The Contest Of Will

Over at Samizdata, there is a challenge regarding Britian's surveillance state:

The solution is obvious. Break the law and smash the cameras. And when they replace them, smash them again. And again. And again. And again.

I wish my fellow Christians could understand this. You know, when Jesus said, 'Render unto Ceasar,' there was a difference between the image on the coin and what the coin was worth. The Roman, upon hearing Jesus, could conclude he broke no law because he did not agitate against the tax, but the zealot, upon hearing those words could easily assume the Lord was for getting rid of Roman coins and minting Israel's own. This is because the precious metals that coins were made out of were actually worth something on their own.

What we have now is nothing but image. Green ink and a few likenesses on paper.

You know what it seems like to me to see the U.S. flag or hear the pledge of allegiance? It feels like knowing a loved family member is dead, but other family members don't want to tell the children, or they are too sick with grief to accept it, so they engage in a charade, pretending that the person is still alive. Hey, I loved her too, but she's dead now, and we have to think clearly in order to survive.

I don't know how often vandalism is actually a valid response here in America, but the first step is to realize that in certain circumstances it actually could be a valid response. Those circumstances currently exist in Britian, probably exist in some American cities, and there are plans afoot in Chicago.