Posted on 01/23/2002 3:56:02 AM PST by tberry
I'll give you a quick and simple answer. Nothing. Ceasar breaks the Golden Rule of God, and therefor his demands are not in accordance with Divine law. If he is "illegitimate" in God's eyes, then we owe him nothing. Same with the "obey legitimate authority" argument. It begs the question of What is Legitimate Authority? Again, anyone who disobey's God's law (the Law and the Prophets, as Jesus said) is not owed any allegiance. I don't have a Bible in front of me right now, so I can't give exact verse, but I will try to get exact verse later tonight or early tomorrow if anybody refutes this.
Then you must be in disagreement with the following words:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."I assume you recognize the words, and are aware of the source thereof.
These same words ought (but probably don't, since they've got most of the guns) cause our "leaders" to tremble.
"Give unto Ceasar the things that are Caesar's" is more or less a "shrug" answer, isn't it? Add to it the rest of the verse..."and to God the things that are God's".
I've always seen this verse as walking hand in hand with the point made in this one
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust do corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,...
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
There's another place that gives the same sort of feel to materialistic importance as compared to spiritual importance. "Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead."
BTW, your post #39 is stunning. I agree with about 85% of it, have felt that most of my life, in fact.
You mean, like the government we are forced to deal with today? No, I guess they are KNOWINGLY doing it.
I think it's in part a purely American phenomenon. In other cultures, "I" takes a back seat to "We", when it comes to defining personal identity, and the responsibilities of the individual towards the interests of the group as a whole. Not so here. No wonder so many Americans feel themselves to be so lonely.
I could go on, but you get my drift. As Walter Williams says, it's time to part company.
Some people are natural extroverts. Others (the libertarians, mostly) seem to be natural introverts. Nothing too unusual about that state of affairs.
I think it's in part a purely American phenomenon. In other cultures, "I" takes a back seat to "We", when it comes to defining personal identity, and the responsibilities of the individual towards the interests of the group as a whole. Not so here. No wonder so many Americans feel themselves to be so lonely.
I'm not sure about this answer, to be honest. I don't think of myself as an introvert. When I'm with friends I'm quite open, gregarious and happy. I don't clam up when others are around who are not my friends, I just kind of disregard them unless they say something intelligent. In other words, I disregard them.
As to lonely? Not really. I don't crave the attention of the shadow rabble in this Bizarro world. I don't feel the need to "connect" to people who are nothing more than automatons spewing the party line. Goodness no! I have friends, I know that a handful of others in the world are like me. Not lonely, just disconnected from this mad world and its insane occupants. Sort of like Wonko the Sane in the Hitchhiker series, only not quite so isolated. If that makes sense.
I could go on, but you get my drift. As Walter Williams says, it's time to part company.
That is good advice. The question is, to where?
I've given Costa Rica some serious thought, as has my wife. I speak Spanish quite well, and the lingua franca in CR is English for all intents and purposes anyway. American english, if that gives you a hint at what's going on in CR right now.
I know several Doctors and other high intellect professionals are quietly taking vacations there last year and this year to scout out a place to move to. My wife and I are probably going to do some scouting on our own either the end of this year or beginning of next year.
The problem is, I really do think that Empire America will eventually swoop down there and put an end to the expats. War on Terrorism, and all that stuff.
The other option is to fight. I can't stomach just sitting here much longer and not doing anything. And just "giving in" is not an option, not for me at least.
Hopefully we'll be long gone by the time that fighting starts. And if it doesn't start, well, that much more reason why I wouldn't want to be here, short of a complete reformation of our government and a full restoration of the Bill of Rights.
You speak magic, my lady. Bravisima.
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