If you’ve been following my work for any real stretch of time, it’s clear that I have seemingly endless issues with the practice of political crusading. Whether it’s on principle alone or more of a utilitarian approach, there’s always a damn good reason to be against it.
That said, this morning, a reader/listener sent me the link to a campaign – that campaign is a petition on Change.org, calling for “Clemency for Ross Ulbricht, Serving Double Life for a Website.”
As I’ve said before, to me, Ross is a hero – in this long-term fight for freedom, there will be many more like him. When one directly challenges the State, it’s not surprising when they end up swept up and hauled off to a government dungeon. This is something Ross’ understood too, as he knew the nature of his enemy.
So, what’s my position on this?
Well, principles don’t change overnight or they aren’t principles; they don’t vary from situation to situation, lest one fall prey to some sort of relativism or subjectivism. Additionally, petitions are just another form of begging the masters – it is political crusading, NOT taking the initiative yourself to create your own freedom (AKA direct action).
I get the last ditch desperation here. No hope was found in the (IN)justice system and I can certainly understand that Ross’ parents want him to be freed and they will do damn near anything in their power to make that happen. Certainly, I want him freed too, but Ross’ situation is a bit different than Steven and Dwight Hammond’s (referring to Dolan J. Tramp’s recent pardon).
Although, I hope I’m wrong, as I was with the Hammonds and the majority of defendants from the subsequent takeover and occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in 2016.
In summation, I will not be signing the petition, but this is one of the few times that I will not dissuade others from doing so – the loss of time is minimal and there is no financial expense. I just figured I’d toss in my two cents on the subject.
What do you think? Am I off-base here? Am I making a mountain out of a molehill? Feel free to reply to this and let me know!
Shane is the founder of Liberty Under Attack and host of LUA Radio, a once-weekly podcast released every Sunday; he also does The Vonu Podcast, which is released every Tuesday. He is a free market anarchist committed to providing solutions to his listeners and readers, so that they can create the freedom they desire in their own lives, RIGHT NOW, despite the State.