Tyranny Hits the Road Running

Column by Retta Fontana.

Exclusive to STR

Early humans were as free as anything imaginable. They learned that living in loose bands and tribes provided some warmth and protection against predators and the elements. As long as they didn’t violate someone else’s space or challenge a stronger person for any possession, every living thing was free to roam. It was the unquestioned norm - the only catch was that the risk was one’s own.

About 5,000 years ago, man began to create artificial borders and to organize others into hierarchal dynasties. Naturally, they placed themselves as "leaders" with special privileges for themselves and their friends, including the privilege of extracting homage and payment from others. Without fanfare, the right to move about freely became hindered. It was a natural right enjoyed by man and animal for millennia. Why was it so easy to surrender? In a word--fear. It really got the ball rolling!

There was fear of outsiders who might harm you and take what was yours, as well as fear of insiders who would surely harm you if you failed to submit to their superior power. People who liked to exercise power over others for their own benefit learned quickly that most people will exchange freedom for security, so long as it is done incrementally. The art of such seduction usually requires gifts, or promises of gifts, distracting entertainment and at least some mild form of threat. As intelligence grew, so did the sophistication required to subjugate other men.

With organization came taxation, nationalism, land disputes, empire building, wars and tyranny. As time marches on, the strange and ugly phenomenon of domination is still taking place. Tyranny is becoming ever-more sophisticated, growing exponentially and multiplying rapidly into every minute corner of our lives. The instances of it are as plentiful as grains of sand in a desert. (This is a very broad topic, but I have a specific topic in mind.)

We know that every action creates an equal and opposite reaction. So as tyranny grew, so did the resistance to it, but not without a lot of bloodshed. The new world colonists threw Great Britain an infamous tea party and after the loss of a lot lives and capital, they threw off the yoke of colonialism. The colonists kept the philosophy of, "A man's home is his castle" but said "no, thanks" to the King's tea. What followed were seemingly giant steps for mankind at the time with a declaration of independence and a bill of rights.

Many U.S. colonists did not want a break from the rule of Great Britain. I always assumed this was some kind of Stockholm Syndrome. Those who did want it, sacrificed life and limb to be free. What they got was another group of rulers who seemed much more interested in their welfare. At first the new rulers enumerated many freedoms for “the people.” They called them "inalienable rights" from a creator, not a monarch. Laws were written to outline what the government could not do. Every one of them have since been gutted.

Today the U.S. has a bloated government that is a "just us" system, with rights and privileges than the citizen pays for but does not himself enjoy. His home is no longer his castle, his children belong to the state, his money, his health, his business, his retirement, his very life is no longer his own. (Maybe those colonists who were loyal to the King were onto something - why bother?)

Modern man rejects the overt concept of slavery, of Nazi-like detention of peaceful people being questioned, tortured, and even bombed into oblivion, but can’t seem to stop their government from doing it. Few enjoy feeling dominated and many fear being spied upon in their living rooms and tracked by their cell phones. (Mention the phrase, “IRS audit” and you’ll now the fear of which I speak.) I'm amazed at how quickly the concept of freedom has utterly vanished before our eyes, like a dream, and become a living Orwellian nightmare of tyranny. We are way beyond “1984.”

Tyranny has two faces--power and money. The cartel of power brokers dispenses police powers and our money as necessary to ensure a compliant populace--all the while providing circuses (celebrities and elections) to distract us. They themselves enjoy every privilege and live like kings.

Besides fear, they know that a sure way to make a lot of money is to find an activity that many people do every day and insinuate itself into the flow of it. It’s like tapping maple trees in Spring. It’s always done for our safety, for the children, or for the troops-- anything that would induce shame to object to. Government is simply organized crime and has mastered this practice of insinuation. Driving is a spectacular example.

Because I don't want to be put into a cage by armed men, I choose to surrender some of my natural rights, including the right to travel freely. I pay a bribe to the state to drive a car on roads for which I’ve paid. They call this a "driver's license." (Nice sleight of hand, eh? Call a right a privilege and charge for it!) When I paid this particular bribe, I was asked if I'd also like a voter's registration card so that I can supposedly help choose a new master from time to time. I said, “No. I would not like one.” A couple of weeks later I received a voter's registration card anyway. This was not a fluke--it happened in two states. They desperately want our participation in our own enslavement.

The truly insane part of this is that like any living, breathing creature, I have a right to move about the earth without being violated. In America these days, even jaywalking can get you assaulted by The Man. Daily we are forced to surrender our natural rights to armed thugs of a cartel of self-appointed “deciders,” and then pay the bribe to get it back temporarily. Holding the temporary permission slip is subject to continued, uninterrupted payments to them and their friends in the insurance and other industries as long as I wish to travel without fear of being caged or killed by them--even then, it’s no guarantee.

We submit to them and still find ourselves in grave danger. Driving infractions can easily cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars more, depending upon what they consider to be egregious, and you can still end up in a cage or dead. Their arbitrary rules of the road can get you sodomized if they think you may be hiding a plant up your butt while driving. There is no consequence to their henchmen for this or any other victimization, including murder, even when they mistake you for someone else. One 80 year-old man was killed in his own bed because they suspected him of possessing plants. If you do a quick Internet search, you will see countless examples of police murder and mistaken identity. Are you seeing a pattern here?

When you stop moving about, there are additional sets of rules. There are many, many stopping places which I have paid for many times over, in which I am not allowed to stop moving. If I stop in some of them, I face fines, having my car towed and incurring many other expenses and inconvenience. My car is then held hostage until I pay more ransom. Having your vehicle in some places will get you killed by government, even if you're there by accident. Despite all the costs in time and money, the torture and potential for suffering--not to mention pot holes and decay--the irony is that roads are often the one argument people can find for the existence of government!

Those in the official cartel are not subject to these rules. Anyone who is not part of the club, who attempts to enslave and subjugate other human beings this way are vilified by the masses and the mainstream press. They would be considered criminals on land or pirates at sea, but when the government does it, we keep our heads down and muddle along in order to stay alive. You are more likely to be killed by a police officer than a terrorist. We’ve reached the turning point in history when the threat from within is greater than any threat from without.

A few brave souls take a stand against such injustice. Stephen Ruth is one--they call him the “Red Light Robin Hood.” He discovered that Suffolk County (NY) had overtly been using traffic cams to generate income--additional income. When he discovered the depths of the depravity, he began taking direct action.

As deplorable as the cameras are prima facie, Ruth found out that the traffic cams were tampered with. Suffolk County is broke, in fact they are $2 billion in debt. They have no money to pay Xerox, the camera supplier. So they offered Xerox a slice of the pie--a fraction of each ticket generated by the traffic cameras. When the cameras were not producing enough traffic tickets to drivers to fulfill the minimum contract requirements with Xerox, the county decreased the length of the yellow lights, increasing the number of tickets--but also increasing the number of traffic accidents, and possibly causing at least one fatality.

It gets worse. County officials lied about ticket quotas, saying that there were none. The contract between Suffolk County and camera company states that if the cameras do not produce 25 tickets between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., then the county owes the camera company $17.25 per ticket that is generated and also $2,132 per camera that does not meet its quota. Everyone knows what happens if you don’t pay the ticket--your right to move about is revoked, the guns come out and you are kidnapped and held in a cage. You may or may not get beaten as well.

After shortening the yellow light time, revenues increased and so did traffic accidents, including at least one fatality. The county covered up its negligence by covering up crash data and videos of crash data, claiming that the videos, which are naturally paid for by drivers, are private. They claim that they belong to the judicial system and are not public information. It doesn't matter that the public pays for them and for the judicial system. Insurance companies cannot obtain government videos of traffic accidents at these intersections with red light traffic cameras because they are only for revenue generation.

Ruth decided to disable the traffic cams in Suffolk County. He videotaped and uploaded instructions for disabling them on Youtube. He says it’s easy and, “all you need to be successful is a pair of balls and a painter’s extension rod.” (You have to love the mental imagery.) He has been arrested numerous times, but gives an earful to county court when he gets the chance.

You have to admire a man who takes action against injustice. His is a noble and interesting battle and I’m sure we’ll hear more from him. (He’s agreed to an exclusive interview.) You can follow the Red Light Robin Hood on Facebook here.

Naturally, Suffolk County is not the only place this is happening. Red light cameras are used in countless U.S. cities, from D.C. to Baton Rouge, Denver to Chicago, Atlanta to Baltimore and even around the world. They were billed as “traffic safety cameras.” (Politicians love the irony of such names.) City officials in Cleveland loved their red light cameras and speed cameras--in a short time they brought in $9 million. Voters banned them there by a wide margin in 2014. Now the city is being sued by their supplier for lost contractual revenue. The city will probably have to pay damages, but it won't come out of their pockets. The citizens will foot the bill as always, one way or another. Between this and the contracts themselves being awarded, the potential for enriching themselves never ends.

In order to live, to do any ordinary, everyday activity in the U.S. or just about anywhere that there are large, established groups of people, one must pay bribes. One must also suspend his or her own intelligence, logic, reason, deduction, responsibility, freedom, situational awareness and needs in order to adhere to arbitrary rules of engagement for simply moving about. Many people prefer to not have to spend a lot of time thinking anyway, especially when the cartel promises them entertainment and security. I find it an outrage.

If these things don't make your skin crawl, if it doesn't make you very, very angry, you might be brain-washed. It's very common and starts with a conditioned family, peer pressure, school conditioning and a sick society. Remember that bullies are fearful people. The world is run by fearful bullies who wither when singled out and confronted. You can recover from your slumber if you're willing to question everything you thought you knew--many already have. The Information Age offers unlimited resources for taking back our liberties. You can start here at Tolfa: The Online Freedom Academy or you can begin to "Free Your Mind" at Voluntaryist.com.

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Retta Fontana's picture
Columns on STR: 59

Retta Fontana lives in the Great Smoky Mountains. Children are her favorite people. She loves to connect with readers - please writer to her here: rettafontana@gmail.com

Comments

Alex R. Knight III's picture

A great one, Retta!  Vermont just became the 4th tax farm (with Oregon, Commiefornia, and W. Virginia) to implement automatic voter registration via the DMV.  I'm trying to collect some more info from the bureau-rats, then new STRticle forthcoming...  :-)

Paul's picture

I suggest reading James Scott's book, "The Art of Not Being Governed" for more perspective about government enslavement and the peoples' response (to evade it) over the ages. In the meantime just buy more guns and ammo, might come in handy some day and it gives peace of mind. Also, google "destroyed gatsos" for some entertainment.

KenK's picture

A good book for history and context.

Glock27's picture

Paul; just a quick note on "Just buy more guns and ammo..." Ammunition is somewhat fragil in that the powder and iginitor will gradually deterioate over time. It is one of my apprehensions with the ammunition I have collected. I have gone to reloading. As for buying more guns there is but one person in my household who can operate a firearm and that is me, so buying more does not help me.

Paul's picture

Well, ammo properly stored (in a cool dry place) lasts a very long time. Just google around for it. Lots of people claim to be shooting ammo from WWII with no problem, and some shoot ammo from the 1930's, which is as long as "smokeless" powder has been available. As to buying guns, your relatives, friends and neighbors may have no use for them at present, but that could always change too. Anyway it was just a suggestion!

KenK's picture

Paul, Glock27, et al. My take: A few good guns and lots and lots of ammo, spare parts, slings, etc. Like my favorite ATF agent once told me: "An AR-15 without ammo is just a club." True dat. Plan accordingly.

Samarami's picture

(From Retta's essay):

    "...I find it an outrage..."

Why?

I enjoyed Jeff Tucker's take on the efficacy of monopoly government:

    "...So long as there is government, the only real way to make the economy and society function properly is for government to be corrupt. The best form of government is no government. The second best form of government is corrupt government. But the absolutely worst form of government is that which pretends to be clean and good. That form of government does the most damage of any..."

Jeff was paying tribute to an individual -- a former District of Collectivism..., er, Columbia, mayor, Marion Barry -- upon news of his death. You can read the article here:

https://tucker.liberty.me/in-praise-of-political-corruption-marion-barry...

Sam