I must suppose that I am not the first of the Literati to have it out with the Intelligentsia, and later feel they need to defend themselves from any pending mysterious circumstances during the time of a pandemic. I will say it is probably unusual to state the reasons for a pardon in bald public terms, without a formal challenge but for the alignment of circumstances – even if both political and medical. Nevertheless, death only rarely shows up announced, and if he does, I want to be clear about what they will have to deal with when I am gone.
- A capacity to recognize what is and is not important.
There are many people who make a claim to understanding what is important. Normally their list is incomplete at best, with catch-all appendages intended to cover their holiness. But to have a claim on life as a good citizen, it is only necessary to be able to recognize what is and is not important, when you see it (in the course of an otherwise ‘normal’ life). This more limited ability is enough for good citizenship – and is usually the height of what ordinary citizens are permitted to achieve anyhow – though too many fail in only this much. I make a claim to having a good eye for the important.
2. A capacity for work and fulfilment of duties
If a person cannot show up for regular duties it is difficult to make a case for their citizenship should they otherwise be deemed an inconvenience. A willingness to work, day-in-and-day-out is often the best argument for our immigrants as well. For me, it is a point of pride that I show up everyday, whether it be in a formal work-for-pay capacity or otherwise. It is also no mean feat for someone like me who is creative and can become quickly bored with the mundane, to turn their efforts into a routine, when they know a passion can strike and unexpectedly. If one learns to channel that into their regularly scheduled efforts, they can be good citizens – and even become a force.
3. Living within the bounds of the law
People in the Western World still lived under the whims of Kings, well past the Magna Carta. In parts of the world, people live under dictators today. The people’s right to know ‘the rules of the game’ should never be taken for granted, and the obligation of citizens to play by those rules is a necessary condition on citizenship. Living within the bounds of the law does not preclude social organizing or civil disobedience – and when the powerful game the laws in reaction to people’s movements, there is certainly more leniency. It should also be remembered that powerful forces often prefer people to act outside the bounds of the law, not simply to prosecute them within the courts, but so they can later maintain ‘justice’ outside of the system, in the form of blackballing opportunity. The rule of law, including justice within the law, is the people’s friend.
4. My intellectual indiscretions are not that bad
I admit it! I got angry! Still, the principle challenge to our medical system was correct: Treat The Sick. I said it loud and clear, for many to hear, and in the time of a Pandemic it is more important than ever to hear it again and again, “Treat The Sick! Treat The Sick!” It is not an intellectual crime to suggest that the medical community is selective in who, what, and when they treat illness. Yes, it does something to undermine a blind faith in the system, but I knew first hand that not everyone in the medical community treats the sick without first weighing, among other things, political factors. Thankfully the FBI itself has suggested such claims since my initial public statements on the matter in 2013 and my retelling of some events in atheoryof.me in 2016.
5. Practice in surviving those acting above the law
Aside from causing me immediate financial harm with a ‘whistle-blower’ label, a problem I have survived but not happily, I also credit the events in (4) with saving my life. I was actually in line to be trampled under foot by the year 2020, but I turned the events in my life into pending collateral damage for my tormentors, should that happen. My survival is not luck or grace of God, but skill developed from the necessity of being born into politics, to my chagrin. If you are reading and understanding this article, you should be able to appreciate this point. Not everyone needs this skill for a claim on life, but I do.
6. Intelligence enough to mitigate claims on The Truth
Along with recognizing what is and what is not important, it is important to be able to evaluate the veracity of claims without resorting to appeals or deference to authority. This has never been more obvious than now, after Americans have been subjected to the last administration, sent to make a mockery of America (and especially German America) on the world stage, for the good of old power/money in a new guise. This ability is important for the evaluation of history as much as it is important for the evaluation of news on social media.
7. Skills for Self-Reliance.
The ability to fish and cook for yourself are two highly under-appreciated skills. These together with experience in the wilderness means that if you want or need, you can leave society and later come back. In a modern age, this amounts to a threat as much as it is an appealing course of action. No one wants to let you off the grid if they can help it, for they don’t know what they should expect when you return – that entails that life is easier for the self-reliant, wherever they are.
8. A capacity for Love and Care
A citizen without a capacity of love and care can do little for the world if not otherwise harnessed by those with this capacity. Should one have this capacity, they should be allowed a life whose direction they themselves can manage, bringing with them the ability to first do no harm, and then make things better, wherever they go…
9. My weaknesses of character and health do not threaten my life or liberty, nor those of others.
We all have some weaknesses of character. The important thing is that those weaknesses of character do not consume our life, either by serious and unforgivable misstep, or more commonly by consuming our thoughts and concerns, by preoccupation. For some, even being too strict in regimen, too ‘correct’ in discourse, and too ‘perfect’ in the output of our work, can amount to a weakness of character. Hidden behind this ‘perfection’ is often fear – a strong motivator but also a hidden weakness. For my part, my sentiments for love have a capacity to cloud my judgement, but hope for love has allowed me to live through moments of near despair. I have taken real shots at love only few and far between… and those days are at their end.
10. My current circumstances allow for a sustainable existence without radical change.
I am not a long shot to find stability in my life, and as a result I do not present a prima facie threat to the State and its institutions. My stated opinions call for serious changes to world governance and American governance, but they do not entail upheaval of American Constitutional principle, and my battles are of an intellectual nature. The only threat I pose is to those who actually hold American power over the under-represented American, and that power is not protected as part of American Constitutional principle – financial as that power is.
I think my case for life is good. Now we will see if, despite four college degrees, this German American is put on eternal latrine duty… that is the world we live in.