I can still hear his voice when I was a kid, teaching me the ways of the world:
“You know son, I think I’m gonna park an old truck in each corner of the property with big pipes mounted on the back so they look like cannons. Then I’ll fly an upside-down flag at the top of the road… See how long it takes for them to come and get me.”
Naturally, I asked the obvious:
“Why would you do that, Dad?
With a sparkle in his eye, he smiled, knowing he was about to teach me a valuable life lesson about freedom and independence.
“Because it’s a free country and I should be able to do it if I want. It’s my property.”
Now, the farm was big… And far enough out in the boonies for us to do pretty much whatever we wanted. Not to mention, Dad never really did care about what Johnny Law had to say.
Of course, that meant we had to fend for ourselves every winter. Oftentimes, heavy snow brought down the power lines and it was nothing short of survival.
We were also our own first line of defense when it came to home security. That’s why there was always a sawed off, double-barrel shotgun next to the front door. It was even legal by a generous ⅛ inch!
Yes, country-life was much different from the comfortable suburban lifestyle my kids have grown up with. The things city-dwellers take for granted are true commodities in places beyond the blacktop.
The reason my dad decided to teach me this particular lesson, though, wasn’t because country folks have some kind of strange desire to fly upside-down flags… It was because of something in the news headlines at the time– Ruby Ridge.
Anyone old enough to remember the incident will recall the backlash of distrust and skepticism of government overreach that followed. For everyone else, here’s a quick summary:
Way back in 1991, an arrest warrant was issued for Randy Weaver after failing to appear for a court date. When federal agents tried to arrest him near his cabin in the Selkirk Mountains of northern Idaho, a firefight ensued. It was followed by an eleven-day siege of his cabin.
In the end, three people died: His wife and son, and a U.S. Marshal.
The aftermath of the standoff led to a major debate about the use of deadly force by federal agents. It also contributed to a significant growth in the right-wing militia.
Now, more than thirty years later, I find myself opining over similar issues:
Are we really free to express ourselves the way we want?
In Randy Weaver’s case, he was an anti-government “separatist”. Even though he was suspected of being involved with the Aryan Nations, he was never charged. Nevertheless, he ended up on the FBI and Secret Service’s radar.
Eventually, he met an undercover informant, who claimed that Weaver sold him a pair of sawed off shotguns. Evidently, the barrels were shorter than the legal standard– by roughly 5”. That was all the ATF needed to put their plan into motion…
They went to survey Weaver’s property, trying to figure out how best to execute their warrant. When his dog started barking at them, however, things went south…
One of the officers shot the dog before pointing his gun at Weaver’s son, Samuel. In response, the fourteen-year-old ended up firing at the officers. He was immediately shot in the back and died.
Well, it didn’t take long for a full fledged firefight to break out, resulting in the death of Deputy Marshal William Degan Jr.
Vicki Weaver, Randy’s wife, was accidentally killed a few days later by a sniper’s. Finally, after an intense standoff, Weaver surrendered.
Now, the controversy is obvious. Is having an arrest warrant enough justification for federal law enforcement officers? Can they lay siege to a private residence? What about murdering two people who had nothing to do with the original charges?
Or, was it all just a ruse to go after someone they didn’t like because of his political views?
After all the dust settled, the courts ended up ruling in Weaver’s favor, awarding the family $3.1M in a civil lawsuit. In the process, Randy Weaver was also convicted of his original weapons charges. He was sentenced to eighteen months in prison.
There you have it- the system working as it was designed, filtering through the facts and doing its best to serve justice.
It may be a system of checks and balances, but it’s sloppy to say the least…
Yet, the ongoing problem is that we routinely find ourselves in the same situation. Personal views come under attack not just by the government, but by each other.
Whether it’s someone on the right who wants to bear arms, or someone on the left who wants to identify as “non-binary,” life in America is messy.
The question I have for you this week, is:
Do you feel free to express yourself the way you choose? Or do you think you’re bound to be like my dad– afraid someone’s going to “come after you” for going against the grain? More importantly, do you think others are free to express themselves around you, whether you agree with their views or not?
Tolerance goes both ways.
In the end, my dad ended his lesson by saying, “America’s always going to have problems to work out… But, it’s still the best thing going in the world, because at least we get to ask these questions.”
I, for one, have to agree… Even if we get it wrong some of the time, the ideas of freedom and expression are worth fighting for through conversations like this– because when we get it right, there’s nothing that compares to being an American.
What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! Also, if you’d like to write more than just a comment, check out the submission guidelines page.
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