Diversions From Freedom

If you want to know what a person values, do not listen to what he says, observe where and on what he spends his time and money—that’s what is really important to him.

It is also one way I know very few people are truly interested in freedom, because very few spend much of any of their resources—time, money, thoughts, or effort—making themselves free. But even if one is truly an independent individualist who cannot live without freedom, it is easy to get diverted from the course of freedom, because there are an infinite number of things in this world all beckoning to us to look at this, buy this, do this, with many promises of interest, excitement, importance, pleasure and satisfaction.

Some may actually be bad things, but most are not bad in themselves unless they divert us from the course we have chosen; then they become a waste of our resources.

Know What Is Important To You

The independent individualist wants know what is going on in the world so he can make right decisions in his own life. The “news” that is most important to the individualist is that which is closest to him and most likely to have a real bearing on his own life and choices.

He is obviously interested in what government is doing that might affect him; what laws, regulations, or other outrages it is now planning for the citizens, like the disgusting and vile invasion of individual privacy and integrity being perpetrated by the TSA.

Once we have learned what the TSA is doing, it is not necessary to read about every violation of people’s privacy that is printed or reported in the news. Such stories are titillating, and it is easy to get caught up following such stories and being properly outraged—it is also a waste of time. (If that particular subject is one of special interest to an individual, perhaps a writer, such details might be important. Everyone must judge for themselves what is important and of valuable interest.)

Here is an observation: Most of what appears in all resources supposedly dedicated to freedom are mostly about what is keeping us from being free, not about how to be free. There is on a certain site a list of objectives that would supposedly “restore” freedom for individuals:

  1. Eliminate all government interference or regulation of any business or any aspect of the economy.
  2. Elimination of all government owned property.
  3. Eliminate all government welfare and subsidies.
  4. Abolish all taxes.
  5. Eliminate government fiat money.
  6. Eliminate all foreign aid.
  7. Eliminate all government meddling in foreign affairs.
  8. Abolish any and all state involvement in education.
  9. Eliminate government funded science.
  10. Reduce the department of defense to an as needed agency with no standing military.
  11. The elimination of all bureaucracies including:

BATFE (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives—Justice)
BATTT (Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade—Treasury)
CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration)
DOC (Department of Commerce)
DOD (Department of De fence)
DOE (Department of Energy)
DOI (Department of the Interior)
DOL (Department of Labor)
DOT (Department of Transportation)
ED (US department of education)
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)
FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
HHS (Health and Human Services)
ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission)
EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)
FAA (Federal Aviation Administration)
FCC (Federal Communications Commission)
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency)
FTC (Federal Trade Commission)
HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development)
IRS (Internal Revenue Service)
ITA (International Trade Administration)
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
NEA (National Endowment for the Arts)
NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission)
ONDCP (Office of National Drug Control Policy)
OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration)
SBA (Small Business Administration)
SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)
TSA (Transportation Security Authority)
USDA (Department of Agriculture) With the exception of number 10 (which is in conflict with the elimination of the DOD) all of these are good objectives, but all are unrealizable, especially number 11—these bureaucracies will never be eliminated by any kind of program, movement, or political action.

It is good to know about all these ways the government threatens our individual liberty, not so we can become involved in attempting to eliminate them—a futile and impossible task, but so we can take measures to protect our own freedom from those threats.

A couple of examples:

HHS

One of the most dangerous bureaucracies is the HHS, especially as it is implemented at the state level, usually designated as Child Protective Services (CPS) or something similar. If you have children, these agencies pose a very real threat to your freedom and your family, and it is very important to know how to protect yourself from them. (They are one reason you must homeschool or privately school your children, and be vary careful about who your doctor is, and anyone else you deal with relative to your children.)

If you do not have children, HHS and CPS are irrelevant, and you can completely ignore them.

IRS

There are several organizations in this country who have made their mission to eliminate the IRS. The IRS is certainly one of the most oppressive of government agencies, and its elimination would certainly be a wonderful relief (unless it is simply replaced with a less transparent form of taxation); but the IRS is not going to be eliminated and the individual seeking freedom will not waste his time with such efforts, because the only efforts that will provide “tax relief,” are those the individual takes for himself—and there are many things the individual can do to free himself from the IRS.

[Some methods for reducing and eliminating income and other taxes will be addressed in another Daily Freedom.]

FREEDOM SITE TRAPS

I bolded the title of this section, because it is a little special. There are a number of WEB sites that make themselves appear to be “freedom” or “libertarian” or even “individualism” sites that are really less then scrupulous marketing traps. Some are very subtle and cleverly hide their “products” which are usually useless “reports,” or “newsletters,” or “schemes for being free by making money,” but are actually MLM (multi-level marketing) scams.

I know some of these sites, and even know some of the individuals who run them. There are new ones, too, and some of the old ones change their Domain Names or their sites in other ways. I know one that took over a legitimate freedom oriented site and turned it into an MLM scam.

I’d publish a list of such sites, but do not want to risk the trouble of being accused of defamation, or worse. I think most individualists will be discerning enough to know the difference between legitimate sites and the not- so scrupulous ones.

If you run across a site that you question the integrity of, since I very well may have some experience either with the site or the individuals involved, please email me with a link to the site, and I will gladly have a look and give you my opinion with an explanation.

Send your question here:

iimail at usabig dot com, and put “Site check” in the subject line, if you remember, please.