• About
  • Books
  • Contact
  • Education Resources

PERRIN LOVETT

~ Fiction, Freedom, and The West

PERRIN LOVETT

Tag Archives: George Washington

Sooner or Later

19 Friday Jun 2020

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns, News and Notes

≈ Comments Off on Sooner or Later

Tags

George Washington, monuments, savages, War

… these wild heathen savages are going to target something you like.

A quiet evening of demonstrations for racial justice and police reform in Portland ended with the razing of a George Washington statue on the eve of Juneteenth.

Thursday marked the 21st day of protests in Portland sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Two groups — Rose City Justice and Lavender Caucus — hosted a sit-in rally at Jefferson High School in the evening where community members shared their experiences with racism to a crowd of a few hundred. The group did not hold a march.

Jefferson High School, LOL. I’m sure the Lavender Mafia wanted to use an elementary school and were upset that the kiddies weren’t present. Police arrived after the sad fact. Ah, well. I hear the “God Emperor” is holding a clown circus soon. Maybe he’ll give us some tough Tweet-worthy BS talking points.

Fact: Geo. Washington is the only President to ever lead troops into battle; he marched the militias out against insurrectionists. Of course, the rebels he faced were literal Americans and things ended amicably (family-like). Allegedly, he shunned the Twitter birdie.

Felonious Entanglement

03 Wednesday Aug 2016

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns, News and Notes

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

America, banksters, crime, Europe, foreign affairs, George Washington, government, Iran, law, money, Obama

America’s first president warned his compatriots and their posterity to steer clean of entangling foreign affairs. (Geo. Washington, Farewell Address, 1796). He also advised against the ills of faction, or party-based politics as these tend to foster the death of civility while at the same time allowing for the expansion of laws. This wise admonishment was dutifully copied into history books and then promptly forgotten.

When, at unhappy times, faction meets entanglement, bad things happen.

Being born of European breed, it is only natural that America would have some alliance with and affairs in Britain and the Continent. Even Washington did; Lafayette, we remember. What Washington was warning of was affairs to the point of controlling and confusing excess. Sometimes the excess is demonstrated in ridiculous fashion.

SanePolicy

Maybe the dummies can’t read. Davesblogcentral.com.

Europe and America still have much in common, including many of the same problems. Refugees, immigration, and terrorism are a few of those modern commonalities. France’s Hollande has made a career out of brilliant failure to address Islamic counterculture and terror in his own country. On his sleepy watch the French have endured attack after attack after attack – mass murder upon mass murder. He should resign and auto-exile.

Instead he chooses to intercede in American politics with haughty words and unclear motives. Hollande, who has lain down for the French, is disgusted that one man at least says he might stand up for Americans. His counterpart in Germany, equally ineffective in operation if a tad more evil in theory, has wisely if oddly remained silent. If she will not also resign, at least she keeps quite. Entanglement with those two might be unwise to say the least.

France and Germany both have many connections with America, not least of which are their economic ties. They, along with Switzerland and the failing EU, have powerful central banks. The Swiss host the most powerful of all such institutions, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). With such money-changers we often find the intersection of entanglement and funny money, oftentimes with not-so-funny reactions.

America’s latest president recently made scandalous use of that interwoven, Monopoloy money, printing press relationship. He did so to facilitate the latest blunder in a decades-old string of entanglement in another part of the world.

In the 1950’s the people of Iran elected a new government – democratically and in pursuit of self-determination – then said to be approved conduct by the American elite. The elite, ever a fickle and criminal bunch, had a change of collective black heart. In 1953 the CIA essentially overthrew the new prime minister and his reform-oriented government in order to permanently keep the Shaw Mohammad in power. The Shaw declared himself emperor in 1967. This was good business for the military-industrial complex. It was also a fantastic example of entanglement writ large.

In 1979 the Shaw placed an order with the MIC for the purchase of American fighter jets, secured with a $400 million deposit. The transaction was poorly timed as the Iranian people had nearly simultaneously had enough of the Shaw’s oppression and, accordingly, ousted him in favor of religious zealots. 1979 also saw the advent of the long-lasting Iranian policy of hostage taking for political purposes.

True to form, around 2014 the Iranians seized several Americans on dubious charges and held them as pawns in their never-ending match with D.C. Around the same time the Iranians’ case against America for the return of that $400 million (plus interest) was moving through arbitration in the Hague. There was also the issue of Iran’s nuclear projects.

In January of 2016 all of these issues appeared to have been neatly wrapped up; Hussein Obama himself tied a little bow atop the package. Iran agreed to international monitoring, hostages were released, and the court case was settled. At first and independent glance it appeared the deal was a triumph of statesmanship. Maybe it was. Now the details are emerging; they do not look promising.

The Obama administration this year stealthily transferred $400 million in cash to Iran. This was the first payment (all on a single airplane to Tehran) under a $1.7 Billion settlement of the old 1979 case. The administration says it was done to facilitate the terms of the legal case. Critics say it amounted to a ransom payment. Both are likely correct. I, upon hastily reading a few laws, wonder if it did not also amount to a felony.

The $400 million payment was assembled of various European currencies and delivered on palates in a cargo plane. The money came from those European central banksters and was arranged by mysterious Swiss types – probably in the BIS. The administration admitted it could not (openly) send U.S. currency as that would violate U.S. law against paying cash to Iran.

Following the unpleasantness of 1979 the U.S. enacted laws prohibiting investment and most other transactions with Iran. Knowing the D.C. lust for criminalizing everything, I looked for something and found it.

It’s not just outright payments that are prohibited. Any attempt to evade the law and any conspiracy to do so also amounts to a violation. See: 31 C.F.R. § 560.203.  If you or I had attempted to invest money in Iran for whatever reason and had converted our U.S. dollars into Euros or Francs in order to do so, we would already be in jail for conspiracy to evade the law. The penalties are both civil ($250,000 or twice the amount of the transaction) and criminal ($1 million fines and 20 years in prison). 50 U.S.C. § 1705. In other words, it’s a felony.

A felony for you and I, that is. We all know now that the law does not apply to the government itself. No law so applies. D.C. isn’t so much above the law as it is the law. Thus, it is lawless. Any FBI agent who dares issue an investigative report here wastes his time and commits career suicide.

Criminal or not, if these payments were a final end to the Iranian debacle, they would be (tax) money well spent. They are not. Once the meddling starts, it has no end.

This is why Washington forewarned us. We ignore his advice at our peril.

Political Party Time!

24 Sunday May 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

≈ Comments Off on Political Party Time!

Tags

America, anarchy, bankers, Bush, CAFTA, Christian, Christie, Clinton, Congress, crime, democracy, Democrats, elections, fraud, freedom, George Washington, God, GOP, government, hate, immigrants, Israel, jobs, libertarians, Mencken, NAFTA, Obama, people, politicians, politics, power, President, Rand Paul, republic, Republicans, robots, Romney, Ron Paul, secret, Senate, stupid, trade, Washington

I hate politicians.  In Christian terms it is wrong to hate any man.  Politicians are less men than rodents.  Thus, I feel exonerated in my feelings.  Elections are exercises in stupidity and herd-think.  Presidential elections are the worst.

H. L. Mencken summed it up best: “All of the great patriots now engaged in edging and squirming their way toward the Presidency of the Republic run true to form. That is to say, they are all extremely wary, and all more or less palpable frauds. What they want, primarily, is the job; the necessary equipment of inescapable issues, immutable principles and soaring ideals can wait until it becomes more certain which way the mob will be whooping.”  Mencken, 1920.

The difference between 1920 and 2015 is that, back then, there were people pretending to be true patriots.  At some point they dropped the pretense and proceeded from a desire for pure, unadulterated power.  The mob of the American people conveniently ignore this fact.  The television is just too entertaining to disagree with.  The country sinks lower into the sewer of politics.

A political “party” sounds like a fun time until one realizes the term refers not so much to an event as to a lowest, dumbest degenerates ever assembled under the sun (in truth, like all roaches, they prefer the darkness).  Washington warned against them. Mencken ridiculed them.  The people, ever plumbing the depths of stupidity, embrace them with jealous fervor.  It’s “us” Democrats against “them” Republicans and visa versa.  Spare the sane the idiocy of it all.

America is dominated by two predominate political parties.  They are nominally referred to as conservatives and liberals.  As I see it they both liberally dispense what may be conservatively described as bullshit.  The people seem to like it.

Third parties exist, apparently to provide comic relief for the big two.  I experimented with what I thought the most honest of these alternatives, the Libertarians.  Given the choice I would gladly be ruled by Libertarian politicians than those which currently plague us.  However, given power, I am sure they would be corrupted by the mainstream of political discourse.  Anarchy is the only happy solution.  The people do not like happy solutions.  Thus, we are suck with the rats and the roaches.

These parties care nothing about you.  They’re priorities are: bankers, Israel (Likudniks), and anyone else.  Not you.  Not me.

I am sick of this G*****ned nonsense and what it to f**king stop.  Okay? There is no difference between Democrats and Republicans!  They respect and represent neither democracy nor any republic.

fiscal-irresponsibility

(Different approach, same results.  Google.)

An illustrative story from the popular news presses:

If the God-fearing Republicans exist to save us from the Godless, communist Democrats, then why are Republicans Rallying to Save Obama’s Secret Trade Deal?  You can read more about this phenomenon here and here and here.

I’m not entirely sure what this new “secret” trade deal means for America.  But, first, it’s secret.  That means bad when it comes from Washington.  Second, it’s a trade deal. NAFTA and CAFTA, etc. have given American the SHAFTA.  I remember being lied to about NAFTA.  The dirty manufacturing jobs of old, they said, would give way to a new world of high-paying service jobs which would benefit everyone.

In truth, we have lost the industrial work, pay and all.  In exchange we have gained menial minimum wage employment serving hamburgers and such.  Robots and immigrants and Indians now do the productive work for real pay.  What a change.

I’m sure the new law – sure to happen – will be more of the same.  It supposedly grants the President new powers concerning foreign trade.  I understand Obama caught wind of a few, final high-paying jobs left in American and is determined to stamp them out. The displaced workers will receive healthcare and cell phones for the bargain – at a cost.

A few Democrats and Rand Paul (son of the mighty Ron Paul), realizing the potential liabilities of robbing the people of their last shot at the American Dream, have stood in the way.  Paul filibustered against the deal in the Senate.  His speech fell of deaf and stupid ears.  The President will get his way, supported by the “conservative” opposition.  Trade will be geared ever towards non-American interests.  Americans will lose jobs.  Reality TV will continue to be popular among the uneducated rabble.

Just remember this when the election rolls around and the Bush/Romney/Christie machine makes the usual patriotic rumblings.  Remember it when Hitlary bashes the GOP for being unsupportive of freedom.  Blah, blah.  Sounds like the same old BS to me.

Remember, if you can, how the various Democratic Congresses and Bill Clinton ran up the national debt, creating new and useless government programs along the way.  George Bush, the dimmer, was elected to change all that.  He promptly created new agencies and doubled the debt while commencing new wars everywhere.  His Excellency, Barack Hussein Osama, was elected to reverse course.  Dutifully, he doubled the debt again while continuing and adding to the wars.  Now he wants to finish off the trade work began by Clinton and Bush the Vomiter.  I see a conspiracy.

The people, bloated by beer and television see nothing.  They hear nothing.  They say nothing.  One of the new fools (or an old fool) foisted upon us by the elite will be the next President.  Business will continue as usual.

Spare me your partisan rhetoric this year and next.

 

Politics

27 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by perrinlovett in Uncategorized

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

academic, Alex P. Keating, America, Amerika, anarchist, budget, bullshit, Congress, conservative, Constitution, coroporations, D.C., debt, Debt Clock, democracy, Democrats, Dennis Kucinich, drones, due process, Emperor Palpatine, entertainment, evil, faction, Family Ties (TV show), Federal Reserve, finance, Founder's Almanac, George Washington, government, Greek, H.L. Mencken, Heritage Foundation, history, illegal, insurance, interest, libertarian, libertarians, Liberty, lies, media, Medicaid, Medicare, military-industrial complex, Minority Report, money, Obama, ObamaCare, office, P.J. O'Rourke, parasites, Parliament of Whores, political parties, political theory, politician, politics, poly, ponzi scheme, Presidency, Rand Paul, Republican, Ron Paul, Ronald Reagan, Rush Limbaugh, Social Security, special interests, States, stupidity, tariffs, taxes, television, terrorists, the children, The People, three branches, ticks, War, Washinton, welfare

“Politics” comes from ancient Greek roots.  “Poly,” of course, means “many” and “Ticks” are little blood-sucking parasites.  Thus, “politics” means: many little blood-sucking parasites.  I really wish I could attribute that definition to my own genius but I feel overly honest today.

palpatine

(Emperor Palpatine, the ultimate politician. Source: Google Images.)

Wikipedia says “politics” is  “the art or science of influencing people on a civic, or individual level…”  See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics. 

I have studied politics (formally and informally) since around 1980.  In those days, everyone in the South tended to be Democrats, party-wise.  My parents were proud Democrats at the time and were horrified when Ronald Reagan won the Presidency.  I watched on.  As the years progressed, I decided I was a “conservative” and, therefore, a Republican, much like Reagan. 

I watched Family Ties back then and might have been influenced by the antics of Alex P. Keating.  Then came the Rush Limbaugh era; I listened everyday after high school while working as a runner for a local law firm.  I knew Rush was right.  Well, something in my subconscious had doubts.  In college I drifted into libertarian thought and have remained there ever since.  As the years pass I become closer and closer to a full-blown anarchist. 

During this time, while I descended from a believer in minimal government to a dreamer about no government, reality took a turn for the worse.  The whole of my dear country seems to have gone the other way!  Whereas we had a big government when I was a child, now we have a GIGANTIC monstrosity of a government that seems to grow geometrically ever second.

Hence my disconnect from the world of practical politics.  It is patently obvious that there is no discernible difference between the two major parties in America – they both lead to bigger and more controlling governance.  Over the years I supported several politicians in various ways – both Republicans and Libertarians (I have Democrat friends too).  My support usually faded away with my short, rambling attention span.  I have never been a member of any party. I am proud of that; I hate political parties.

Deer Ticks (file/credit: Getty Images)

(Politicians soliciting contributions.  Google Images.)

In his Farewell Address to the nation, President George Washington devoted nearly two pages to warning the people about party politics.  He began: “Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the Spirit of Party, generally.”  Thereupon he listed the many dangers of “faction” at the expense of Public Liberty.  He closed with a thought on excessive party politics: “A fire not to be quenched; it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest instead of warming it should consume.”  See: The Founder’s Almanac, pp. 309 – 310, The Heritage Foundation, Washington 2002.  Given Washington’s fame and standing you would think more people would have listened; they did not and American “democracy” became an all-consuming conflagration.

H.L. Mencken wrote in the Minority Report (1956): “Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule – both commonly succeed, and are right.”  Mencken defined “democracy” as “the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.”  Every election since has proved him right on both counts.

The most excited I ever got about any election(s) was in 2008 and 2012 supporting Ron Paul.  I knew then Dr. Paul was an anomaly in American politics.  My fellow citizens chose a different path and now Dr. Paul is retired.  With him, at the end of 2012, went Rep. Dennis Kucinich.  Washington is now devoid of any statesmen whatsoever and the only small impediments to Total Government are gone.  I would like to believe Dr. Paul’s son, the other Dr. Paul, will follow in his father’s hallowed footsteps; I don’t think it will happen.

I have decided to waste no more time following the stupidity (which worsens daily) of field level politics.  My personal academic concentration is now centered on political theory or philosophy and the history thereof.  A good friend of mine says that America is finished, like a $500 car in need of $5000 worth of repairs.  For our generation I fear he may be on to something.  Still, I hold some hope for the future.

My fledgling professional academic career is and will be focused on educating younger persons about the mistakes of faith in politics and government, the evils resulting from such faith, and alternatives to the status quo.

Perhaps the most honest book ever written about American politics is Parliament of Whores by P.J. O’Rourke (1991).  The title says it all.  Inside the reader will discover, among many other witty things, a whole section of chapters entitled, The Three Branches of Government: Money, Television and Bullshit.  Perfect.

Government and politics in general, particularly in America, really do center on O’Rourke’s three “branches.”

Money in politics is not necessarily the root of all evil, but it certainly is the tool of all evil in politics.  It takes a lot of money to get elected to national or state office in the first place.  Savy politicians set up campaign funds legally designed to break or sidestep any campaign finance laws in the way.  Then the ticks turn around and suck blood from any source to fill their funds.  Sometimes they contribute a little of their own money but most of it comes from “donors.”  People all over give a little here and there to help some bozo get elected; once elected the bozo ignores the little people.  The big bucks come from the special interest groups, they get the politician’s attention post-election.

Money flows into Washington, D.C. and the several State capitals by the dump truck load.  Giant corporations and the super rich constantly brib ..er.. give to elected officials in all kinds of ways.  Sometimes they support a pet project of the tick’s (charity, etc.), sometimes they provide booze and hookers, they give kickbacks and favors, and sometimes they just give plain old cash in brown- paper grocery bags.  The amount of money flowing into the Capital is astounding, but it pales in comparison to the money flowing out.

This year, like last year, the federal government will spend something like 3.5 Trillion dollars per its official “budget.”  I just put “budget” between quotation marks because Congress hasn’t put forth an actual budget, as required by the Constitution, in years.  Alarmingly, the vast majority of federal spending is on UnConstitutional programs.  The government spends a huge percentage of that money out of debt.  Fully a third of the budget is borrowed these days.  Check out the U.S. Debt Clock for a good fright: http://www.usdebtclock.org/.  In fact, I believe the borrowed sum exceeds the amount paid by individual taxpayers.  Corporations also pay for a larger portion of the budget than do the individual taxpayers.  However, as with any business expense, corporations pass their taxes along to customers via higher prices for their goods and services.  So the People ultimately pay those taxes as well.  Aaaaand, guess who guarantees the huge debts run up by the ticks?  Yes, taxpayers again.  So, Ma and Pa America have to pay for all the illegal, unnecessary spending of the government, even when they receive no representation for their money.

Like I said, most government programs are not grounded in the Constitution and are therefore illegal.  Of the $3.5 trillion spent, Medicare and Medicaid get about $800 billion.  They are not in the Constitution.  Social Security, the third rail of tick-dom, gets a similar amount.  Not in the Constitution.  Our never-ending, foreign, undeclared wars of aggression get a slightly smaller amount.  Being undeclared and indefensible, they to are also illegal.  The total of interest on the national debt, federal pension costs, and various welfare programs get a similar amount of funding.  Like undeclared warfare, specific welfare is also illegal.  As none of the programs are needed there is no need for all the federal employees vested in those pensions.  If the government didn’t spend so damn much money there would be no debt and, thus, no interest.  The “legitimate” functions of the federal government are mostly unnecessary anymore, and those that are should really only cost us a few hundred billion dollars per year at most.  That could easily be covered by tariffs and import fees – as the government was supposed to be funded and was funded for years without trouble.

I could go on and on with the money stuff but we still have television and bullshit….

Television is really representative of all major media, both news and entertainment, in this nation.  Whether you get your news on TV, from the radio, or from a print medium, it’s all the same.  The government puts out a line of crap and the media runs with it.  Very seldom in America are we treated to any critical reporting anymore.  Remember those special interests?  They own the media nearly completely.  Towing the line is part of the overall scheme.

This scheme extends into non-news entertainment.  Reality shows, pro sports, pop music and other trivial pursuits are the modern bread and circuses of Amerika.  While you drunkenly watch 300-pound men decked out in pink play with a ball, the government is stealing you blind and destroying your country.  The ticks laugh at you too.

Bullshit.  It’s a crude term but it accurately describes everything I’ve been writing about.  It’s also all you ever get from the government.  Mostly everything you hear, see, or read from the government or its pet media are outright lies.  Very little the ticks do is honest or important so they have to concoct wild stories to get you to go along – provided you even pay attention, most people do not.  For instance, when Washington goes to war the ticks always say it’s over something noble like “keeping the world safe for democracy” or “fighting the ‘terrorists’.”  Saying they want to keep profits high for the military-industrial complex (a special interest) doesn’t sound as good.  When President Obama announced ObamaCare, he didn’t say he wanted windfall profits for the insurance and finance companies of America (special interests).  He said it was all to help the children, or the less fortunate, or you and me.  Bullshit!

And when the government and the ticks tell the truth, it’s truly frightening.  The Whitehouse says it will use drones to kill Americans without Due Process.  You better believe they will!  When Congress authorizes an illegal ponzi scheme like Social Security or an illegal monopoly like the Federal Reserve (the biggest special interest of all), they do so openly and with impunity. 

My point is … well, I’ve already made it – I do not like modern, practical politics and for good reason. 

The next time you come into contact with a tick, instead of giving it money and voting it into office, get out the tweezers and the alcohol.  I’m Perrin Lovett and I approve this message.

Natural Law

15 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Alexis de Tocqueville, American, Anglo-American, Artcles of Confederation, Atistotle, Benjamin Franklin, Bill of Rights, Blackstone, California, Catholic Church, Christian, Christians, Cicero, civil disobedience, Constitution, Creator, David Miller, Declaration of Independence, Dr. Martin Luther King, due process, Dwight Eisenhower, Edmund Randolf, freedom, George Washington, Georgia, God, Gospel of John, government, graft, greedy banksters, Hobbs, Jesus, justice, Juvenal, King George, law, law school, Leo Strauss, libertarians, Locke, Natural Law, Natural Rights, oppression, Patrick Henry, Plato, Pope Leo XIII, rights, Robinson Crusoe, Saint Augustine, Saint Thomas Aquinas, schemes, secession, Socrates, Solon, sovereignty, Summa Theologica, theft, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Treastis on Law, tyranny, Voltaire, Walden

Ninety-Nine percent of lawyers in the United States graduate from law school and practice their profession without much if any consideration of the ultimate underpinnings of the laws, regulations, and processes with which they work.  I mean something deeper and more eternal that a mere constitution or the tradition of Anglo-American law.  This lack of knowledge is not necessarily their fault.  Law schools rarely teach or even mention said underpinnings.  Legislatures, executive officers, and courts now operate without the slightest acknowledgment of that from whence they derive their just authority.  Most citizens seemed confused about the nature and base concepts of law, rights, and justice generally.  This is all forgivable to a fault (especially for the lay audience).  Let me tell you briefly about where “law” comes from.

Long ago, policy makers and attorneys such as Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and Patrick Henry did understand and acknowledge the source of their governmental efforts and the results thereof.  This deeper sense of purpose was never limited to American statesmen.  Pre-Americans and even pre-Christians such as William Blackstone, Cicero, Aristotle, and Solon also were aware of the greater power behind their actions.

That power and influence is called “Natural Law,” sometimes referred to as “Natural Rights” and similar names.  These are fundamental concepts which are imbued into each human spirit by their Creator.  Made-man law is or is supposed to be an expression of the natural law.  David Miller, et al., eds, The Blackwell Encyclopedia of political Thought (Oxford 1987).  Some argue that the individual rights associated with natural law must be or may be curtailed to a degree in a complex society.  Miller, et al, supra.  I, like many libertarians, disagree with this notion insofar as one person’s rights do not become an infringement on the rights of another.

So, where did natural law come from?  To answer that question let us journey back in time – way back, to the beginning of time, if fact.  Natural law along with all principles of science, measure, and understanding were created by God, the Almighty, as a product of His grand universal creation.

The concepts of natural law are, thus, as eternal and fixed as the laws or rules of physics or mathematics.  Regarding those rules of “hard” science, humans are on a continuing mission to explore, understand, master, and apply the same.  So it is with natural law.  Being imperfect and tainted by original sin, it is unlikely that we shall ever have complete mastery of any of these ideas.  Therein lies another agony resulting from the original disobedience and the ensuing free will dominated “knowledge” with which mortals outside the garden must grapple.  As natural law relates to human behavior and society – “soft” sciences, academically speaking, it is much more difficult to grasp, let alone use than some other universal truths.  Four plus four equals eight and gravity almost always attracts separate bodies together.  Whether people should have a king or a board of selectmen is a wholly different and subjective problem.

As a note, one need not be a Christian or a believer in any specific faith in order to respect natural law.  For those so inclined, just consider it another facet or force of the universe we happen to inhabit.  As alluded to above, many, many philosophers and legal scholars and practitioners observed natural law millenia before the founding of the United States and centuries before Christ.

In describing the “visible world” the Catechism of the Catholic Church (“CCC”) (No. 341) describes man’s progressive discovery of the laws of nature as he observes the interaction and beauty of the universe.  “The natural law is written and engraved in the soul of each and every man, because it is human reason ordaining him to do good and forbidding him to sin…”  Pope Leo XIII, Libertas, 597; CCC, 1954.

God originally, long after the expulsion from paradise, gave us ten simple Commandments by which to live – they are a direct and further exemplification of natural law.  Jesus gave us the most simple explanation possible of natural law with his Law of the Gospel, “new commandment:” “love one another.”  John 13:34; CCC, 1970.  People, it seems, are unwilling or simply unable to follow clear, simple admonishment.  The history of the past twenty centuries bears this out.

As a result of our collective incompetence, we are now subject to laws, regulations, and rules both innumerable and incomprehensible (and mostly unnecessary).  However, at their core, if these human statutes are valid, they are based on some interpretation of natural law.

“The natural law is immutable, permanent throughout history.  The rules that express it remain substantially valid.  It is a necessary foundation for the erection of moral rules and civil law.” CCC, 1979 (entirety).  The question for us, is how to interpret and apply these immutable principles as we create civil law.  Rest assured that nothing we do will ever be perfect.  The best we can strive for is an approximation.  Harken though and remember that this whole body of law is contained in our souls; we only need to tap into it when necessary.  This never-ending task has been the study of great men throughout history.

In Natural Right and History, Leo Strauss explored the origins and ideas of natural law.  He noted  Plato’s theory that freedom from and doubt of human law is the “indispensable” beginning of the search for natural law.  Strauss, Natural Right and History, pg. 84, U. Chicago Press, 1953.  This means “thinking outside the box” about law, rather than civil disobedience – although that may come later.  Strauss goes on to differentiate between the “classical” view of the law as espoused by Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Saint Thomas Aquinas and the “modern” (17th century and on) views held by Locke, Hobbs, and more contemporary thinkers.

Some of these differences are obviously products of their time and the accumulation and interpretation of previous work.  Others are matters of opinion, albeit well-reasoned opinion.  St. Thomas’s observations along with those of other Christian theologians are influenced by Biblical and Church teachings; however, this concept would not be wholly lost on ancient Greek or Roman philosophers.  In their time, those ancients usually attributed the law to nature itself, with perhaps a whimsical nod to Olympus.  As Juvenal quipped: “The wrath of the gods may be great, but it certainly is slow.”  Satirae, XIII, 100.

I will go no further, directly, with Strauss’s differentiation.  This is the interpretation of Perrin Lovett and is mostly concentrated towards a modern, American view of the law and how it applies to our societal relations.

Before we get back to our America we still need a bit more history.  An exhaustive examination of natural law was one of the central themes of St. Thomas Aquinas’s great Treatise on Law, part of his larger Summa Theologica.  Expanding upon Plato and Aristotle’s “outside the box” approach, Thomas concludes, with reference assistance of Saint Augustine that law “which is not just seems to be no law at all.  Hence a law has as much force as it has justice.”  St. Thomas, Treatise on Law, R.J. Henle, S.J., editor, pg. 287, U. Notre Dame Press, 1993.  St. Thomas goes on to say that a civil or earthly law with conflicts with natural law is a perversion rather than a law.  Thus, did Walden and others, claim a basis for civil disobedience to repugnant laws.

Saint Thomas notes that natural law may be divined directly from principle (i.e. a law against murder would be based on God’s commandment not to kill or the principle that each human has a right to live).  The other more subjective method is through examination of generalities.  Enter, here,  the fuzziness of the human brain.  A natural law-compliant statute which prohibits murder may also prescribe punishment for murder; what the punishment should be and how it is applied is a matter of determination based on assessment of the factors of the case, with natural law as a field guide.  See: St. Thomas, Treatise, supra, pg 288.

Seemingly, most of the core laws of our nation and our states derive (or did derive)from Biblical or other ancient sources.  Most are straightforward in definition.  Murder is prohibited in Georgia the same as it is in California (and just about every jurisdiction worldwide).  The procedure governing a murder case and punishment following a conviction are also dictated by law.  In keeping with natural law, a criminal defendant should be accorded all protections of Due Process, else his conviction, if any, is tainted with perversion.  In name and theory at least, American laws and courts have erected elaborate barriers to protect an accused citizen from state malfeasance.  Consideration of possible punishments, as well as any type of considerable sub-crime (manslaughter, for example) have been designed (again in theory) to assess the factors and circumstances of each particular case.

Often voices arise in a society, particularly regarding emotionally charged cases, crying for “justice” at all costs.  These voices essentially call for lynchings based on such novel theories as: “Everyone knows so and so is guilty!” and “Some people just need killing!”  On our quest for natural law, we must put aside emotion and observe the larger picture.  That picture encompasses the possibility that even a seemingly guilty criminal may still be innocent; our procedures of justice are the mechanisms for definitive (though imperfect [humans again]) adjudication.  “It is better that ten guilty persons escape, than that one innocent suffer.”  Sir. William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, 1783 (this sentiment has been echoed by Benjamin Franklin and Voltaire to name a few).

Blackstone commented that nothing is more essential to the “common good” than the protection of individual liberties.  Blackstone, Commentaries, supra.  This reasoning was shared by Thomas Jefferson and John Locke, etc.

Jefferson, of course penned the Declaration of Independence.  In its first paragraph our great severing/founding document based the authority of the American people on the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.”  The second paragraph is (was) well known: “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…”  (italicized emphasis added).  Those rights are the natural rights enjoyed by every human, which need not be necessarily acknowledged by any document and can never be legitimately infringed upon by any government.  The rest of the Declaration was dedicated to addressing King George’s abuse of those rights and the implementation of the natural law recourse – secession.

Those were core values on display to the whole world in perhaps the most stunning social experiment in human history.  Natural law gave life to the Articles of Confederation, an entity devoted to mutual aid and protection for the betterment of all member states and their respective citizens.  Shortly thereafter, the Constitution came into being.  Again, some attempted to forge a stronger union with the steel of natural law.  Certain of nature’s rights were expressly set forth in the Bill of Rights.  This was a case of core values mingling with the fire of powerful government – a dangerous combination.  As the two plus centuries have made clear, one government is as capable as another is usurping power for its own ends while concurrently infringing on the rights of its people.

It is when we consider statutes and rules outside of the “core” of our natural human experience that real problems are confronted.  Imagine, if you will, a man alone on an island.  He is his own society and, if he wishes, his own government.  His natural rights are as intact in the middle of the uncharted Pacific as they would be in mid-town Manhattan.  He has, for instance, that right to live or for self-preservation.  Absent some new addition to his little society, a rule against murder would prove difficult to adhere to; murder is the unlawful, unreasonable, and voluntary killing of a human being by another human being.  Absent another person our Islander need not fear murder.  He might find himself facing suicide or starvation though and then his rights to his own person would become his chief concern.

This simple Robinson Crusoe example should translate form a desert isle to any more complex society.  However, some laws deal with issues not conducive to reason in any circumstance.  A bill or statute proposing farm aid to certain large corporations based on their stated financial needs, the aid to come from either taking directly from the rest of society or by decreasing the value of that society’s currency (if the currency be fiat in nature) is a completely different, non-core matter.  However, politics, financial tricks, and smoke and mirrors aside, such a dilemma may still be decided along natural lines.  Governments today generally do not have legitimate money to give away nor are they capable of productively earning such monies.  A giveaway scheme necessarily involves taking from someone else.  Is this not theft?  Is theft not forbidden by the Creator’s Law?  Heaven aside, the earthly consideration here is one of justice.

“All virtue is summed up in dealing justly.”  Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, 325 B.C.  Justice would seem to forbid stealing from one group to pay off another, no matter how well-connected the recieving class might be.  You, the reader, must know that our government has long since abandoned this rational debate.  As a result we have those laws innumerable.  Sadly, this has been a long-standing problem.  “The more laws, the less justice.”  Cicero, De Officies, 44 B.C.

As mentioned earlier, the wisdom of the ancients was once of common knowledge and practice in our Western world.  George Washington wrote, “The administration of justice is the firmest pillar of Government.”  Geo. Washington, Letter to Edmond Randolph, 1789.  After his visit to America, Alexis Comte de Tocqueville stated: “When I refuse to obey an unjust law, I do not contest the right of the majority to command, but I simply appeal from the sovereignty of the people to the sovereignty of mankind.”  de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 1835.

Common sense even protruded into the Twentieth Century.  One who knew best, Dwight Eisenhower said, “Peace and justice are two sides of the same coin.”  Eisenhower, radio address, 1957.  Universally speaking: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from the Birmingham, AL Jail, 1963.

Unfortunately for us, the voices of justice and reason have been growing steadily fewer and father between.  Today our American government bears almost no resemblance to that which was established long ago while memories of tyranny were still fresh.  Rather than engage in justice, let alone its quest, our politicians constantly engage in vote-buying schemes of unimaginable proportions.  Solon’s observation has never been truer: “Laws are like spider’s webs which, if anything small falls into them they ensnare it, but large things break through and escape.”  Quoted by Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, 3rd Cent. A.D.

For a final example, this analogy to a spider web is demonstrated time and again in the new Amerika.  When greedy bankers make horrible, criminal (but foreseeable) mistakes and risk the financial ruin of the world, they are bailed out and pass freely through our laws.  The poor, middle class, and average citizens are caught, seemingly forever, in a legal cesspool of debt and oppression.

treewater

(Natural law is as common as the beauty of Nature itself)

I will not end on a sour note.  Rather, I offer a humble solution.  If we are to be free as God’s children are supposed to be, we must cast off the burdensome trappings of our current governments.  For that process to begin our citizens must each commence their individual quests throughout their spirits for natural law and justice.  In particular, our lawyers and law students need to demand formal classical education, or else, they must take it upon themselves to learn what has been lost.  While all of you have great deal of research and reflection to do and I may follow-up with more reasoning and explanations, I hope this article starts the process.

Perrin Lovett

perrinlovett@gmail.com

FREE Ebook!

The Substitute – my first novel

Buy Now at Amazon. $19.95 Paperback.

Expect the fiction…

TPC COMPENDIUM – TBA

The best of my TPC columns, so far. Available when edited (someday).

The Happy Little Cigar Book

Buy From Amazon! The perfect coffee table book!

Perrin On Politics

FREE E-book! Download now~

Freedom Roasters Coffee

Right-Minded Social Media For Normal People

Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • June 2012

The Freedom Prepper Video Podcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAICKIIvQQs

Have a Cup!

Perrin’s Columns for The Piedmont Chronicles

Perrin’s Articles at FREEDOM PREPPER

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy