On Memorial Day, a Confession and Apology From a Former U.S. Navy Veteran

Impact

On this Memorial Day weekend, I would like to take a moment to apologize to you all. You see, I’m a veteran of the U.S. Navy. During my time in the Navy I did some pretty horrible things that I need to atone for.

My list of crimes against humanity include the following:

• I helped arrest peaceful merchantmen who were shipping dates (fruit) out of Iraq in violation of UN sanctions.

• I helped arrest peaceful merchantmen who were shipping oil out of Iraq in violation of UN sanctions.

• I helped arrest peaceful merchantmen who were shipping drugs in violation of U.S. law.

• I participated in the gross waste of tax payer dollars for domestic propaganda purposes.

• I helped starve Iraqi women, children, and the infirm by participating in a naval blockade against that nation. To date, roughly 100,000 civilians have been killed in the conflict created by U.S. involvement in the region.

• I participated in naval exercises with hostile foreign nations, and I participated in mandatory propaganda tours with hostile foreign nations (Russia), under orders from naval command.

• I directly aided violent drug cartels by helping to enforce the prohibition on drugs.

And today, I am still guilty of aiding and abetting all of these crimes by continuing to pay my taxes out of fear for my own personal safety. I don’t have the guts it takes to stop paying my taxes. It doesn’t take any guts to raid a merchant ship when a billion dollar guided missile cruiser has got your back, but it does take some serious guts to stand up to the U.S. state.

The real heroes we should be honoring today are those people who have the guts to stand up the state. People like Irwin Schiff who are in prison for tax evasion because they feel the state has created unconstitutional laws to enforce the collection of taxes. People like Julian Heicklen, who spent time in prison for distributing pamphlets to jurors informing them about their rights. People like Adam Kokesh, who were arrested for silently dancing at the Jefferson Memorial in protest of First Amendment violations by the state. People like Meg McLain, who were arrested for selling lemonade without a license in protest of free enterprise violations by the state. People who participate in the Food Not Bombs community outreach, who were arrested for feeding the homeless without a permit. And all the peaceful drug dealers and peaceful black market merchants who provide services that the public want at great personal risk to themselves, while refraining from the violence that the cartels and the state engage in.

These are the people we should be honoring this Memorial Day. These are people who know that freedom means freedom from coercion. These are people who stand up for freedom in the face of the largest, most violent, most powerful coercive institution the world has ever known. The battlefield they fight on is right here on our shores. They have more guts than I’ll ever have. God bless them all.