by
Brandon Smith
The label of “fringe” is a common one used by statists, bureaucrats
and paid shills in order to marginalize those who would stand against
government corruption. The primary assertion being sold is that the
“majority” joyously supports the establishment; and the majority, of
course, is always right.
The liberty movement, which is a collection of numerous freedom
organizations and political activists brought together by a shared
philosophical bond, has been accused of “fringe” status for quite some
time. With corporatist dominance over the mainstream media for decades
backing an elitist machine in Washington and a global banking cartel
footing the bill with money created from thin air, any such accusation
can be made to seem “real” to those who are unaware.
The problem has always been a matter of physical action giving rise to an acknowledgment of numbers.
We have all heard the old story of the debate within the ancient
Roman government over the idea of forcing the slave population to wear
distinct armbands so that they could be more easily identified among the
regular population. The concept was rejected on the realization that if
the slaves were given a visual confirmation of their considerable
numbers and strength, they would be encouraged to revolt against the
Roman tyrants. That is to say, as long as the slaves felt isolated, they
would remain apathetic and powerless. Of course, that was not always
the case. Sometimes, a small group would stand up despite their supposed
isolation, and the rest of the world, wide-eyed and astonished, would
take notice.
The liberty movement has just experienced one of its first great
moments of realization and empowerment in Clark County, Nev., and
millions of past naysayers have been shell-shocked.
I covered my views in detail on the Bundy Ranch saga in Nevada in my article
“Real Americans Are Ready To Snap,”
amid the usual choir of disinformation agents and nihilists desperate
to convince Web audiences that the liberty movement would do nothing to
stop the Bureau of Land Management’s militant assault on Cliven Bundy’s
cattle farm. This assault included hundreds of Federal agents,
helicopters, contractors hired essentially as cattle rustlers and even
teams of snipers.
The statists and socialists were certainly out in force to
misrepresent the Bundy issue and frighten anyone who might consider
taking a stand for the family. The
Southern Poverty Law Center,
not surprisingly, was hard at work spreading lies and disinformation
about the confrontation in Nevada, painting a picture of fractured
patriot groups and militiamen with “little training” going to face
Federal BLM agents and likely “ending up dead.” The SPLC insinuated that
the movement was ineffective and in over its head.
The reality was much the opposite. Liberty groups arrived in droves
and were staunchly unified — not by a centralized leadership, but in
defense of the basic moral principles outlined in the U.S. Constitution
and Bill of Rights. Sources on the ground at the Bundy ranching
operation relayed to me that at least 1,000 activists and militia
members arrived over the weekend, with many more on the way. This one
event proved certain points:
- The liberty movement is not afraid to put itself in harm’s way for
the right cause — even if this means facing off against highly armed
government thugs.
- The liberty movement has the ability to field a response team or
even an army anywhere in the country at any time within a couple of
days.
- The liberty movement has the ability to change the course of events,
even to the point of removing Federal agents from a region who are
acting in an unConstitutional manner.
- The Federal government is not invincible, nor is it unfazed by
liberty movement opposition. They worry about our strength and ability.
Over the past weekend, we witnessed the true influence of the liberty
movement. As thousands of activists and militia arrived in the area,
the BLM finally began to understand what it was facing. The government
agency that has been terrorized farming communities throughout the West
for years, the agency armed with military-grade weaponry and hundreds of
agents, ran away as
freedom fighters descended on the region.
Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval and Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie,
two politicians who were deathly silent during the beginning of the
Federal incursion on the Bundy ranch, have now suddenly become vocal in
defense of Nevada ranchers against the BLM. It’s amazing how “inspired”
politicians can become to do the right thing when they see an army of
liberty activists marching against tyranny.
SEE Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgbS0F1-O1A
Not only was the BLM forced to remove itself from the area, but it was
also forced to relinquish all the cattle it had stolen from Bundy over
the course of the past week. Here, liberty groups close in on the cattle
holding pens of the BLM and take back Bundy’s property.
SEE Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD61YFxUga4
Statists and socialists are indignant and furious over the surrender
of the BLM. The same people who boasted that liberty activists would be
slaughtered by Fed agents are now frothing at the mouth because they did
not get their massacre. Not only that, but the bureaucracy they worship
has shown itself to be impotent in the face of Constitutional
champions. All I can say is nothing puts a bigger grin on my face than
to see statists cry like babies when their delusions of grandeur are
trampled on.
This was a major victory for the liberty movement. But let’s be clear; the fight is far from over.
I suspect that the Bundy event will be spun by news agencies and the
government until it is unrecognizable. They will claim that the BLM left
not because they were wrong, but because they were trying to keep
people safe. They will claim that liberty movement protesters were the
aggressors and the poor BLM agents were just trying to do their jobs.
They will argue the so-called Federal legality of the raid itself, and
paint Bundy as a “freeloader” who refuses to pay taxes and who is living
off the American people. They will do everything in their power to
destroy the image of the victory and soil the name of the Bundy family.
What they don’t seem to understand, though, is that the liberty
movement does not care what the Federal government deems “legal” or
“illegal.” Our only interest is what is Constitutional and what is
moral. The dispute was never about the “legality” of Bundy’s use of the
land, which his family used for grazing without interference for
generations — until 1993, when the BLM used the absurd endangered
species protection racket to put all of his neighbors out of business
and threaten his ranch with invasion. Statists continually attempt to
argue this issue from the standpoint of Federal legality, obviously
because the Federal government has the legislative and bureaucratic
power to make any despicable action legal (at least on paper) if it
wishes. The liberty movement has no interest whatsoever in Federal
interpretations of legal precedence. We care only about what is right.
As the old saying goes, when injustice becomes law, rebellion becomes
duty.
The liberty movement also fully understands that the Bundy victory was only one battle at the beginning of a long war.
The BLM may very well be waiting for activists to leave the area
before attacking again. And even if that is not the case, tyrannical
systems have a way of attempting to make up for signs of weakness by
escalating violence during the next siege. That is to say, we should
expect the next event involving the BLM or other government agencies to
be even more vicious than the Bundy incident. It is simply the natural
inclination of totalitarian systems to exaggerate their power when their
failings have been exposed.
That said, it should be noted that corrupt leadership often crumbles
in the face of steadfast resolve and courage. We have a long way to go
before this Nation is once again truly free, but the liberty movement
has proven its invaluable worth over the course of the past several
days. We arrived at a crossroads, and we are now moving forward in the
right direction — without fear and without regret. It is in these
moments when history is made — when common men and women thwart the
odds, defy the darkness and make good on their beliefs by risking
everything in the name of freedom.
