Go East, Young Man?

Go East, Young Man?

Over the last few years there has been a noticeable migration of citizens from California and New York to points east and south.  There are many reasons for this phenomenon. 

If you subscribe to Marxist economic theories, then it is simply a rational act by greedy capitalists looking to maximize profits by moving to lower tax and lower regulated states where they can exploit the most people. 

If you are “Marxist elite,” then it is simply the “haves” moving their assets to jurisdictions where the State does not have a mature tax scheme.  But this is essentially a futile attempt to “push back the tide”.  Ultimately, all jurisdictions will have similar tax schemes and the movement of assets to one location versus another will be a waste of time.

There is, of course, always the “racist,” “homophobe,” “religious conservative” ham-fisted attempt to explain the movement of people… but, frankly, all of them miss the mark.

Many people… (not all, frankly)… have built into their DNA a constant yearning for freedom.  “Freedom,” though, does not mean the same thing to everyone.

During the Revolution, New Englanders had a very different view of freedom than their fellow patriots to the south.  A patriot in New England saw freedom as the ability to function independently in a highly-structured society.  Freedom, to a large part, meant participation in a collective.  The ultimate freedom was the power to alter, or abandon, the collective if necessary. 

A patriot from Virginia, on the other hand, saw freedom as the ability to essentially improve on one’s self.  Freedom, was a transcendent experience.  One could be disciplined and be “free of their passions”. 

Freedom to the frontiersman out west was different still.  Freedom for him meant freedom from the oppression of others.  This is somewhat akin to modern day libertarianism. 

Many of the people fleeing California, specifically, are most closely historically aligned with the frontiersman of the Revolution.  They are seeking freedom from oppressive regulations, freedom to organize their lives and their beliefs they way they want and, yes… the lack of regulations; the lack of governmental oversight means, by definition, a cheaper existence.  Money accumulated in Newport Beach, California goes much further in Flagstaff, Arizona.

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Sandy jokingly told me to write a blog begging right-minded people to not leave California… We need them here!

I used to tell people when I was traveling outside California the same little phrase.  They would look at me incredulously and ask why I still lived in California… I would tell them that someday I will be able to tell my grandchildren that I stayed behind and was part of the resistance.

There is truth to this.

Complaining about politics has often been compared to complaining about the weather.  There is a defeatist attitude about the whole thing.  We need to stop that now.

My fellow patriots, the answer is not to pull up stakes and move to the other side of the river.  The answer is to take back the reigns of power and put an end to all this nonsense once and for all. 

It costs money to leave.  Before you do I urge you… I beg you… put your plans on hold for a minimum of three years.  Take a portion of that money and run for office.

Any office… school board, water district, supervisor, legislature… anything.

This does two things.  First, it is an offensive forward.  We need to get off defense.  We have been put into a position for too long where essentially we have tried to beg the government to pay attention to someone else and leave us alone.  When that has not worked, then we have begun the process of looking to exfiltrate. 

We need to stop this.  We cannot beg the government to look at our neighbors… we need to become the government and stop this idiocy from the inside!

Second, it puts fear in the hearts of those who occupy the seats in Sacramento and Washington.  Many of us will lose our races… but not all.  Some will win, and those wins will begin to multiply.  The paradigm of victimhood of liberty-loving patriots will begin to shift, and the power structures will begin to shift.

Patriots running for office not as a means of advancing a career, but out of civic duty is a novel idea as well.  These nonprofessional politicians will have an authenticity that obscures the effectiveness of any entrenched statist in Sacramento.

I get it. 

Freedom on the other side of the border is enticing… but it is within our grasp here as well!  Put on a beret and meet me in the speakeasy.  Join the resistance!

Viva Liberty!