Tales from the Road – Finding America in a Tow Truck
Post 24 – The Myth of the Sovereign Citizen
Your Freedom Ends Where Someone Else’s Begins
Two weeks ago, halfway through my 63-minute “Tour that Wernt Gonna Happen,” Mike the tow truck driver arrived. The first thing he said was that he was having a miserable day. The last thing he said before driving off for his next rescue was, “You just made my day.” All I did was – well, I did slip him a $20 tip, but beside that – I repeated a pearl of wisdom I had heard from Paul Mugwart, the Wisdom Catcher.
My car, “The Rig,” less than ten miles into what was supposed to be a 3000-mile, 24-day tour, suddenly lost most of its power – it’s “drive,” so to speak. It didn’t seem to want to move forward. Then smoke started billowing from under the hood. After calling AAA and waiting twenty minutes or so, Mike pulled up in his tow truck.
Minutes later, with car in tow, and me riding along for the trip back home, Mike and I had a conversation that went something like this:
Spook: “I’ll bet you know a lot about cars. You must have seen every variety of car malady there is.”
Mike: “That could be true. I watch a lot of videos on trucks and cars.”
Mike (after a minute of silence): “So I watch one video and then other videos come up. If you watch car and truck videos, you start getting police videos. So, I watch cops busting people for all kinds of stuff.
“My son, he’s into this weird **** (stuff). He’s into this “sovereign citizen” **** (stuff). And it’s going to land him in jail. Cops are trained to recognize this *******, and they will bust you for trying it. That’s why I’m having such a rotten day. I had a fight with my son.”
Spook: “How old is he?”
Mike: “He’s 23. Are you familiar with ‘sovereign citizen’?”
Spook: “Not really.”
Sovereign Citizen?
Mike: “So, it’s kind of a conspiracy theory, kind of a white supremacy movement. Definitely anti-government. The Feds even consider it to be terrorist. The idea is that individuals are sovereign, meaning they don’t have to follow anybody else’s laws. They say the government has no authority over them.
“And I’m telling my son, ‘Terry, you try that **** on a cop and he’s going to arrest you. And you make that argument in court and you’re going to spend a good long time in jail.”
Note: I looked up “sovereign citizen” and found descriptions of it similar to Mike’s.
Is it a Crime?
Spook: “Is he committing a crime?”
Mike: “He’s driving around in an unregistered car, without a driver’s license and without insurance. I’ve seen video after video of these sovereign citizen people getting pulled over by cops. And they always say the same things. Everybody. Like they’re robots. Like their brainwashed. They get it off the internet.”
Spook: “What are they saying?”
Mike: “You know, like, I am a sovereign citizen and I don’t consent to the American government’s rules and regulations. Something like that. And the cops almost always have the same response. ‘We’re going to give you a ticket and impound your car. A court appearance will be mandatory and if you don’t show, the judge will issue a warrant for your arrest’…. My ****ing son is into this ****.”
Spook: “Dang!”
Mike: “I try to talk sense with him and I can’t get through.”
Where One’s Freedom Ends
Spook: “It sounds to me like these people have a broken moral compass.”
Mike (looking at me a little hurt): “My son’s a good kid. Stupid, but he’s good at heart.”
Spook: “I’m not saying he’s not. But what I’m hearing is somebody not understanding that one person’s freedom ends where another’s begins.” (I got that from Paul Mugwart.)
Mike: “Say that again?”
Spook: “One man’s freedom ends where another’s begins. The point where this takes place is called ‘responsibility.’”
Mike: “I like that! Terry’s always talking about responsibility. Why can’t people act more responsibly?”
Spook: “Yeah, so the idea is that what you do in the privacy of your home or your body, etcetera, that’s your business. You can eat what you want, etcetera. As long as you are not hurting anybody else. As long as you are not encroaching on another’s freedom.”
Mike: “I think he’d agree on that.”
Stepping Into the Public Square
Spook: “Yes. BUT!!! … Once you step into the public square, then you have to abide by the rules of society. The public square belongs to the public. That means it belongs to everybody.”
Mike: “That makes sense.”
Spook: “So, you want to sleep on a pink pillowcase? That’s your RIGHT. You want to eat a Fruit Loops for supper? That’s your RIGHT. But if you want to drive a car on a public road, then you have to abide by the laws of society. Driving is not a right.”
Mike: “Yes, it’s a privilege.”
Spook: “That’s right. Because the road belongs to everybody. So, you have to drive under a certain speed, stop at stop signs, yield to pedestrians, etcetera. If you don’t abide by these rules, your privilege can be taken away.”
Mike (as we are arriving at my house): “I like that. I think Terry can relate to that. You ARE sovereign – IN your own house. But your freedom ends where someone else’s begins. And where is that line?”
Spook: “They call it the ‘razor’s edge.’ It’s the place where you find all of the answers to the universe. There are lots of places like this. This is just one. Where does my freedom end and responsibility take over? What is my responsibility to others? Is it all about me, Me, ME? Or is it more about learning harmony? There’s a lot more to it, but this is a good starting point for gaining a deeper understanding of where we fit into this world.”
Mike: “I like that. I think I can get this idea through to my son. You just made my day.”
Spook (as Mike is driving away): “Keep the Flame Alive!”