Mr. Jacob J. Lew, U.S. Department of the Treasury
Dear Mr. Lew:
Breaking news! No, it’s not that I’ve decided to remove my head from the wolf’s mouth, a course of action I originally announced in my letter to you last April 15 (copy attached). For the second straight year, I am not making a tax payment to the U.S. Treasury. Nor am I submitting a tax return to the IRS. Once again, I’ve sent equivalent payments directly to the Department of Defense, the Veterans Administration, the state of Louisiana, and to various charities, educational institutions and local law enforcement agencies (see attached).
The breaking news is that the flame of liberty still flickers in America. Its heat has diminished. Its light has dimmed. Nonetheless, in the words of America’s greatest satirist, Mark Twain, the reports of its death are greatly exaggerated. At this very moment, after decades of suffocating government mandates and restrictions, that flame is being renewed in the hearts of all freedom-loving Americans. The darkness has not prevailed against it.
Freedom’s renewed flame is illuminating many hidden treasures. In its light, Americans are rediscovering the priceless wisdom of our nation’s founders. Many are learning for the first time the ancient truth that power is freedom’s fiercest foe. They are heeding the warning of the Father of our Country, George Washington, that “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.” Amen to that, Mr. President!
For half a century, worshippers at the altar of Big Government promised the faithful that they would use their power to accomplish marvelous deeds. They would cure poverty, sorrow, suffering and injustice. They would stop the seas from rising and heal the planet. Basically, they would right every wrong on God’s green earth. For all their good intentions and expended tax dollars, these true believers did not create a magic kingdom of perfect peace and prosperity. What they delivered was a waking nightmare of discord, dependency, envy and ingratitude.
The lifting darkness has revealed the devastation caused by these disciples of the cult of government. Multitudes now understand why “we’re from the government and we’re here to help” remain the most feared words in any language. Many are concluding that the future doesn’t belong to those who outsource the defense of their rights and freedoms to Washington D.C. (or to Brussels, Beijing, Moscow or Tehran, for that matter). The science is well and truly settled.
America is in crisis! Its survival as the land of the free and home of the brave is in grave peril. On our present course, we will soon become just another third-rate entitlement state run by two-bit politicians and populated by spoiled adolescents dependent upon government hand-outs. The hour is late, but it is still possible to reverse this fundamental transformation.
Many will ask, what is to be done? First, we the people must acknowledge that politics and politicians are a huge part of the problem. We must recognize that they won’t fix what’s wrong. Relying on them to do so makes about as much sense as the shepherd relying on the wolf for the health and safety of the flock. We must take care of the problem ourselves.
Next, we must speak the truth. We must boldly declare that a lawless federal government has forfeited its legitimate authority by stealing powers nowhere granted in the Constitution. We must force that government back within its original, well-defined constraints. We must do so to regain our rightful status as its master, not its servant. We must do so to preserve the blessings of liberty for future generations. We must do so out of loyalty to America.
Most importantly, Americans of courage and principle must act. We must ignore the unlawful dictates of career politicians, politicized judges and self-serving bureaucrats who have violated their oaths of office by distorting and defying the Constitution. We must drive them from the personal sanctuaries of our homes, churches, schools, civic associations, businesses and professions. These areas must be off limits to the federal government. No politicians allowed should be our rallying cry.
Mr. Lew, the first holder of your office, Alexander Hamilton, regarded such resistance as every citizen’s duty. In The Federalist Papers #28, he wrote that “If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government.” Thomas Jefferson also counseled resistance under such circumstances. More specifically, he asserted in the Declaration of Independence that “when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations . . . evinces a Design to reduce [the people] under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security.”
It is my hope that lovers of liberty will arise and assume the role of “new Guards” of the private spaces where we the people live, worship, work and pursue our own happiness. It is my belief that only in so doing will we assure that America remains — in the words of Ronald Reagan — “a nation that has a government — not the other way around.” Nothing is written. Yet. Let’s roll!
Yours cordially,
Ray Cedor Jr.
freedomandthewolfsmouth 