In 2020 and 2021 we’ve seen unprecedented levels of authoritarian power-grabs, all over the world, carried out in the name of “protecting” people (which is always the excuse tyrants give for what they do). But that authoritarian insanity has also resulted in an unprecedented number of people starting to question things—and more importantly, an unprecedented number of people disobeying and resisting.

When well-behaved, polite, productive citizens start to feel personally ignored, mistreated and abused by those in power, there are often several stages those people go through. If they’ve always seen themselves as good citizens because they’ve always “followed the rules,” it can be a bit of a shock when they come to realize that “the rules,” more often than not, benefit a few greedy crooks and harm everyone else. Theoretically, “the rules” should describe how people should behave so that we can all peacefully get along, cooperate and organize for mutual benefit. But at some point, even the most patriotic, upstanding citizen starts to realize that that is not how things actually work. They begin to feel indignant at having been mistreated by those in power, when for so long they have prided themselves in being law-abiding taxpayers, while assuming (even if only subconsciously) that that meant things would go well for them. Just do as you’re told, and everything will turn out okay, right?

At first they might just be angry at the particular politicians who happen to be in power at that moment. If not for the bad decisions of those people, they think, this wouldn’t have happened! Ironically, supporters of both major parties, in such a situation, will usually blame the other party, while overlooking the fact that their own party was at least complacent and negligent, and probably cooperated in the injustice. The first stage of rebelliousness of the victims of injustice is, therefore, to argue against one set of political opportunists, and in favor of another set of political opportunists, threatening to vote out the rascals they think are responsible for the situation (and voting for other rascals instead).

The abused citizen may angrily comment on the matter, privately or publicly, and may even write to their congressman expressing their dissatisfaction, and may “insist” and “demand” that the problem be remedied post-haste! But what are such “demands” backed by? Usually, nothing. Like a little child on a playground “demanding” that the bully three times his size stop picking on him, it’s really just pathetic begging. At most, the average political victim will threaten to wait a few years and then vote for a different politician (who will also end up betraying and abusing him).

Deep down inside, the wronged citizen knows damn well that his own whining and complaining carries no weight compared to the influence of those people and corporations with nearly unlimited funding and connections. Nonetheless, the outraged citizen, not knowing what else to do, continues to “tilt at windmills,” begging for the politicians to please stop abusing him, while spouting empty cliches such as, “You work for me!” and “I pay your salary!”

And the abuse continues.

Next, those abused by the system may get zealously political active, forming or joining organizations and movements, having protests, handing out flyers and petitions, complaining about how what’s happening is unfair or unconstitutional, or even putting up their own candidates for this or that political office. In a dozen different ways, they desperately try to use the system to finally serve the interests of the “little guy,” instead of always serving big money interests and whoever can afford lobbyists.

And the abuse continues.

Countless well-intentioned folks throw vast amounts of time, energy, hope and money at the political system, and in return the system gives them … nothing.

And the abuse continues.

But what else can be done? When you’ve ranted and raved and petitioned and voted and protested and begged until you’re blue in the face, and those who wield power still just don’t care what you want, what then? Maybe a bigger protest! Maybe vote even harder next time! You can try and try, telling yourself that at least you’re “doing something.”

And the abuse continues.

You may be encouraged when you see hundreds or thousands of people showing up at some capitol building (in whatever state or country), loudly saying what they think—telling those politicians just how much they disapprove of the situation! But … then what? What did you expect to happen as a result? Were you under the impression that the politicians really care about you, but just weren’t aware of what you wanted? Are they well-intentioned and noble, but possibly hard of hearing, so a bunch of people loudly asking for freedom might make them see the error of their ways?

No. Deep down inside, you already know: the politicians already know what you want. They just don’t care. They knew you wouldn’t like this. They knew it would hurt you. They did it anyway. If some little kid is being stomped on by a bully three times his size, will it help to tell the bully that it hurts, and that the child really wants him to stop?

No. The abuse will continue.

So now the victim of authoritarian abuse is in the stage of feeling totally frustrated and helpless, mistreated and unheard, neglected and victimized. The victims have finally lost hope in “the process,” in voting and petitioning, in the political system. They have finally let themselves see and accept what has been true all along: the politicians don’t represent you, they rule you. They are not public servants. They are your masters. They are exploiters and thieves, tyrants and abusers. You can’t appeal to their consciences. They don’t have those. They are not just misguided; they did not just make a mistake. They treat you as subjects because they view you as subjects, and always have. They walk all over you, with an occasional dash of dishonest rhetoric to pretend they give a damn about you. They do whatever they want, rob you and control you, victimize and abuse you, and they expect you to take it.

Yes, they expect you to whine and complain on occasion, but at the end of the day, they expect you to comply and obey. And as long as you do, they couldn’t care less about what you think, or say, or do. You are bleating sheep to them. If they notice the noise at all, they are laughing at you. They have their multi-million dollar donors, the people who own their souls. Why on earth would they set aside all the power, money and influence they get from playing that game, just to do what you want, just to give you a little more freedom? Why would you ever expect that of them?

So, what? A revolution? Time to break out the guillotines? Civil war? Charge off and overthrow the government? Mayhem and bloodshed?

Maybe an understandable thought, and sometimes even a justified one, but not necessary, and ultimately, not useful. How many revolutions in history, in short order, just ended up creating a new ruling class just as abusive as the one before, or worse? Pretty much all of them. Yes, including the American Revolution. (What congress and the state governments do to the people here on a daily basis is far worse than anything King George III ever dreamed of trying.)

And besides, who among us is really eager and willing to trade in the relatively easy existence we have now with the widespread, prolonged death and destruction of a revolution? No, thanks.

Thankfully, there is a much more effective way. And while it is physically pretty easy, psychologically it can very difficult and uncomfortable for all those people who always believed, somewhere in the back of their minds, that sooner or later, that the system will provide justice, that the good guys will win, that those who follow the rules will be rewarded, and that if we wave a flag and pledge allegiance, tyrants will fail. But that is, and has always been, a lie.

Large scale oppression and tyranny always happen in the name of “law,” not in spite of it. If you remember nothing else from this article, at least let this one concept sink in: freedom is always illegal. Those who wield power always use it to enrich and empower themselves and their buddies, at the expense of the freedom and prosperity of everyone else. Always. People don’t run for office and seek positions of power in order to leave you alone. They do it so they can dominate, rob and control you. Deep down inside, you know this is true, about all politicians, everywhere. Including the ones you voted for. Whatever dishonest rhetoric they want to use about “representing the people” and being “public servants,” you know damn well that the people in power sought out power for themselves. With that in mind, asking them to allow you your liberty is insane.

But the problem isn’t just them. It’s also you. If you are still waiting for permission from politicians to be free, you’ve already lost. You won’t get it. Ever.

But more importantly, you don’t need it.

People spend so much time and effort begging the ruling class to be nice to them, that they miss the fact that the politicians and their stupid and/or evil commands don’t matter if the people don’t obey. The victims of authoritarian injustice always vastly outnumber those who oppress and abuse them. Tyranny mainly happens, not because of the small number of sociopaths who try to rule the world, but because of the masses of well-intentioned people who obey those sociopaths, as if they have the right to rule everyone else.

Ultimately, the main problem, and the solution, does not reside in the minds of the power-happy control freaks. It resides in the minds of everyone else. If the people in general stop viewing criminals as some rightful “authority,” and stop obeying their decrees, then the politicians’ power evaporates.

And that is what has to happen to stop this. Not votes, not petitions, not protests, not political campaigns. Disobedience and resistance. If you will only live as a free human being when politicians say you’re allowed to, then you are a slave forever. If you still think you need legislative permission to live your own life and make your own choices, then you are already doomed. As Steven Biko put it, “The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.” If you still feel an obligation to obey whatever arbitrary crap the political crooks decide to call “law,” then you are the one enriching and empowering these people, while cooperating with and enabling this injustice.

If you still take pride in being a “law-abiding taxpayer”—which literally means that you are proud to blindly obey the oppressive dictates of sociopaths and proud to fund their heinous machine—then you are a big part of the problem. If you want to be part of the solution, you need to back your brain out of the authoritarian indoctrination it has been dragged through your whole life, and realize that, in a time of widespread, institutionalized injustice, “law” and “authority” are always on the side of evil, and those on the side of righteousness are always considered “criminals” by the psychopaths who demand their obedience.

If you want to see freedom and justice prevail, learn to be a “criminal.” Learn how to disobey destructive and immoral commands, even when those commands are called “law.” Learn how to trust your own soul, and your own conscience, and put what you know is right above what the political parasites say is “legal.” Stop waiting for, or begging for, a political solution. There is none, and never will be.

And when you “demand” freedom, actually demand it—not by making some pathetic request to the very people who rob and abuse you—but by disobeying and resisting, by any means necessary.

Let me end here with a quote from Frederick Douglass:

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”

If you actually believe in freedom and justice, stop asking nicely for it. Go make it happen.

Larken Rose is an outspoken advocate of the principles of self-ownership, non-aggression and a stateless society, and is the author of a number of books (including "The Most Dangerous Superstition") and creator of numerous articles and videos. https://www.larkenrose.com/