“Go f@(k yourself!”  

Like me, you may have heard it a million times. As a small boy hearing it from the teenagers on the school bus to the days of a pissed off Afghan national who was past ready for my uniformed ass to get the hell out of his country, I had no clue just what a plethora of nuanced meanings this simple phrase would have to my mind after years of hearing its’ various applications in all social classes and in other languages and countries. Over the course of my life, I’ve heard it applied in contexts good, bad, and ugly. Maybe it’s an expression of frustration which comes out verbally even if nobody is around. Maybe it’s an ironic edgy greeting between understood friends. Maybe it’s actually used in it’s more literal sense to express that someone has violated you to the point of no more Mr. Nice Guy. I realize there are those this kind of subject matter offends, and I will politely give you the opportunity early here to save yourself a lot of frustration and being offended by quitting reading……… this……. right….. now.

Then, go f@(k yourself.

Well, if you didn’t want to read it, then why did you? You were just given the opportunity to stop. Anyway.

There are many different ways it might be said that one is “f@(ked.” Someone may express this colorful sentiment when getting in an accident, losing a job, being handed divorce papers, being diagnosed with terminal illness, or any number of occurrences that we may usually consider as negative. For example, I may say that my struggles with PTSD is one way in which I’m f@(ked. The catch is, we can each take personal responsibility to unf@(k ourselves. In fact, having the capacity to recognize that only you can truly change your own life for the better is an empowering mindset. If you’ve come to the realization that nobody is going to save you but you, then you may well stand atop the precipice of a magnificent orgy of unf@(king. I’m no expert on recovery, but I’ve done enough of it to know that any given individual’s recovery is really up to that person and that person alone in the end. Recovering addicts constantly talk about compulsive and obsessive behaviors and ‘learning to let go’ as key concepts in understanding self-destructive behaviors. Although there is a physiological element to PTSD, it is still coming to grips with learning how we must adapt and move on that has been the real game-changer for many of us who struggle with PTSD and refuse to let it end our hopes of a good quality of life. And, sometimes a little humor is just what the doctor ordered:

While I have a deep appreciation of the colorful language to which one may be exposed in the military at times, it is to the concept R. Lee Ermey’s drill instructor character is attempting to convey to the tender young mind he was addressing which I would like to actually draw your attention. The suggestion being made to “unf@(k yourself” could potentially be exactly what this greenie-weenie needed to hear to get him focused on the appropriate task. For those of you familiar with this clip from the film, Full Metal Jacket, you know that our innocent young “Joker” goes on to be one dynamic soldier of sorts.

Someone rhetorically asked and provided the immediate answer, “what is the difference between a pregnant woman and a light bulb? You can unscrew a light bulb.” So, maybe the exploration into our metaphor only goes so deep, and I don’t want to get too far off into tangents and similar metaphors about how the federal government is pregnant with tyranny or the fact that an abortion still wouldn’t “unscrew” any potential mother but only remove a product of said screwing. But, for those of us who wish to be free; how do we “unf@(k” ourselves from a government we see as too big, too powerful, too expensive, too corrupt, too violent, and too arrogant for any good? If the average American voter who sees that we need major change and quickly develops the sense of urgency many of us may feel is warranted, then there would probably be many more acts of civil disobedience all over the country. Voting isn’t working for the dissenter who wishes to ‘opt out’ of all the intrusive new powers the U.S. government keeps inventing for itself. Protesting isn’t working for the guy who’s watching his hard-earned retirement disappear in waves of ‘quantitative easing.’ Getting involved in politics to change the game for most people is like getting in bed with a porn star/prostitute to help practice abstinence. It seems an impossibly daunting task to ever get enough ready, willing, and able people together at the right place at the right time to actually make D.C. hear what freedom-loving people all across America insist we have – our freedom. Still; people will vote, people will protest, and people will donate to lobbying groups and such. Among all of these methods of trying to defend yourself from an over-reaching government, surely the nonviolent civil disobedience of many peaceful movements which have helped us secure basic rights are fair game and sometimes even the most appropriate for someone who wishes to “unf@(k yourself” and live free now. Not to spend the rest of your life trying to earn your way out of oppression – not to spend the rest of your life with the wishful thinking of trying to vote yourself out of oppression – not cursing the world and attempting to shoot your way out of oppression – but by living as though you are free now, even if you’re arrested for it. No victim, no crime. This brings me to a recent incident of arrest of an activist at a non-violent civil disobedience event.  

Adamvstheman.com host and libertarian activist Adam Kokesh was arrested at Smoke Down Prohibition V in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday the 18^th of May. Kokesh was one of many speakers who addressed the crowd in the area of the marijuana and individual freedom-themed event and was peacefully expressing an opinion in public with the microphone still in his hand when he was physically removed by United States National Park Service officers. After initial social media reports that Kokesh had no marijuana in his possession and was not in violation of any law other than allegedly “resisting arrest,” this led many to ask if Kokesh were resisting, then for what was he being arrested in the first place? On May 20^th, an affidavit was published online at freeadam.net which explained that one Donald Reed had alleged charges against Kokesh for felony assault of a federal officer. With multiple witnesses and video recording equipment around, of which much information can be found on YouTube and other online sources, this serious but seemingly unfounded charge has yet to be corroborated. At this point, it certainly seems that suit-clad Iraq war veteran Kokesh standing peacefully in the park talking about freedom to passers-by was silenced and forcibly removed without any sound justification by agents of the federal government. It’s like something out of a classic dystopic political novel, except it actually happened. With brazen displays of unjust brute force from federal law enforcement officers in broad daylight and in front of the cameras like this for all the world to see on the internet, why wouldn’t people seeing this kind of tyranny brought down on their own heads imagine visions of brown-shirts marching proudly with swastikas and big brother’s thought police mindlessly imposing themselves on peaceful people? Is anyone actually so naive as to believe it can’t happen here? In the wake of all the scandals we’ve seen from our corrupt federal government regardless of who’s in charge, from the IRS to the AP (Associated Press) and Benghazi to the Fast & Furious of Mexico, what more proof does anyone need that the federal government of the United States of America is beyond broke – it is a monster of destruction that is off the leash and devouring our freedom in the wake of its’ insatiable appetite. No doubt Mr. Kokesh may have some similar sentiments as he has silently refused to converse with authorities, by many accounts. This has, however, not stopped him from announcing from his captivity that Smoke Down Prohibition VI is being organized for the 8^th of June. It seems that some people just never learn – and maybe shouldn’t. One observer of the current situation posed the thought upon finding out Kokesh hasn’t been verbally acknowledging his captors that, “he (Kokesh) is waiting to see what they’re going to do with him.” Indeed, and speaking to those who, he seems to believe, believe in his cause outside the walls where housed by his captors.

 

Kokesh has been in several headlines lately as he plans an armed march in D.C. on Independence Day of this year. The event page set up for this on facebook has almost 5,000 RSVP’s “going” and well over 4,000 more “maybes” to this event described as a peaceful and non-violent act of civil disobedience in support of the individual’s right to bear arms. Many supporters are claiming the supremacy of the 2^nd Amendment, the right of self-ownership and self-defense, and the Supreme Court decision in D.C. Vs Heller as lawful justification for such a march. Others go on to say that a “locked and loaded” open carry march in the nation’s capital is warranted merely on the principle that gun control has gone too far or is about to, and the government needs to be put on notice that it should fear those on whom it seeks to tread as government should fear the people and not vice-verse. For many who have suffered the weight of the unsung cruelty of this government in its’ wars on everything and everybody who isn’t worshiping at the altar of obedience to governments’ every immoral, corrupt, and unjust dictate; many of us can certainly empathize with someone so desperate for freedom as Adam Kokesh and what should probably be seen by any freedom-loving proud American as courageous acts of civil disobedience which promotes individual liberty. As controversial as some of Kokesh’s antics may be (from wearing his Marine uniform during an anti-war protest to dancing at the Jefferson Memorial, and interrupting former Republican presidential candidate Arizona Senator John McCain’s speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention with a banner stating, “You Can’t Win An Occupation”), maybe individuals can’t help but at least on some level to see a free mind just trying to “unf@(k” himself. Ironically, it may seem that getting one’s self arrested, publicly smeared by detractors, incarcerated, accruing legal fees, and amassing a criminal record is more like the fast-track to f@(king one’s self exceedingly well. Maybe there are no guarantees in life anyway, and one might as well have a purpose for all that hassle. None of us really know when we set out to “unf@(k” ourselves whether or not any one of us may actually only succeed in “f@(king” ourselves even worse. At least Adam Kokesh is striving for originality and seemingly doing it ‘his way.’ I’ve already considered that he may be a visionary, just not real sure if he’s succeeding in f@(king or “unf@(king” himself yet. If some people’s suspicions are accurate and Kokesh was snatched up gestapo style more because of the guns he’s organizing for the 4^th of July than for the event at which he was actually speaking on May 18^th, then we have good reason to believe all of us are thoroughly f@(ked. If our government gets away with snatching up any peaceful protestor off the street any time they want on trumped up bullshit charges; then no man, woman, or child in America is safe from our own government. In that case, we had all best take a page from the Kokesh playbook and hurry up to “unf@(k” ourselves. As Kokesh quoted Albert Camus during his address on May 18^th, “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”

Labeled a “political prisoner” by many supporters, Adam Kokesh is just one of many peaceful Americans such as FOX news D.C. correspondent James Rosen who have recently fallen victim to the unconstitutional over-reach of federal powers which have grown with such advents as the creation of the Dept. of Homeland Security, TSA (Transportation Security Administration), the Patriot Act, and new indefinite detention of American citizen provisions in the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) which have concerned many civil liberties watchdogs like the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). Outrage by 1^st Amendment supporters, freedom of the press advocates, and other believers in free speech have boiled to a peak recently as various news agencies alerted the public that the Justice Department is chilling the press with such a bold move as to authorize an investigation which includes wiretapping and confiscation of Rosen’s personal phone calls, personal emails, as well as those of his family, co-workers, and other associates without Rosen’s consent or knowledge. As if any more evidence were needed that the federal government is out of control, it’s also been reported by various major media outlets that the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) under the Obama regime have been playing favorites and singling out perceived potential political opponents for extra scrutiny and outright denial of equal process against groups with names including such words as “patriot” and “tea party” apparently being red flags. As the facts in these recent scandals are brought to light, it only serves to confirm to many Americans what has already been observed by critics that the Obama administration has taken the philosophy of brute governance at the barrel of a gun to alarming extremes. Maybe the American people are waking up to the fact that free people here at home have been declared just as much an enemy of the United States government as the innocent bystanders dying in Obama’s drone strikes overseas (which even killed a 16 year-old American citizen (a minor) in Yemen). As the federal government moves ever-closer to including the American homeland as part of the battlefield in the ‘war on terror’ at the behest of such big government neo-conservatives as South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, you and I are in just as much danger of becoming collateral damage in this growth of a violent police state as was the underage American citizen Abdulrahman Al-Awlaki. The American minor was son of Islamic cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki and was killed by an American drone strike in Yemen two weeks after his father was killed likewise in 2011 despite Abdulrahman’s underage status and lack of evidence of any violence on his part or that he even shared his father’s jihadist beliefs.

 

Adam Kokesh was released today (May 24^th). In a statement released earlier, Kokesh called for a new “American Revolutionary Army” to march on all 50 state capitals on the day of the march being planned for July 4^th. The following was posted in the description section of the event on facebook:

“When a government has repeatedly and deliberately failed to follow its own laws, violated the fundamental human rights of its citizens, threatened the sanctity of a free press, created institutions intended to eliminate privacy of communication, waged war at the behest of special interest that threatens the public safety, killed hundreds of children with drone strikes, imprisoned and destroyed the lives of countless individuals for victimless crimes, stifled economic opportunity to maintain the dominance of the financial elite, stolen from the people through an absurd system of taxation and inflation, sold future generations into debt slavery, and abused it’s power to suppress political opposition, it is unfit to exist and it becomes the duty of the people to alter or abolish that government by whatever means necessary to secure liberty and ensure peace. A new American revolution is long overdue. This revolution has been brewing in the hearts and minds of the people for many years, but this independence day, it shall take a new form as the American Revolutionary Army will march on each state capital to demand that the governors of these 50 states immediately initiate the process of an orderly dissolution of the federal government through secession and reclamation of federally held property. Should one whole year from this July 4th while the crimes of this government are allowed to continue, we may have passed the point at which non-violent revolution becomes impossible. The time to sit idly by has passed. To remain neutral is to be complicit, just doing your job is not an excuse, and the line in the sand has been drawn between the people, and the criminals in Washington, D.C. while some timid souls will say that it is too early, the we can solve this problem through democratic means provided by government, that current levels of taxation are reasonable for the services provided, and that the crimes of this government are merely a tolerable nuisance, it may already be too late. While there is risk in drastic action, the greater danger lies in allowing this government to continue unchallenged. So if you are content with the status quo, stay home, get fat, watch the fireworks from a safe distance, and allow this Independence Day to pass like any other. But if you see as we see, and feel as we feel, we will see you on the front lines of freedom on July 4th 2013 for this: The Final American Revolution “

Although the above-mentioned demonstration may be viewed by some as ‘radical,’ some others may ask if it is not more accurately the state which has become so radical. While there are plenty of conspiracy theories in regards to the actions of the United States federal government, one does not need to venture into the land of tinfoil hats to see that the federal government has grown too large for its’ breeches. Some basic lessons in civics and fundamentals of checks and balances on federal power is enough to set modern day Paul Reveres to sounding the alarm. There needs be no secret cabal of shadowy egomaniacs with delusions of grandeur to blame. In fact, promoting unfounded narratives about any given bogey men of choice may only serve to distract, muddle, and confuse the real issue. It’s not always someone else’s fault when we find ourselves in the grip of tyranny. There may be no further to look for our oppressors than in the closest mirror. It seems much more likely to some of us that we are our own greatest enemy and therefore up to us not to point the finger of blame in all cases at some group outside of ourselves, but to see what we are actually doing to ourselves. It is only when we realize that we don’t need a scapegoat, but rather to look within, that one is finally in a position to “unf@(k” yourself. As Thomas Jefferson so aptly stated, “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.” (Thomas Jefferson to Edward Carrington, 1788.) There doesn’t need to be any secret society or master plan for tyranny to take a choke-hold on any group of people – it is a cycle of government progressively spiraling out of control for which any and all free people must remain eternally vigilant. It is a recurring phenomenon in the history of the human race which repeats itself time and again. It can happen in America just as easily as it has happened and is happening in many societies and cultures down through the ages and all around the world. In the opinion of a seemingly growing number of Americans, it is happening in America right now. Instead of begging for someone else to grant us our freedom again, maybe we had best unf@(k ourselves.

Other people may inspire you, set an example, or teach you. A coach is great, but he needs a motivated athlete. A professor is wonderful, but he needs an apt pupil. A mentor is invaluable, but he needs a willing apprentice. Therapy can be helpful, but there must be an open-minded patient. Freedom is essential, but it requires responsibility.  “Unf@(king yourself” may manifest in many forms.  For some, it may mean achieving self-sufficiency by focusing on projects such as growing a garden.  For others, it may mean working yourself out of debt.  For more still, it may mean embracing a new lifestyle of diet and exercise or joining a support group.  And for a certain demographic of folks who simply want to live life in the blessings of peace and freedom, it may just mean some civil disobedience.  The bottom line is, you are the one who has to step up if you want to “unf@(k yourself.”

  BY: A.G. House is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan and former licensed minister of the United Pentecostal Church Intl. who has become an outspoken atheist, anti-war activist, and gotten involved in many other issues which he believes affect the individual freedoms of the people who’s Constitutional Rights he took an oath to defend. He currently resides in the heart of Tennessee with his companion dog ‘Liberty’ where he is recovering from PTSD and enjoys the therapeutic hobbies of writing, playing drums, and other forms of artistic expression  \m/