have the means or the connections, create a competing business that does support those values. By creating positive alternative institutions or organizations, we make the existing system, to a certain extent, redundant and obsolete. This will force those in power of those existing institutions to either fade away into irrelevancy (unlikely), or attempt to clamp down even harder. This will make it plainly obvious to even those who are the most deeply entrenched in the mainstream Matrix propaganda who the wrongdoers truly are.
3. Nullify oppressive laws. There are several ways to do this. One way is to get liberty-minded people elected at the local level to enact laws that nullify unconstitutional or immoral Federal or State laws. Such local officials can also refuse to sell out to Federal regulators by not accepting bribes in exchange of adopting local regulations, such as Agenda 21 land use restrictions, implementing education reform such as Common Core, or allowing local police and sheriffs’ departments to participate in the Federal 1033 program. Get a Constitutional or liberty-minded Sheriff elected. There are many resources available online regarding how the Sheriff can use his authority as the highest law enforcement official in a county to tell both Federal and State officials to take a hike. This method would be assisted substantially by more of #2 above, by creating a Constitutional security force to back up your Constitutional Sheriff.

A second way to nullify unconstitutional and immoral laws is through jury nullification. In criminal courts today, judges typically instruct jurors that they are solely “finders of fact” whose job it is to assess the accuracy and truthfulness of the facts presented, and then pass a judgment of guilt or innocence based upon those facts. However, there is another very important and legitimate role of a jury based in Common Law tradition, and that is to be a judge of the law itself, which is known as jury nullification. This means that if a jury finds a particular law to be unjust, immoral, or for some other reason unacceptable, they have the right to refuse to find the defendant guilty, even if the facts in the case support that ruling. And there is little the judge can do about it. The Fully Informed Jury Association provides a wealth of additional resources and information about jury nullification.

4. If you find certain laws to be immoral and Constitutionally unsound, don’t follow them. This is another way to withdraw support from, and circumvent an oppressive system. Obviously be careful, selective, and morally mindful about this. Unlike Henry David Thoreau, I advocate you do your best to not get caught. In a worst case, apply #3 above to enforce your rights. Remember: real crimes have victims. If there is no victim, there is no crime. If there is a true victim, reconsider the action. A great example of this is how otherwise law-abiding gun owners in Connecticut have refused to comply with a state gun registration scheme there. Any law that a large number of people deem immoral and refuse to comply with becomes unenforceable and thus null and void in practice.
5. Although this next point could apply to anyone, if you are in any way involved in law enforcement, criminal justice, or the military, then this one particularly applies to you. This is a play on the famous words of Edmund Burke: “All that is necessary for evil triumph is for good men to obey.” Don’t obey unconstitutional orders or laws. And if that causes you too much professional difficulty, then find another career. What if they had no one willing to enforce all these unconstitutional, oppressive, and unjust rules?

Each of us has our own “lines in the sand” for when we will or won’t take action, and what form that action will be. My concern is, given the numerous already extant attacks upon our rights and liberties (NSA spying, IRS abuses, FDA fraud and abuse, DEA RICO fraud and abuse, BATF fraud and lies, TSA abuse, EPA theft and abuse, Federal Reserve fraud, globalist tyranny, etc.) that we have set our thresholds too high – so high that for many of us our “lines in the sand” will never be crossed, and people will use that as an excuse to remain complacent and not take initiative or action. This is what we must avoid. Growing up in communist Poland taught me that instilling feelings of complacency and helplessness is one of the primary weapons used by tyrants against an oppressed populace. I expand on these ideas, and offer others, in chapters nine and ten of my book, Memories of Poland, Lessons From Growing Up Under Communism.

While it may not yet be time for armed resistance, it is certainly time for resistance, or circumvention, or disobedience, by every other means available to us. Exactly when that becomes appropriate, and what forms that takes, are decisions left to each one of us as individuals. However, consider the US Founding Fathers would certainly never have tolerated the level of loss of liberty and rights abuses that we are already experiencing today.

Where is your “line in the sand?”

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