For Liberty and Union: Paper No. 6

(by An American Citizen)

On Violence and Justice

We condemn absolutely the murder of Charlie Kirk. Tyler Robinson's act was not resistance—it was terrorism. Not justice—but its antithesis. Political violence from any source deserves the strongest legal punishment. Period.

But we must also examine how power exploits violence. Within hours of Kirk's death, pre-written bills appeared. Within days, sweeping legislation passed. Within weeks, emergency powers expanded. Robinson handed them exactly what they wanted: an excuse for control they'd been seeking.

The Cycle of Provocation

History reveals a pattern in how violence emerges and who benefits from it.

Pressure builds systematically. Economic desperation affects 64% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck. Political frustration grows as Congress maintains a 17% approval rating while 94% incumbent reelection rate. Social isolation increases with 36% of Americans reporting serious loneliness. When pressure has no release valve, explosion becomes inevitable.

The Weimar Republic demonstrated this perfectly. Economic collapse, political dysfunction, and social chaos created conditions where violence became seen as the only solution. The violence that resulted didn't solve problems—it ended democracy.

In 1960s-80s Italy, the "Strategy of Tension" saw mysterious bombings that justified expanding state power. Decades later, investigations revealed intelligence service infiltration of both left and right extremist groups. Not direct control—just enough pressure and provocation to ensure useful violence emerged.

Even in America, we've seen the pattern. The Weather Underground's bombings in the 1970s justified COINTELPRO expansions. Oklahoma City enabled surveillance growth that would have been impossible without tragedy. January 6th created the "domestic terrorism" framework now being deployed widely.

When Government Violence Loses Legitimacy

Government claims monopoly on legitimate violence. But legitimacy isn't self-declared—it's societally granted.

British violence against colonists lost legitimacy at Boston Massacre—five dead created a revolution. Federal violence at Fort Sumter lost legitimacy—one fort fired upon created a civil war. Police violence at Edmund Pettus Bridge lost legitimacy—"Bloody Sunday" created a movement.

Today, questions about legitimacy multiply. No-knock raids kill innocents like Breonna Taylor. Asset forfeiture takes $3 billion annually from citizens never charged with crimes. Drone strikes eliminated American citizens without trial. The DEA and ATF conduct thousands of warrantless searches through "administrative subpoenas."

When official violence exceeds perceived legitimacy, unofficial violence grows. This isn't advocacy—it's observable pattern. The 1992 LA riots followed the Rodney King verdict. The 2020 protests followed George Floyd. When justice systems fail, street justice emerges.

Justice Without Government

Real justice predates government and surpasses it.

Community justice through natural consequences works better than court systems. The #MeToo movement accomplished through social consequences what legal systems failed to achieve through prosecution. Corporate boycotts changed behavior faster than regulation. Shame campaigns altered conduct more effectively than fines.

Medieval Iceland operated for 300 years without central government through a system of community arbitration and restitution. Frontier towns maintained order through reputation and reciprocity before formal law arrived. Immigrant communities today resolve disputes internally, avoiding a justice system they don't trust.

Government justice often means selective prosecution. The powerful skate while the powerless burn. Wall Street criminals who stole billions got bailouts; someone who steals food gets prison. War criminals get book deals; whistleblowers get prosecution. The justice system doesn't deliver justice—it maintains power structures.

Preventing Violence Through Liberty

Violence emerges from hopelessness. When people have no peaceful path to change, violence appears logical.

Studies consistently show correlation between liberty and peace. The Human Freedom Index finds that countries in the top quartile for freedom experience 73% less political violence than bottom quartile nations. Free societies provide outlets: speech for anger, voting for change, economic opportunity for advancement, and legal redress for grievances.

Conversely, repression breeds violence. Syria's suppression of peaceful protest created civil war. China's Tiananmen Square massacre radicalized a generation. America's suppression of anti-war protest in the 1960s contributed to Weather Underground bombings.

The formula is simple: expand liberty to prevent violence, restrict liberty to generate it. Currently, America is restricting liberty across every dimension—speech, assembly, privacy, economic freedom. The pressure builds daily.

The False Binary

They present a false choice: their order or chaos. But there's a third option proven throughout history—ordered liberty.

Their version of order requires surveillance of everyone to catch the few who might commit violence. It demands restricting everyone's freedom to prevent some from misusing it. It insists on controlling all to stop some. This isn't order—it's occupation.

True ordered liberty means maximum freedom with minimum necessary restraint. The American frontier proved this works. Crime rates were lower in the "Wild West" than in Eastern cities. Armed citizens, community standards, and natural consequences maintained order without massive government.

Switzerland demonstrates modern ordered liberty. Universal gun ownership, minimal federal power, maximum cantonal autonomy, and genuine democracy produce one of the world's most peaceful, prosperous societies. They trust citizens with freedom and citizens reward that trust with responsibility.

Justice for Charlie Kirk

Real justice for Kirk isn't what they're delivering.

Tyler Robinson should face full prosecution under existing law. We have laws against murder. We don't need new ones. We don't need to destroy liberty to punish one man's crime. We don't need to surveille millions to prosecute one.

Kirk believed in free speech—they're censoring in his name. Kirk opposed big government—they're expanding it using his death. Kirk supported individual liberty—they're destroying it for his "justice."

Using tragedy to advance pre-existing agendas isn't justice—it's exploitation. The PATRIOT Act was written before 9/11, waiting for the right crisis. The Surveillance Expansion Act of 2025 was drafted before Kirk died. They don't let crises go to waste because they're prepared to exploit them.

The Warning

Violence is coming. Not from us—we oppose it absolutely. But from the conditions being created.

When economic survival becomes impossible for millions, when political participation is meaningless, when social cohesion collapses, when justice systems fail, when peaceful change is blocked—violence becomes inevitable. Not justified, but inevitable. Not endorsed, but predictable.

History provides endless examples. The French Revolution followed decades of economic exploitation and political exclusion. The Russian Revolution emerged from war, famine, and oppression. The American Revolution itself came only after "a long train of abuses."

Current conditions mirror historical precedents: widening wealth gaps exceed Gilded Age levels, political dysfunction approaches Weimar levels, and social fragmentation reaches unprecedented depths. Add surveillance state growth, economic weaponization, systematic suppression of dissent, and now military occupation of American cities—the ingredients are combining. When government declares cities "training grounds" for military operations, it crosses the line from oppression to occupation.

The Path Away From Violence

Individual action channels rage into change. Instead of violence, choose voting, organizing, building, creating. Transform anger into energy for peaceful resistance.

Community support prevents radicalization. Strong communities provide belonging that extremism exploits. When people have real relationships, they don't seek violent movements. When they have local support, they don't need radical solutions.

Structural reform releases pressure. Genuine democracy, economic opportunity, protected civil liberties, and accessible justice prevent violence by providing alternatives to it. Every peaceful path to change that closes increases the likelihood of violent paths being taken.

The solution is straightforward: restore genuine democracy, protect civil liberties, ensure economic opportunity, and deliver actual justice. Do the opposite of what they're doing now.

Conclusion: Choose Justice Through Liberty

Tyler Robinson chose violence. He was wrong—legally, morally, strategically. His victim is dead, his cause damaged, his life destroyed. Violence didn't advance liberty; it provided excuse to restrict it further.

But those exploiting Kirk's death for power are also wrong. Using tragedy for tyranny compounds the crime. Weaponizing grief for control doubles the damage.

Real justice doesn't come through violence or through government expansion. It comes through communities governing themselves, consequences flowing naturally, and liberty enabling peace.

The path to justice runs through liberty, not around it. Every restriction of freedom in the name of safety makes violence more likely, not less. Every expansion of surveillance in the name of security makes society more fragile, not stronger.

Want to honor Kirk's memory? Prosecute his killer under existing law, then stop. Don't use his death to kill more liberty. Don't exploit his tragedy to create more tragedy.

Want to prevent future violence? Expand liberty, don't restrict it. Open peaceful paths to change, don't close them. Address legitimate grievances, don't suppress them.

The choice is clear: liberty with occasional tragedy or tyranny with guaranteed oppression. The founders chose liberty. So should we.

For Liberty and Union

Signed,
An American Citizen

Who Chooses Justice Through Liberty

September 25, 2025