The United States of East Germany

How is the United States like East Germany?

We have to go back to about 1984 to the time I first learned there was an East Germany and a West Germany. This was also the year Epix released the video game “1984” for the Commodore 64, which my best friend had a copy of. The game was epic to my eleven-year-old self.  You could compete across a number of Summer Olympic events as different countries, and this is when I noticed there were two Germanys (and probably two Koreas, but I do not recall noticing them).

I later learned East Germany was “Communist”! Back in the 1980s, there was nothing worse than being a Communist...or so I thought at the time. What were some of the things that made Communists so bad? East Germany kept its people in and kept others out with a concrete wall lined with concertinaed wire, much like that found on our Southern border with Mexico. I also learned they had “secret police” and a nation of informants who would “swat” their neighbor’s in a heartbeat, especially in exchange for freedom from a charge levied against themselves. I learned they tapped all the forms of communication people used and they watched their citizens 24 hours a day/365 days a year, lest anyone exhibit anti-German rhetoric or beliefs, like our NSA and Facebook Machine overlords are doing. Does this sound familiar to what our FBI, ATF, and local police forces do? 

While I cannot say for certain, I believe this is when I began to loathe communism and its concepts. I can say for certain that the more I learned about what is necessary to maintain a government in any form, the less I wanted to experience any form of government control. Unfortunately, my disdain, and probably yours as well, for the government's increasing control over our lives has not stopped every single facet of East German rule from being implemented in the United States during our lifetime. Every single one of them! Go ahead, look at the prior paragraph again, because each of those East German programs is in full effect in the United States and to an even greater degree because of our accessibility to more effective and advanced technology. 

To make us good little East Germans, and prevent us from being Bad Romans, the United States implemented a vast empire of schools to indoctrinate its residents and misinform our understanding of history. Freedom, to any real extent, is not allowed in the United States, instead only compliance with the State is authorized. Take for example the fact that most of our possessions must be licensed, taxed, registered, and paid for through fees. If you have to ask for permission to have it and pay a fee - it is not free.

To achieve these results, vast sums of money are spent to seize and control the minds of almost all residents. The combined expenditures for this empire fall around $720 billion/year, which works out to around $15,000 per student. With the exception of those who can afford private education or to do homeschooling, the majority of Americans spent 12 years inside the halls of those indoctrination camps, complete with a daily pledge of allegiance. This is how the United States makes sure Americans learn exactly what the State needs them to be in order to keep the empire going. Certainly, there must be a bulwark in the Church against this kind of thinking, right?

I wish the goals of the church were different than those of the State (as they should be). Unfortunately, I know most of my fellow “saints” like to pretend the United States is a Christian nation; one founded on Christian values, and with a Christian manifest destiny. I know my fellow saints have drunk the sugary drinks and swallowed the lies necessary to believe this. Look at the church on any holiday and you can see right through the reverence on display. Look at the dais, look at the flags on display, and you will understand who many churches have chosen to place first.

Fallen Heroes

Let us be serious about this for a moment. It makes Americans feel good to think about apple pie, pacifying the land, and spreading from “sea to shining sea” on-premises of Christian values. I mean, who does not like hotdogs, baseball, fireworks, and “freedom”? We mistakenly allow ourselves to believe this has all been done in the name of God, crafted under the guise of Jesus, to obfuscate the actions that have enabled the United States to exist through violence and terror. 

Unfortunately, my fellow saints are just as guilty of thinking the United States eradicated slavery, saved the world from Nazi Germany, the Emperor’s Japan, and communist Russia all without realizing every sin of our “enemies” is on full display and practice here. I know my fellow saints like to think they defeated slavery, the ”Savage Indian”, and the USSR through peace, trade, the Church (not to mention our large nuclear arsenal), but it just is not true. It has been violence, coercion, and endless threats of more violence disguised as diplomacy that got us here. We must ask, would this be sanctioned by God? Not in the least bit - if He were ever consulted.

Saints should not be so foolish. The United States committed genocide on the original inhabitants of North America. European settlers did not discover anything; they invaded a foreign territory and used every means possible to take it from its rightful inhabitants, which was then justified through biblical interpretive malfeasance. An outright war against the “Indian” was always on the table when they could not be suckered. The shooting and killing of Indian tribes pushed them further and further West until there was nowhere left to push them. The United States wanted those lands for white settlers who could use the land “properly” and be taxed for it—end of the story. The few survivors of this state-sanctioned genocide on Native Americans were housed on reservations in desolate areas the government did not see itself needing, as far away from “civilized” folks as possible.

The atrocities against the original residents of North America began in full force in the early 1600s and did not end until the early 1900s. Yes, only 100 years ago! And, it only gets worse from there. Borrowing from Wikipedia we read this:

During the early 19th century, the federal government was under pressure by settlers in many regions to expel Indians from their areas. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 offered Indians the choices of assimilating and giving up tribal membership, relocation to an Indian reservation with an exchange or payment for lands, or moving west.

This was a policy of genocide for an entire people group. We wanted to end their way of life and eradicate them from history. This, arguably, is worse than East Germany (but, shhh, don’t dare mention that in schools)!

Do you know who was president during most of the Indian genocide? The same men that are now revered as heroes of the State even have their faces carved into mountains on sacred lands(looking at you Mt. Rushmore). So, let us just look at a handful of these heroes who have schools and streets named after them in every town and county across North America:

1. Thomas Jefferson

   • Tommy boy led a multi-pronged policy against the “savages” of North America. He wanted to move them West because he wanted their land for settlers, but he wanted them to remain peaceful and not allied with the British. For the Native people who survived relocation, Jefferson wanted them to be civilized and incorporated into the European model of a citizen through assimilation. Jefferson was so successful in turning the Native Americans into the dead, the absent, or the near-white, that a number of tribes built “regular” towns and even began owning slaves like their white schooler’s taught them. Those who would not bend the knee to Jefferson would die in the War of 1812. American politicians and their supporters have always been comprised of violent men carrying a giant boom stick. 

2. Abraham Lincoln 

   • “Honest” Abe was a great murderer loved and known by almost all. Lincoln cashed in on the killing of Indians and taking of their lands, in fact this how he accumulated political connections. As a member of the Illinois House, Lincoln took up arms against Indians in the Blackhawk Wars,  though history says he never killed anyone during the brief conflict, it was his new resume bullet, Captain in the militia, fighting to protect the lands of Illinois from the Indian owners, that propelled him forward to the presidency. Once president, Lincoln would prosecute a genocide against the South and the Indians out west. Yet he is held up as a hero today.

I will not continue describing the rampant abuses perpetrated against the native inhabitants of North America, but every single president during that period is guilty of their deaths. In their time, each of these men claimed Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Jesus would never sanction their actions, but this has not stopped the Department of Education from claiming otherwise. The schoolers’ couch expansionist imperialism in the most colorful manner. It is always the other guy and his nation that are compromised by hateful warmongers. The US is always on the right side of history and there to help the oppressed; it says so in the schoolers’ history books!

After this brief history lesson, how does this make the United States a modern East Germany? Our universities are beginning to make Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for attendance, and, while only a few have done this so far, it is likely to spread, much like a virus, to all of them. This is a totalitarian requirement pushed by the schoolers’ of the State to not allow their professors, or students, back on to campus without proof of vaccination. We have already seen members of the State promoting injections to attend concerts and sporting events—the natural expressions of East German totalitarianism, right here in the good ol’ USofA.

However, it is not just public institutions or policies that amplify our descent into totalitarianism. How many of our churches spent Sunday, July 4th this year honoring the flag for the Fourth of July and singing nationalistic hymns at the same time? This is a common practice across churches in the United States, on any state-sanctioned holiday, many of our churches practice State worship over the King of all kings. 

Our American Saints have embraced a polluted form of Ameranity. They combine their love of the State with their love of Jesus, failing to see that this is foreign to the Jesus of the Bible they aim to worship. This entanglement with the way of the State and the way of Christ only supports and ushers in an East German-style totalitarianism. Americanity fully supported slavery and the Wars against Native Americans. Americanity supported the genocide in the Philippines and against the Vietnamese. Americanity inserted itself into European wars when it did not have to. Americanity supports everything the State wants, no matter what the Bible says or Jesus would do. The United States is anything but a Christian nation. The United States is everything Jesus rejected on the cross and everything East Germany stood for.

Being a faithful Christian (a Bad Roman) is only going to become more difficult as the United States moves forward, but it has always been harder to live as a citizen of heaven. The mistake is when we believe we are able to remain faithful citizens to a finite man-made State while also living out the Gospel. So I ask you this, are you ready to be a bad East Germans? Will you join me and follow no king, but Christ?

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About the Author

Ian Minielly is a full-time vocational pastor. He considers himself an “oddball” in ministry for his peaceful understanding of the Kingdom of God and how limited of a role Christians should have with the State.

Regarding how he came to this stance, he says:

God spared me and showed great mercy in opening my eyes to love, and against war and the State. To see the great work God did in me, previously I spent more than seven years as an intelligence analyst for the Defense Intelligence Agency, focused on Counter-Proliferation of WMD material and systems.

Prior to that, I spent more than nine years in the infantry and Special Forces (I was a Green Beret). Once I became a believer, I found the biblical expectations of God were in opposition to my profession in the military and my nationalism. God slowly peeled this understanding back and I left the army and nationalism.

Ian has published three books, Emily's Tears, Revoked Consent, and The Genetic God, which are available on Amazon.

He also has a YouTube channel if you would like to see him in action!

MORE FROM IAN:

Constitutional Crisis: The Real Virus

My progression towards Anarchism began when I started studying the founding documents and the other writings by the authors of The United States Constitution. Little did I know that I was on a path that would turn my understanding of the political world upside down.

The Constitution is the document that outlines how the government is to establish and maintain its legitimacy and restrict it’s authority. The first ten amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, are supposed to secure and protect our Liberty. Do I believe the Constitution has been proven ineffective? Yes. Do I believe if the Constitution was actually followed we would be in a better situation than we are today? Yes. Does this mean the constitution should be regarded as some God given authority? Absolutely not! It is probably best recognized as a rule book ratified by the States to create the Federal government. 

At the time of this writing, we are in a crisis, and that crisis is not Covid-19. We are in a Constitutional crisis. We are in a Loss of Liberty crisis.The Bill of Rights is being stripped right before our eyes, and it is happening with thunderous applause from Americans. I expect pushback from other Anarchists and Statists alike for this article and that's fine. Both will say, why do you care what the Constitution says--you are an Anarchist.

There is a very simple explanation for that and it goes something like this: I believe Anarchists have a real responsibility to have a working knowledge of the United States Constitution, because with it we can point to the numerous violations of the Constitution committed by the government in conversation with both Statist and non-Statist.

We will never convince a Statist that Anarchism is preferable to a centralized government without being able to point out the violations of our Liberty the federal and/or state governments  have and continue to commit. To do this we as Anarchists need a working knowledge of the Constitution--without that, Statists will continue to disregard our attempts at pointing out how a Voluntary society is preferable to a society that relies on a centralized government. 

Before we continue

I need to preface the rest of this article with this: my understanding of the Constitution is from an originalist point of view. I have no interest in Supreme Court rulings that are meant to determine the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress. Thomas Jefferson was adamant about who the final arbiters of the Constitution were and it is We the People. Not someone adorned in a black robe.

He made this clear in many letters written about his concern for Judicial tyranny.

“If [as the Federalists say] “the judiciary is the last resort in relation to the other departments of the government,”..., then indeed is our Constitution a complete felo de so. … The Constitution, on this hypothesis, is a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary, which they may twist and shape into any form they may please. It should be remembered, as an axiom of eternal truth in politics, that whatever power in any government is independent, is absolute also; in theory only, at first, while the spirit of the people is up, but in practice, as fast as that relaxes. Independence can be trusted nowhere but with the people in mass. They are inherently independent of all but moral law…”

Letter to Judge Spencer Roane, Nov. 1819

“The judiciary of the United States is the subtle corps of sappers and miners constantly working underground to undermine our Constitution from a co-ordinate of a general supreme one  alone. This will lay all things at their feet… I will say, that” against this every man should raise his voice,” and, more, should uplift his arm…”

Letter to Thomas Ritchie, Sept. 1820

The oath

Politicians of all parties, police officers, and soldiers in the military all swear the same oath to protect and uphold the Constitution.This oath makes it  necessary to understand the original intention behind the Constitution, the same intention that is being violated daily by those who swear an oath to it. 

I completely agree with Lysander Spooner’s assessment of the Constitution, when he says:

"...whether the Constitution really be one thing, or another, this much is certain - that it has either authorized such a government as we have had, or has been powerless to prevent it. In either case, it is unfit to exist." 

And to quote my favorite founder, Patrick Henry, who himself refused to sign the Constitution:

“It is said eight states have adopted this plan. I declare that if twelve states and a half had adopted it, I would, with manly firmness, and in spite of an erring world, reject it….Will the abandonment of your most sacred rights tend to the security of your liberty? Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessing- give us that precious jewel, and you may take everything else!”

Virginia Ratifying Convention June 5, 1788

That being said I still believe we should have a working knowledge of the Constitution. We have to, as Anarchists, be capable of pointing out to someone when they are defending government actions that violate the Constitution. People are waking up to our awful situation, but they need some direction. The Constitution isn't difficult to understand, especially if you approach it by reading what was put down in various State responses.

James Madison served as one of the chief architects of the Constitution and championed the Bill of Rights. He took extensive notes of the proceedings of the Federal Convention and insisted that the document be interpreted according to the understanding of its ratifiers. He believed the records of the state ratification conventions provided the best evidence of the Constitution's original meaning, saying:

“Whatever veneration might be entertained for the body of men who formed our Constitution, the sense of that body could never be regarded as the oracular guide in expounding the  Constitution. As the instrument came from them it was nothing more than the draft of a plan, nothing but a dead letter, until life and validity were breathed into it by the voice of the people, speaking through the several State Conventions. If we were to look, therefore, for the meaning of the instrument beyond the face of the instrument, we must look for it, not in the General Convention, which proposed, but in the State Conventions, which accepted and ratified the Constitution.”

How’s the Constitution today? Let's examine the 1st amendment  

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”

We are witnessing this amendment being violated by governors and law enforcement officers alike, both of which, we should remember, have taken oaths to uphold this “sacred” document . For instance, look at the pastor in Tampa who was arrested for holding a church service or the multiple reports of folks being given citations for hanging out with family and friends. One such example is a father being detained for playing catch with his 6 year old daughter in a Colorado park.

Let's examine the 4th amendment

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

In Rhode Island, the governor announced that the national guard will be conducting house to house searches to hunt down New Yorkers seeking refuge in their state. In addition, Rhode Island police officers will be pulling over every vehicle they see with a New York license plate.  This order was rescinded due to a lawsuit threatened by NY governor Cuomo, which in itself is laughable considering his continued violations of the 4th amendment. 

Let's examine the 5th amendment

“No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject  for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

“Due Process” is defined by the legal requirement that the state must respect all legal rights that are owed to a person. Upon examination of this article, we should be able to admit that every stay-at-home order and business obliged to close due to state-force clear violation of the 5th amendment.

We have a real opportunity as Anarchists here 

Our rights are not suspended due to a pandemic and with a working knowledge of the Constitution, we as Anarchists/Voluntarists can begin to point out the multitude of violations the state has made against its own rules. 

Before we can begin to point out what a free society could look like, we must meet people where they are. Your average American will not take the time to research the original intent of the Constitution, but will choose to listen to what their favorite politician or mainstream media outlet says regarding the content of the Constitution, making it even more important to have this type of knowledge.

I applaud anyone who can help point folks to Liberty without pointing out the many contradictions and violations of the state. Studying the constitution has allowed me to better explain the infringements being made on our individual and collective rights, both as Americans and, for many of you reading this, Christians. 

Love Y’all!