When to stand.

I am writing this post in response to 2 blog posts I read today that can be found here:

• https://blog.jeffersonkim.com/2020/01/virginia-gun-protests-dying-for-your.html
• https://blog.jeffersonkim.com/2020/01/larpers-want-you-your-family-to-die-for.html

I do not know the author and these posts are the first time I have frequented his blog.

In the first blog post he stated clearly that standing up for his rights (specifically gun rights) is not important enough to die for.  He rationalized his position with the idea that his wealth is not tied to the land (his wealth is mobile) so if threatened he would just leave.  He gave further importance of not throwing your life away when you are a father.

In his second blog post he illustrates his lack of understanding of community and how the US is clearly being invaded by immigrants.  He went as far as to claim he is one of them due to his parents immigrating from Korea.  He states:

"The precious 2nd Amendment won't save you against the demographic shift. The greatest invasion in human history has already occurred and you are living in occupied territory.

Tyranny of the masses trumps your gun rights. Tyranny of the masses already has brought you and your children to their knees. (When I say, "you," I'm referring only to the white, male land owners who would have had voting rights prior to the 1850s.)

I am part of the invasion. I took one of your white-women to bear my children. My parents invaded your lands from Korea. The Koreans price you out of the neighborhoods with the best school districts. They take your placement in high-end Universities (or they would if the Jews didn't push them out). They take your high-tech STEM jobs."

It has been interesting to see his perspective, and I pity him.  He is a man without a home or family.  From what I have gleaned through his blog (which I have not read all) it sounds like he was divorced not long ago.  To me it sounds like he is living in a form of Hell but he has also turned to/found Jesus Christ and is finding comfort in Christ's healing balm.

"I would run away"

Would you die for the right to bear arms?  It's a simple binary answer yes or no.  The question however is not exclusively binary.  It is situationally dependent.  For example if police enter your home to remove your arms, you can fight yes, possibly killing or being killed.  If you have faith in the judicial system you may choose to submit to the local authorities and then resolve the problem through the legal system.  There are a lot of scenarios that could play out.  Stating "I don't think most people in the rally would actually be willing to die for their gun rights" (in reference to the Virginia rally) Mr. Kim has imposed the extreme example to each of the people who were in attendance.  To what gain has he made this cowardly assertion?

The question "would you die" is incomplete.  It jumps to the end without context or understanding.  It's as if you want to read the final chapter of a book without know what else is going on in the story.  You can do it, but you are lost.  You get the same question from churchians in the form of "Would die for your faith", "Would you die for Christ", "Would you take a bullet for Jesus" and what not.  When put to the test the answer should be yes, but the question is very rarely relevant.  A more relevant question is, "are you living for Him?"  The people in the Virginia rally are living for their rights, which is currently what actually matters.

When you take the question from a different view point such as "Would I be willing to die to make sure my kids can defend themselves?"  it gives a different perspective.

There are two virtues that are put into what appears to be conflict.  One of bravery, and one of preservation.  Bravery requires you face danger for what is morally right. Preservation requires that you keep yourself and your family safe.  They are both virtues but the question is to which do you yield?  When given no context but imposing an answer ("would you die for__") you get LARPing.  To state categorically that you would not die to protect the right of your family to protect themselves solidifies the fact you are a coward because you can't envision a scenario in which bravery is more important than self preservation.

The ironic thing is, bravery sometimes is the only way to self preservation.  You dying for your children's rights to defend themselves is one such case.  Simply running away not only shows your cowardice, but it puts your children in worse danger eventually.

Question: Why is me leaving a place that is mistreating me bad for my kids?

It should be self evident but this is completely dependent on the situation.  In the general case of gun control here in the United States the purpose of our second amendment is to limit the government not give rights to the people.  The only way to limit government is for people to have leverage over the government and being armed is very effective at this providing leverage.  Simply running away not only shows your kids it's not worth fighting for (and if your kids are intelligent/mature enough they will despise you for this similar to how Mr. Kim despises his parents) it also prevents them from being able to defend themselves from tyranny when they have to.  Bravery provides the means to preservation.

This being said, if your kids have not been raised and instilled with these values they may erroneously despise your bravery, but that is that again is likely the fault of the parents not raising instilling bravery as a virtue.

"Fancy Pants and Lollipops"

The idea that wealth (mobile or not) makes it so you can leave when there is trouble sounds appealing.  When wrapped with protecting your kids you can almost make it sound noble, almost.  Instead what it is doing is using your kids as a shield for your own cowardice.  "I can't stay and fight for what is right cause I got my kids."  The problem is you leaving also hurts your kids.  Again this is situationally dependent, but to make the blanket statement that most people would do what you do is just a little boy looking for justification in his way of thinking and finding excuses for cowardice.

Question: How can my wealth being mobile be bad for my kids? 

This depends on many things, but wealth (especially in reference to the fiat currency we use today) is only as valuable as people think it is.  I am not exactly trusting of the public education I was given but one thing I remember was the difference between a depression and hyper inflation.  In a depression the poor gets poorer and the rich get richer.  In hyper inflation everyone gets "rich" resulting in everyone being poor, save those with actual capital.  Is capital mobile? Not usually.  You may be wealthy now, but if that doesn't translate into value it does you no good.  Even if you have capital now, it is very hard to predict what will be of value.

The value from mobile wealth does not stand on its own, but is still dependent on the land.  In the simplest and most basic sense to eat you have to buy food.  Food is grown/raised from the land.  The same can be applied to many "mobile" industries.  Tech especially is a perfect example.  I would suggest reading the book Anti-Fragile to get a better understanding of what I am saying.  Mobile wealth traveling from place to place is still dependent on someone who has created value from the land.  If they are not willing to sell you what you want what will you do next?

Question: How can you ensure the cooperation of those around you?

No man is an island, we want to stand on our own and be self sufficient but it's very unlikely that we will do so.  To handle this we build a community.  When someone needs help, we pitch in and help them, and when we need a hand they do the same.  Building a community is more than just living in a neighborhood or a specific suburb.

My wife is from a city of millions.  She lived years without knowing or ever meeting all the people in her own building (a 10 story block).  Her first reaction after we were married and moved to where I am from (a town with 2 stop lights) was pretty funny.  Her only experience with small towns was from scary movies where people got cut up and hidden in the woodshed.  After a few years of living in a much smaller area we went out for a walk one night in a field and she told me she had never experienced silence.  She loved it.

Early in our marriage in this town I was going to school, working full time and we had 2 babies at home things were tight.  That Christmas we were struggling financially.  We looked at our situation and realized we couldn't purchase anything for Christmas for our kids.  They were 2 and 1 and wouldn't remember so we accepted it.  One night when we got home there was a box on our door step where our neighbors had put gifts for not just our kids but for all of us, clothes food, more than we would have envisioned for ourselves for Christmas.  We didn't ask or even tell anyone that we weren't planning on Christmas, but a community sees what people go through and it pitches in where it can.  That Christmas changed me in ways I can't describe to you.  It made me a better person.  It made me a better Christian.

When times get tough we see both the best and the worst in people.  If you always pack up and leave you will miss this, you will be blind to it and not value it.  I suspect no amount of explaining can substitute the experience itself.

My experiences are my own I only share them with Mr. Kim to help illustrate the importance of taking part in a community and not being as a leaf blown around by the winds of chance.  To be fair I don't know his situation but he clearly doesn't seem to value community enough to be willing to fight for it.

A Nation

If anything the second blog post has fortified in my mind the need for true nationalism.  I do not hold to any idea of racial superiority but every people deserve their own home.  Mr. Kim's parents may have improved the economical setting of his upbringing but they have also taken him from his home.  Worse he does not understand the giants who's shoulders he stands on.  My nation developed as a high trust Christian (not Judeo-Christian) society but that society has been invaded and a general trust in others is often taken advantage of and used against you.

Christ taught his 12 to be "wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." (Matt 10:16).  My nation has rejected this in their fear of being called "racist", "bigot", "homophobe", "xenophobe", and other words designed to prevent men to discern evil that they may stand against it.  Many in my nation have turned their backs on God, they have lost faith and despair.  They turn to the prince of this world through addictions of drugs, pornography, lust, and fear.  They watch media that is misinforming and manipulating them.  But they are not the majority, they are simply a part.

My nation is as strong as their faith in God.  Churches that teach doctrines of man, mingled with scripture draw close to God with their lips but their hearts do not approach him. Even so when heard they listen to the Gospel.  You have seen how silly things like "no nut November" start satirically yet resonate with the youth of my nation.  The very light of Christ what I consider Logos is rising.  You say I live in occupied territory and there is truth to this, but I look at you as a tool for God to remind my nation for what they stand.  I stand strong, my children know who they are and my family, my community and my nation will bend the knee to Christ and none other.