In this Podcast only episode, Correspondence Theory editor Russell attempts to make the claim that Sovereign Citizens are less inclined to legalism but more towards ritualist magic and gnosticism through a legalist lens.
I know some sovereign citizens. They have the idea that you can withdraw yourself from the system by sending some particular kind of letter through the mail. They think the form your address takes either opts you into or out of the the system. For instance, the standard two letter abbreviation for the states is bad. You need to spell out the state instead. There were some other details that I don't remember.
What struck me at the time (and what I told them) is that these forms don't really matter. What matters is what do people (enough people) believe strongly in their hearts and minds and are willing to stubbornly defend. For instance, the majority of the actions of the federal government are unconstitutional--as are many actions of the states against their state constitutions. Courts have deliberately twisted and ignored the actual intent of the Constitution and people have allowed it. Neither the original intent or the courts' perverted interpretations actually mean anything though absent a conviction in people's hearts and minds.
The nice thing about a constitutional republic like we have in America is that it does tend to restrain government excesses--but only to the extent that people believe in it. If people lost all belief in it, then it would do nothing to protect the rights of the citizens. What follows from this realization then is that magical thinking and forms & procedures are not the real way to gain or keep freedom or power. Convincing people of your ideas is the way.
I know some sovereign citizens. They have the idea that you can withdraw yourself from the system by sending some particular kind of letter through the mail. They think the form your address takes either opts you into or out of the the system. For instance, the standard two letter abbreviation for the states is bad. You need to spell out the state instead. There were some other details that I don't remember.
What struck me at the time (and what I told them) is that these forms don't really matter. What matters is what do people (enough people) believe strongly in their hearts and minds and are willing to stubbornly defend. For instance, the majority of the actions of the federal government are unconstitutional--as are many actions of the states against their state constitutions. Courts have deliberately twisted and ignored the actual intent of the Constitution and people have allowed it. Neither the original intent or the courts' perverted interpretations actually mean anything though absent a conviction in people's hearts and minds.
The nice thing about a constitutional republic like we have in America is that it does tend to restrain government excesses--but only to the extent that people believe in it. If people lost all belief in it, then it would do nothing to protect the rights of the citizens. What follows from this realization then is that magical thinking and forms & procedures are not the real way to gain or keep freedom or power. Convincing people of your ideas is the way.