“Freedom is just another word for nothin’ left to lose…” Janis Joplin sang in the ‘60’s. That word is bandied about a lot and it certainly recalls a desirable living condition not fully appreciated until the gilded cage we became comfortable in has had the comforts stripped to reveal stark limitations. We may indeed have nothing left to lose but our lives if we don’t soon become freedom fighters and secede from fascist Washington, District of Criminals. Obamacare may see to that.

But how can we fight for freedom in the 21st Century? Our Founding Fathers could meet the British foe with comparable weapons. They could manufacture their own rifles and cannons, build their own ships to carry them against the king’s navy. The militia then was equal to the task. But today a patriot militia of men good with rifles and improvised munitions would be sorely disadvantaged by a huge federal beast armed with tanks and helicopter gun ships, fighter planes and spy satellites. Then there are supercomputers and a total invasion of privacy, tapped phones, GPS tracking, RFID and feds monitoring all our electronic communications, cameras….not to mention those infiltrators among patriots misleading us. We must be wary warriors and know our enemy’s ways and means…and have the discipline to practice the techniques most likely to confound and disable the federal and foreign goon squads. Patriots must know themselves, be brave and cautious, counting the costs of freedom.

So, what can I recommend that we might secede and succeed? Survive and thrive?

First, face facts: freedom, self governance, requires you do it yourself! You must get out of your “comfort zone” and shoulder the unpleasant task now at hand. If you wait for somebody else to hand you victory, you will be sorely disappointed. Discipline yourself, and don’t wait for others. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!

Be informed by many and diverse sources. Read widely and compare notes. Don’t believe everything you hear, and only half of what you see. Count on mainstream media to always represent corporate interests, not yours! Share the news and discuss issues with others as you have the opportunity. Raise freedom issues even in the checkout lines. Alert others! The oligarchs hate “cross-talk” among the people, wanting all communications to be from the “top down”, with each of us entranced by mass media, especially the “boob tube”.

Don’t cooperate any more than you absolutely must with the beast. Exercise the right to remain silent more often. Don’t fill out so many forms, heed so many signs. Remember the example of Mahatma Gandhi. The beast feeds on your efforts, uses temptations to lead, rules by intimidation! Passive, peaceful resistance in respectful well played acts can often be quite effective in dealing with the local bureaucracy, “useful idiots” who just pursue a paycheck often unaware, brainwashed about the many evils compartmentalized.

In discipline, Gandhi cited seven principles Christ also upheld in the biblical record. The violations of these principles bring destruction. Patriots should be observing these seven principles under the “Golden Rule” discipline. Vice-versa, the “Seven Deadly Sins” are:

1. Wealth without work

2. Pleasure without conscience

3. Knowledge without character

4. Commerce without Morality

5. Science without Humanity

6. Religion without Sacrifice

7. Politics without Principle

(See p. 87-93 “Principle Centered Leadership” by Stephen R. Covey 1990)

Gandhi saw these sins in British India. Do you see them now in American society? True freedom is for everyone, with responsibilities. Offense is forbidden, defense is a duty. Are you doing your duty in exercising your principles, your rights as free American? Gandhi, much like Christ, said “My life is my message.” What is your message?

Know your friends and neighbors. Develop personal relationships, not vicarious ones. Communicate personally on important matters, not by electronics or postal mail. I always presume some “Agent Smith” is reading this column and keeping a very close eye on websites such as LibertyDefenseLeague.com . Don’t expect to find your needed solutions published anywhere. Snakes also read! Think! Be wary, but proclaim liberty in love!

Remember that low-tech can often defeat high-tech. Simple ciphers and matched pieces can often get by government scrutiny in the vast volumes they scan daily. Improvise and avoid off-the-shelf goods likely traceable via RFID chips or taggants. If it is on the open market, expect the feds to have a “fix” for it, like the “backdoor” mandated for every computer, or the electronics to let cops track and disable your car. Some of the age-old techniques practiced in 1776 are still good ploys. True revolutions are home-spun.

Don’t be too eager to embrace newcomers and spill the beans about everything in your neck of the patriot movement. Take your time and sound people out. Check references. Never give up your weapons. Be able to hide critical items of need for emergencies.

Like a good scout, be prepared! Not just with guns and ammo, but stock up on non-perishable groceries and medical supplies, basic tools, candles and lanterns, emergency generators or other off-grid power sources. Have a backpack, tent, and warm sleeping bag ready, warm clothing and camping gear too. Stock extra gasoline for when the crunch hits. Rotate stock as needed to keep stores reasonably fresh. A survival garden is always advisable! Stock up on toilet paper, soap and such, as store shelves empty quickly in a big emergency. Just a trucking strike could make your town dangerously desperate very fast.

Have a family emergency plan, a rallying point, secret code words, etc. Consider the big calamities most likely to affect your neighborhood. A rural safe haven is best. All through history, freedom fighters have held out longer taking refuge in the mountains and forests, where they can get water and food. This is why the Afghans have defeated foreign armies repeatedly since ancient times. They just dropped rockslides on advancing Soviet tanks! Never get on the boxcars and trucks like the Jews did for Nazis! Defense is a duty, and we vastly outnumber the military that can’t even control Iraq. Your guns may not guarantee your right to life, but they can give you a choice in how you face death. And arouse your neighbors. Will you die as a helpless victim, or die fighting as a free man?

Leaderless resistance, many local groups working in similar spirit, loosely knit with similar needs and goals, can be effective in defeating a centralized enemy. It is the means by which real revolutions have been successful against standing armies of tyrant states. Use asymmetrical warfare, guerrilla fighting, as the Minutemen did against the Redcoats.

Peaceful acts of passive disobedience are good, although it may be just as costly as armed resistance. Open armed resistance seems inevitable, and it appears the feds are trying to provoke a bloody conflict to hasten martial law measures. We must exercise restraint, but random acts of “monkey wrenching” are good. Too much planning leaves a trail. Seize little opportunities as they present themselves, but beware security cameras. Carry your own and be ready to send images to the internet on a moment’s notice as agents always destroy or confiscate cameras not serving their interests. I’m not necessarily advocating violence here, but the enemy is always ready to rumble and escalate unreasonably. Be prepared. Be alert, take whatever advantage you can in any instance. Government tyrants have been giving us “death by a thousand paper cuts”, let’s now return the favor with millions of small tokens of our displeasure. Let the feds know how much you disrespect their criminal behavior. Note inefficiencies of bureaucracy that can be used, like judo, to turn the enemy’s energy against itself. Even small incursions, little inconveniences, can slow the leviathan. Don’t feed the beast! Conserve your energy, your resources! Don’t make it easy for the enemy to take you and your household. Question authority and speak truth to power as free people.

In a letter to Thomas Jefferson, John Adams wrote: “Have you ever found in history, one single example of a Nation thoroughly corrupted that was afterwards restored to virtue? …And without virtue, there can be no political liberty…Will you tell me how to prevent riches from becoming the effects of temperance and industry? Will you tell me how to prevent luxury from producing effeminacy, intoxication, extravagance, vice and folly?” You must come out of your comfort zone, a gilded cage with “bread and circuses“.

“If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home and leave us in peace,” said revolutionary Samuel Adams. “We seek not your council, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were our country men.”