by J.G. Franklin
If you were born on or in any part of the three American continents – namely North America, Central America, or South America – you are – technically speaking – an ‘American’. But what does that really mean?
I have lived here in Brazil for the last ten years. When I first came to Brazil – spelled Brasil in Portuguese – I learned a very important word… ‘estadunidense‘. It literally means ‘United Statesian’. I love that word because it is certainly much more precise and accurate than ‘American’.
However, since the united States ARE – and have historically always been separate sovereign nations, in point of fact, I am a Washingtonian. Not in terms of referring to George Washington himself, of course, but rather to the State, the sovereign nation that is Washington State. In truth, I am very much more a Jeffersonian than I am a Washingtonian when it comes to political philosophy.
So what does it mean to be ‘American’? Well, in my opinion, it is simply a geographical designation…and nothing more or less than that. Just like those from France, Italy, England, Portugal, Spain, etc. are all ‘European’. I particularly love Dean Alfange’s description:
“I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon. I seek to develop whatever talents God gave me – not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me. I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any earthly master nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say – ‘This, with God’s help, I have done.’ All this is what it means to be an American.”
I believe that it should go without saying that this same sentiment SHOULD, more accurately, be called ‘A LIBERTY-MINDED CREED’ and that ANY human being from any place on Earth who has this mindset is a more evolved person; be they from any country – or no country – in particular.
My point is simply this – we must stop thinking ONLY in terms of our differences. As I say here, “Our commonalities should unite us much more often than our differences divide us.”. I am reminded of the line from the film Jerry McGuire, “ Help me help you!”. It ties in perfectly with the immutable principle that Adam Smith talked about in his Wealth of Nations, “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.”
It is my deeply held belief that no-one is truly selfless. They are ONLY and either selfish in an ethical way OR selfish in an unethical way. Even Mother Theresa and the other saints were not truly selfless. They DID, in fact, receive something in return for whatever they decided to do. And that thing, whatever it may have been, was more valuable to them than the suffering they had to endure to get it. It was NOT nothing. It had value and was quantifiable as such by each of them. Therefore, they made decisions that ultimately led to each of them getting more of what they valued in exchange for the effort that they believed was worth the sacrifice needed to obtain it.
Both the united States and Brazil are at the same point of collapse – because of the tyranny of the COVIDiotas and a multitude of other irrational reasons – and both must stop fooling themselves.
The united States must immediately return to their historic system of pure federalism and Brazil must accept its history and consciously choose the best path and take responsibility…and never again complain that a savior has not yet appeared. JUST BE INDEPENDENT!!!
I am very passionate about this cause and I really want to meet with others who understand and hold A LIBERTY-MINDED CREED to create, institute, and publicize a program about the Brazilian States that can truly educate the people of each state about the need to stop depending on any “general” government above them; to stop abdicating their responsibilities to others and TO BE INDEPENDENT!!! Please remember…
1) NO government, of any level or size, has RIGHTS of any kind. AT MOST, they are temporarily allowed to use our rights for the SOLE PURPOSE of fulfilling their DUTIES and RESPONSIBILITIES. 2) THE SOLE DUTY AND SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF ANY GOVERNMENT IS TO MAKE ITSELF UNNECESSARY – through the empowerment of each citizen; which would help them achieve a level of self-sustainability and promote their independence from the government.
What with the LEVIATHAN CRISIS, the mass psychosis, and the irrevocably corrupt and broken pendulum paradigm so prevalent around that world, I am trying to find other LIBERTY-MINDED souls with actual clout and resources here in Brazil to try to bring the very relevant and necessary topic of secession –
a very AMERICAN (think continentally) idea according to Dean Alfange and me – to the fore. As I have previously quoted from Tom Woods, “We need to start thinking the unthinkable and saying the unsayable.” I truly wish that more people held and truly understood THE LIBERTY-MINDED CREED. Then maybe we would never have gotten ourselves into this mess. Either way, I am confident that SECESSION is the ONLY logical path to take now.
