Image courtesy of Osajus under CC BY 2.0.
I. I was born free. No government can sanction my freedom, or take it away.
II. I believe the government should be as small as possible, and its laws should be as minimal as possible.
III. I acknowledge that free speech is a fundamental human right; any controls upon speech or ideas represent tyranny. There is absolutely no such thing as “treasonous” or “politically correct” speech. No one has a right not to be offended by ideas.
IV. I understand that the government’s only legitimate use of military force is to protect its citizens from foreign invasion.
V. I understand that the government’s only legitimate use of police force is to protect citizens from crimes of violence or theft.
VI. I understand that the government exists to serve the people—not the other way around.
VII. I believe that free people may worship by whatever means they like, wherever they like, however they like. The government has no right to meddle with religion, nor to license, tax, or fund churches, nor to censor any public displays of religion.
VIII. I understand that the progressive income tax is a manifestation of Tyranny, not Liberty. The Founding Fathers opposed direct taxation, and so do I.
IX. I believe that the right to secede from any larger government state is a basic right of self-government. Civilized nations allow secession. Tyrants and barbarians do not.
X. I understand that a constitution is a social contract between a government and its citizens. The people have the right to abolish any government if the government fails to serve them, to protect their individual rights, or—worst of all–fails to obey the restrictions of its own constitutional laws.
XI. I believe the individual’s right to keep and bear arms is fundamental to Liberty and must not be infringed upon in any circumstances. Any government that restricts the possession and use of arms from its citizens is a dictatorship.
XII. I take responsibility for my own life, and I expect others to do the same. I am a free individual, not part of a hive, collective, or animal herd.
XIII. I am intelligent enough to understand the difference between charity and redistribution of wealth. Charity is voluntary; government theft of one’s income at the barrel of a gun is not.
XIV. I understand economics well enough to know that government involvement in business is not only intrusive and illegitimate—it is also bad for business.
XV. I grasp the basic truth that the more centralized the state, the more tyrannical the state.
XVI. I understand that a man who has no private property rights is a slave.
“Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact.”