Common Sense.

[Rich]

I found the following at Jerry Pournelles Chaos Manor of Tuesday, 21 September 2010. It bears repeating.

The following is a matter of some importance and refers to an item in Mail yesterday.

Not answering questions from a customs guard -

Dear Mr. Pournelle,

I would like to adopt the proscribed method of refusal to answer questions the next time I re-enter the USA after a trip to Montreal, but would like to know what the repercussions could be for my wife who is a resident alien? Do I risk my wife's legal status in our country by involving her in my refusing to answer questions at the US border? Also, it is very likely that my 4 year old (a born citizen with a birth certificate for identification) would be in the car with us. Will the agents be able to deny my son entry by claiming the the birth certificate is not sufficient proof of citizenship?

Sadly, demanding one's rights is not always a cut and dried matter.

Respectfully,

If you are asking for my advice, it is simple: Do Not Do That. Be respectfully polite to the border guards, and apply your energies to other activities.

St. Thomas tells us that those who would stand up to tyrants must be prepared to face the consequences, and must not endanger innocent third parties. You do not qualify. Don't do it. A protest of that kind could have severe consequences without commensurate benefits. There are times to stand up to tyrants. This is not one of them. Put your time into less spectacular actions.

Highly publicized acts of defiance have their place, and need to be done spontaneously lest there be charges of conspiracy under the Patriot Act, yet be well thought out. That means cellular organization. That's a lot of work. Such work would be better spent organizing precincts and building permanent conservative influence and strength in the Republican Party. This can be done by working with the Tea Party movement or through less spectacular but much needed work within the regular Party structure. That is all legal and only mildly dangerous. It requires courage. Arnold Schwarzenegger found that out when as a new governor he tried to reform the California system and faced the hatred of the teachers and nurses unions with their ruthless pursuit and relentless denunciations. He couldn't stand it. The same tactics will be used on anyone who tries to change the system. Had Governor Schwarzenegger had the courage to stand up to all that -- of course the abuse was also directed at his family, since his Kennedy-family wife was denounced as a traitor -- had he had the moral courage to stand up to that, it would have been enormously effective.

A few thousand people working quietly to build permanent influence within a major party will have more consequences to the nation than what would come of one family's defiance of petty officials who believe they are only doing their job. There will come a time when the entire TSA and Border Guard system can be reformed. Work toward that. For that you qualify.

Mod's, if you feel this doesn't qualify under "Fair Use", go ahead and yank it.