Guest Post by Jeff Thomas via International Man
In his inaugural address in 1961, President John Kennedy gave a stirring speech in which he famously stated, “And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”
He then went on to say, “Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you.”
Nonsense.
John Kennedy was by most measures, one of the better US presidents. But he did believe in the concept that the role of the people of a country should be to serve their country and to sacrifice themselves to it.
Again… nonsense.
Let’s put this in perspective.
In seeking employment, you don’t seek a particular job because your primary concern is that, in that job, you can “make a difference.” This is a nice thought, but it’s not why you seek a job. You seek it because it will provide you with what you’re after for yourself – possibly a good salary, possibly interesting work, possibly fringe benefits, etc.
You certainly don’t seek a particular job because they need you to sacrifice for them.
For their part, potential employers generally try to provide good working conditions, good salaries and benefits in order to attract the best people to want to work for them.
It’s the same when you seek to buy products. Advertisers appeal to your desires, hoping to convince you to buy their widget, rather than a competitor’s widget. Never do they say, “We want you to buy our product because you have an obligation to provide income for us.” You make your choice solely on whether that product appeals to you.
And in seeking a place to live, you might look for a community that’s relatively safe, or has good schools, or has good infrastructure. You don’t choose a community because it needs you more than another town or city.
Communities try to put on their best face to attract better residents. They most certainly do not say, “Move here so that you can serve us.” That would discourage potential residents, not encourage them.
And yet, for millennia, governments have taken the odd stance that you should serve them – to be “patriotic.” The premise is that since, by an accident of birth, you were born in a particular country, you therefore owe dedication and sacrifice to that county.
Throughout your life, it’s suggested to you that you should not only willingly sacrifice yourself to your country of birth; you should even take pride in paying whatever tax they burden you with.
The supreme example of this is found in countries that wage war against each other. At such times they go all out to remind you that you should take pride in becoming cannon fodder. As stated by the Roman poet Horace, “Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori.” (Sweet and fitting it is, to die for one’s country.)
Once again… nonsense.
To date, I’ve never met an individual who chose his place of birth. To my mind, that means that since it was beyond his choice, he owes no particular loyalty to that country. If he chooses to swear allegiance to it at some point, that should be his prerogative, not his obligation.
Let’s look at this in another light.
When I was an infant, I was baptised into a church. That church, throughout my childhood, reminded me that I was a member and owed my allegiance to, not only its perceptions of a God, but to the institution of the church itself. By the age of thirteen, I had come to the conclusion that I owed them no such dedication, as I had not chosen to be baptised. The church and I parted ways. Whatever spiritual leanings I retained were independent of any loyalty to a particular institution that used religion as its format.
By contrast, the Amish, who admittedly run a pretty strict shop, leave baptism to the individual. A young Amish fellow has no responsibility to the church. He may smoke, drink alcohol, go to parties and pursue other worldly pleasures until he makes the decision to join the church of his own volition.
Most young Amish men choose to join the church in early manhood, often because they can marry a woman who’s a member of the church only if they themselves have joined. This is certainly an incentive, but the fact remains: The choice is their own.
Once we have all of the above in perspective, we may ask ourselves what role our government should play in our lives.
We know that advertisers do their best to con us into buying their products; employers often offer attractive employment packages; and even towns and religions make an effort to present themselves in a favourable light. The objective is to get us to buy in, to take up their offer.
However, governments make less of an effort in the way of a sales pitch. Certainly, they promote themselves as being good leaders, but the loyalty and dedication tends to be something that’s expected by them. If they don’t receive it, they tend to take it by force.
Most all countries issue passports and each regards passports as a privilege, not a right. You’re allowed a document for travel only if they see fit to let you go beyond their borders.
Most countries, however, are very lenient in this regard. As long as you commit no major crime, your international movement is not curtailed. And not many countries insist that you join their armed forces. The larger the country, the more likely that these requirements will be imposed upon you.
And the more your country of birth seeks to keep you in, the more you should question whether your unwilling “baptism” is in your own interest.
We’re entering an era in which some of the world’s most prominent countries will be increasing their migration controls. Even countries that are very free when allowing new residents in, are already passing legislation that will prevent born citizens from leaving.
We’re seeing this, in particular, in North America and Europe. Increasingly, exit from these countries is not by right, but by permission. And those restrictions are tightening.
One essential principle in the definition of a “free” country is that a free country is one that you can leave at will. The greater the restrictions on leaving, the less free the country is.
Regardless of the sales pitch by any government that you should “not ask what your country can do for you,” if another country has a better offer, it deserves your consideration. If your government takes its “ownership” of you further by stating that you should sacrifice yourself to it, all the more reason to question whether you should remain there… or look for a better offer elsewhere.
Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, most people have no idea what really happens when a government goes out of control, let alone how to prepare.
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New York Times best-selling author Doug Casey and his team just released a guide that will show you exactly how. Click here to download the free PDF now.
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I watched a show when I was a kid about a man without a country. Casey might find out what that’s like.
I would not mind seeing most of the upper levels of government agencies and congress be stripped of their entire wealth both foreign and domestic, stripped of citizenship, put on a plane and dropped of in some third world shit hole with the understanding if they set foot in the United States or any of its territories they will be immediately executed. Let them live the life they want us to accept.
“most of the upper levels of government agencies and congress be stripped of their entire wealth”
which parts would you exempt?
The only reason life is difficult as a stateless individual is because gov’ts make it so.
What is so inherently wrong with a person that has no country affiliation? Are they automatically bad people because they don’t have the seal of approval by some asshat politician?
Please elaborate.
“Please elaborate”
people form groups to obtain what they want – communities of justice/love/interest. outsiders are seen, and treated, as outsiders.
I’ve often stated that the US is an open air prison by virtue of the FACT that you can’t leave without their permission in the form of a passport.
Any attempted obfuscation by saying that a foreign gov’t requires ID from a central authority to enter their prison is just a smoke screen as they’ve all colluded to implement a system that gives them plausible deniability.
“the US is an open air prison”
but you escaped?
I was paroled after decades of hard labor with them taxing the shit out of me and harassing me the whole time.
I believe they gave me a passport to get rid of me.
Does it really count if you do not renounce?
Besides, “they’ll” not allow you to be “stateless”.
If you have plenty of money, being stateless is a serious nuisance, but not at all impossible. You just need to get a set of identity and travel documents from one of the countries that habitually suck up to the UN Agencies and their various “refugee” nostrums… e.g. New Zealand.
BTW, did I mention that you shouldn’t pursue the above without a SERIOUS level of assets? You know, as opposed to being an actual refugee.
“And so, my fellow Americans: Ask what’s in it for me”?
‘fellow Americans’ would put him, a political animal and ultimate scumbag as president, on the same level as the average USian tax slave.
That was the deceit that made the rest of his sentence pure propaganda. Most USians missed the not so subtle difference in their respective stations.
“‘fellow Americans’ would put him, a political animal and ultimate scumbag as president, on the same level as the average USian tax slave.”
perhaps you simply do not comprehend the concept of “fellow”? shared ideology and purpose? community?
With half the country hating the other half, your observation amounts to bullshit.
“With half the country hating the other half”
… and you see yourself as ahead of that curve?
I’m disgusted with both halves as they vote to keep the system alive.
“keep the system alive”
… so you’re disgusted with the attempts at shared ideology and purpose? at community?
The author has a lot of damn gall telling me why I do or don’t take a job. I’ve taken on many jobs because of the good works in which the enterprise was engaged. I’ve also quit jobs based on employers’ pernicious motives. It’s insulting to be tarred with the same brush with which he paints himself as motivated by self interest alone.
Self-interest can also be non-monetary. Your self-perception and your public appearance of being a good person because of your association with GoodWorks, LLC has a kind of status value.
Good point, chubby. Same good feelings from driving a Prius. The perception that one is saving the plant is a rush.
“But what your government can STEAL on your behalf in exchange for your vote.” – virtually every politician ever.
Touring Australia and New Zealand towns that Latin phrase was on many war memorials from the great war. The other carving was “Our Glorious Dead”. One has to find meaning in the sacrifice lest they go mad with grief and turn on the government. My neighbor’s son went to Canada and never returned during the Vietnam draft. Years later I found that the grass wasn’t greener up there for him as he killed himself…but it was his choice not the government choosing to put him in a life or death situation.
“but it was his choice”
is that how you found meaning in it?
Choice like thought is one thing the government shouldn’t take away from you. He was an outstanding young man. Class of 64 honor student and superb sportsman. Sometime later in life he made a poor choice.
‘ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO TO YOU (and yours)’
There…fixed it.
Exactly. how’s the smallmouth fishery picking up down there on a positive note? My pond is still totally iced over. Just trying to keep it light.
We are in full blow spring…super mild, wet winter…now that I have shot two giant snappers who were eating all the fish eggs, and I made some rock, cinder block, and old raccoon cage sanctuaries (let the safe spaces expand) the big mouth bass, blue gill, and perch populations are exploding.
Fighting the algae fight with tiny targeted copper sulfate squirts, and dissolving barley hay tied to rope under the aerator’s spray.