"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." ~ H.L. Mencken
Drowning in Law
A flood of statutes, rules and regulations is killing the American spirit. By Philip K. Howard.
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What, then, is legislation? It is an assumption by one man, or body of men, of absolute, irresponsible dominion over all other men whom they call subject to their power. It is the assumption by one man, or body of men, of a right to subject all other men to their will and their service. It is the assumption by one man, or body of men, of a right to abolish outright all the natural rights, all the natural liberty of all other men; to make all other men their slaves; to arbitrarily dictate to all other men what they may, and may not, do; what they may, and may not, have; what they may, and may not, be. It is, in short, the assumption of a right to banish the principle of human rights, the principle of justice itself, from off the earth, and set up their own personal will, pleasure, and interest in its place. All this, and nothing less, is involved in the very idea that there can be any such thing as human legislation that is obligatory upon those upon whom it is imposed. ~ CHAPTER III, NATURAL LAW CONTRASTED WITH LEGISLATION, by Lysander Spooner http://praxeology.net/LS-NL-3.htm#ch.3
Quick definitions (law)
▸ noun: a rule or body of rules of conduct inherent in human nature and essential to or binding upon human society [Emphasis added]
"The natural law is defined by [Jean-Jacques] Burlamaqui to be “a rule which so necessarily agrees with the nature and state of man that, without observing its maxims, the peace and happiness of society can never be preserved.” And he says “that these are called “natural laws” because a knowledge of them may be attained merely by the light of reason, from the fact of their essential agreeableness with the constitution of human nature..." ~ A Dictionary of the Law (Black's 1st c. 1891), page 694
...the doers of the [natural] law shall be justified [regarded as innocent]. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law [those not under man-made law], do by nature the things contained in the law [obey the natural law], these, having not the law [not under man-made law], are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts ["inherent in human nature"]...
For the record, it is my opinion that all dogma[1] not in harmony with the natural law (of man) are "man-made".
Definition:
[1] G1378 δόγμα
dogma (dog'-mah)
From the base of G1380; a law (civil, ceremonial or ecclesiastical) ~ Strong's Greek Dictionary [Emphasis added]
"Life, faculties, production — in other words, individuality, liberty, property — this is man. And in spite of the cunning of artful political leaders, these three gifts from God precede all human legislation, and are superior to it. [The "right", i.e. the "just claim" to] Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place." ~ The Law by Frédéric Bastiat http://bastiat.org/en/the_law.html#SECTION_G709
"The law of nature is superior in obligation to any other. It is binding in all countries and at all times. No human laws are valid if opposed to this, and all which are binding derive their authority either directly or indirectly from it." ~ Institutes of American Law by John Bouvier, 1851, Part I, Title II, No. 9
One's "state", i.e. "status" or "condition", determines his "jurisdiction".
JURISDIC'TION, n. [L. jurisdictio; jus, juris, law, and dictio, from dico, to pronounce.] ...Power of governing or legislating. The legislature of one state can exercise no jurisdiction in another. ~ Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language
And, what determines one's "status" or "condition" is not what one says, but, rather, what one does.
"What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
One must "walk the walk", not just "talk the talk".
Quit Government Employ. You'll have to do this eventually, if your job is involved with government at any level, directly or indirectly - so the sooner you exit, the easier it will be. ~ Jim Davies [Excerpted from Segment 18 of The Online Freedom Academy http://www.tolfa.us/L18.htm ]
Governments "employ" citizens. They "pay" them with benefits and privileges.
So, if you REALLY don't want to be "Drowning in [their] Law", then "Quit Government Employ", secede, "withdraw from membership in the group".