Usurpation
Charlie Earl
According to
Webster usurpation is the act of taking power by force. The definition
explicitly assumes that one party gains power by wresting it from another
unwilling participant. Additionally….usurpation is not legitimate, it is seizure
by force. Typically “usurpation” is associated with revolution, coups and other
types of activity that replaces a legitimate government with one of
questionable authenticity. There is a more ominous aspect of usurpation that
involves the inhibition or denial of inherent rights….either by one individual
such as a kidnapper, by a group that tramples the rights of neighbors or uninvolved
observers, or by a government that denies or limits individuals’ rights for
self determination.
Inherent
rights cannot be morally or legitimately seized or surrendered. George Mason,
author of the Virginia declaration of
Rights in 1776…predating the Declaration
of Independence, wrote:
That
all men are by nature equally free and independent,
and have certain inherent rights, of which,
when they enter
into a state of society, they cannot,
by any compact, deprive
or divest their posterity; namely,
the enjoyment of life and liberty,
with the means of acquiring and
possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.
As
individuals, Mason recognized, we have inherent, inborn rights simply because
of our sentient capacities. We cannot nor should we attempt to abdicate those
rights when we become a member of a society…. of any size or composition. Those
rights are personal and permanent. Obviously there times and instances when we
voluntarily suspend our exercise of them
or insistence on our inherent inheritance. Subordinating one’s individual
interests for the temporary needs of a family, community or nation is a
frequent occurrence, but it should never be implied or assumed that the
voluntary forfeiture is irrevocable. Our rights are inherent and, as such, are
not transferable or deniable.
So…when our inherent
rights are violated or suppressed by others or by government, what remedies are
available to us? What are the means for overcoming the usurpers? In the early
pages of his great work The Law,
Frederic Bastiat notes:
Nature, or rather God, has bestowed
upon every one of us
the
right to defend his person, his liberty, and his property,
since
these are the three constituent or preserving elements
of
life; elements, each of which is rendered complete by the
others,
and that cannot be understood without them. (1850)
The key
aspect of Bastiast’s insightful work is “defense.” Usurpation is aggressive
violence and must be repelled for the sake of individual liberty. Freedom and
liberty must be defended from aggressors… whether persons or institutions. It
is a just and moral position for anyone to defend liberty and the accompanying
inherent rights. It is a just and moral obligation because if one fails to
protect one’s own freedom, by extension one jeopardizes the liberty of
everyone.
The great
tragedy of these times (and perhaps of all times) is that our inherent rights,
while under assault from all quarters, are firmly and resolutely embedded in
our law (redundantly). They are, however, routinely and cavalierly abused and
usurped by our “law makers.” In doing so … they violate us, our God and their
own humanity. Pompous pronouncements that proclaim the necessity for
restraining the rights of some to give advantage for others are in the final
analysis both inhuman and inhumane.
Charlie Earl
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