Chris,
Isn't it a little grandiose to think that you can
"see that *my* government does right?"
Best, Michael
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Isn't it a little grandiose to think that you can
"see that *my* government does right?"> I have a responsibility and an obligation to see
> that
> *my* government does right.
Perhaps grandiose to assume that I would be successful. But that doesn't
mean I don't have an obligation to try.
Sure it's easy to say the government's doing things that aren't
your fault, but it's even *easier* to imply that the things they are doing
*are* partially your fault, since that's the way Americans are used to
talking!
I don't follow that at all. It's easier to accept responsibility than not?
If you have "a responsibility and an obligation to see that (your)
government does right," what exactly is the nature of this obligation?
Starting from such a premise, it seems to me that one could credibly argue
that you have the obligation to vote; to serve on a jury for $5 a day when
summoned; perhaps even to involuntarily serve in the military if drafted.
To vote, yes, or at least when not voting to have it be a conscious
decision rather than a lapse. To serve on a jury, yes, though (as with
conscription) I do not believe that forced service is moral. Part of my
obligation to see that my government does right includes not complying with
immoral laws. (That is, to the extent that such action is productive; I
still pay my taxes because I don't feel that going to jail would actually
help the taxes go away.)
I'm also curious to hear what you mean by, "leave the system under
the radar domestically." What is it about this step (whatever it entails)
that you feel makes it a precondition for staying in the country free of
obligation for the actions of the U.S. government without renouncing one's
citizenship?
Going under the radar is a way of leaving the nation without leaving the
place. If you're not paying taxes, not voting, and not receiving
government services wherever it's possible to avoid them, then I think you
can say that it's truly not your government. But as long as you're
participating in the system - as we all are by forming a political party -
then I think you accept the legitimacy of the system as a whole, even if
it's badly broken or perverted.
~Chris
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