Ramona, we need a complete and total rejection of all coronavirus-related government edicts. There is no alternative. OPEN. YOUR. BUSINESSES… NOW! I am behind you. My family is behind you. Ramona is behind you and will support you. We don’t want our businesses to go away. If we don’t stand now against such an obvious power-grab, when will we ever? When will you have had enough? If we naively assume that the government is just inept and not evil, and simply comprised of well-intentioned people who are bound with red-tape, it still doesn’t change things; Sacramento does not know what’s in Ramona’s best interest. Ramona knows what’s in Ramona’s best interest.

You may be asking yourself, “How did we get to this point? How did we wake up one morning without any freedom left?” It’s because we didn’t push back hard enough against tyranny when we had a better chance, before it gained too much power, and when the violations of our liberties weren’t even as egregious or dire as we are currently facing. We could have pushed back against the Income Tax, occupational licensure (“LET ME SEE YOUR LICENSE TO SELL LEMONADE, LITTLE GIRL!"), and any other form of soft tyranny. Tyranny is obviously easier to quell in its infancy than in its maturity but we let it grow, we fed it, and now it’s about to swallow us whole. We put up with it because, well, it wasn’t that bad really, and we didn’t want to be the only nail standing out waiting to be hammered down by the state. I get it. I was scared. We were scared. There was tyranny. Now there is more. Let’s let bygones be bygones and do something about it now.

Most folks are afraid to open their businesses because for instance, they don’t want to lose their highly sought-after licenses. Well maybe it’s time to challenge licensing too. They’re not necessary and they’re immoral. Occupational licensing is bad for business owners, and consumers alike. For the consumer, generally the availability of service is lower and the cost is higher. Licensed workers do not guarantee a good product. Nothing does, but 3rd party review platforms seem to be a good free-market alternative. For the licensee, it is burdensome and raises the barrier to entry making it more difficult for newly aspiring (low-income) entrepreneurs to be successful. It’s essentially another tax, another road-block in the way between two parties wanting to freely transact as they have the inalienable right. If you open your business, your Ramona neighbors will be there to buy your goods regardless of your liquor license, or salon license status. We are behind you. OPEN UP!

I would argue that there is more fear in the world now, and there is more tyranny than ever. Are you more afraid now than before? I am but not because of the virus. We are basically doing everything the government tells us to do “for the greater good”. Every national dictatorship uses that same language. Is it any different this time? Why, yes it is! It’s not national; it’s global tyranny! Our politicians and unelected bureaucracies are basically saying, “Everything we do to you is for your own good, citizen! Pay reverence to all those who keep you safe!” We have ceded all our rights because we’re a nation, a world, of people full of fear, and we need to take them back while we can. I’m concerned that if we don’t practice peaceful resistance and civil disobedience we won’t have much left worth leaving to our children except utter domination by those who seek it over us. Don’t be ignorant about what the pandemic really is. When you voice your opinions on the matter, don’t water down the message. Let loose! TYRANNY WILL NOT LIMIT ITSELF. That is not its nature. The people in power will not EVER simply say to themselves, “Well, I’m satisfied! Let’s stop here. We have now finally satiated our lust for power, and we don’t desire one inch more.” Come out to the Reopen Ramona Rallies. Go to your local town hall. Get behind your local businesses. Open your churches! DO SOMETHING! They count on you being apathetic, and scared, and they count on you doing absolutely nothing. Prove them wrong!

When government fears the people, there is liberty. When people fear the government, there is tyranny. - Thomas Jefferson

The founders of our once-great country were not dumb. They were not ignorant to overreaching tyrannical governments. They were not ignorant to plagues upon society (but I repeat myself). No special exemptions in the constitution were made for plagues. But, we’ve been conditioned to be afraid and powerless, and to accept the established narrative of any story. We’ve been taught to have nothing but reverence for healthcare workers, law enforcement, and first responders as if none of them are infallible, and this was all before COVID-19. This article sums up some of the thoughts I’ve also had on the recent language we’ve seen repeated to us. Here is an excerpt:

Amplifying the Severity of the Pandemic. Through the clever sleight-of-hand of the praise of others, which the listening audience tends to take in readily with their guard down and their discernment filters on pause, the speaker is able to fully convince us of the danger we are facing, by commending health care workers for being willing to confront this danger. The more heroic we are made to think they are, the more danger that is implied. While the praise towards our fellow human beings (who are not part of the authority) makes us feel good to a certain extent, what is really being heightened in us is that low-level fear that this virus is lurking, ready to pounce on us at any misstep. A public that is in this state of fear is much easier to control and manipulate.

Things are poised to get much worse for humanity and our liberties if we take no action. REOPEN RAMONA and let’s Free R Town! Let’s be an example for the rest of the small towns on lockdown! Will you join us? If you’re a local business owner, or if you know one, please contact us so that we can interview and support your reopening efforts. Together, we must shed our fear and stand tall shoulder-to-shoulder as we open our businesses ourselves. If there’s one thing they’re NOT lying about it’s “we’re all in this together.”