If you’re going to Washington, D.C., for the Fourth of July, I strongly suggest that you don’t take a gun. And I suggest even more strongly that you don’t follow Adam Kokesh on a “peaceful” armed march on the city.
We can agree about the outcomes we want, but still strongly disagree about how to get there. We can even disagree about whether there’s anything reasonable to be done which would bring about the desired outcome at the moment.
Kokesh calls himself a libertarian, but I’m not familiar with what all he believes. I just know of him as a flamboyant and loud activist. If that’s your thing, it’s your business. It’s just not my way, so I’m not especially interested in that sort of activism. And I definitely don’t have a death wish — or a desire to lead a bunch of people into being arrested in order to play the role of martyr or victim.
Kokesh had already been promoting the Fourth of July armed march, but he upped the stakes last week. After a recent arrest in Philadelphia — which appeared unjustified based on my cursory viewing of the video — Kokesh called for an “American Revolutionary Army to March on 50 State Capitols.” Here’s his full announcement, if you’d like to make sure I’m not taking him out of context.
If you’re following someone who suddenly calls on an “army” to march on every state capitol in the country and forcibly demand the immediate dissolution of the national government, you should seriously wonder about the person you’re following. Even if we agree on desired ends — and I suspect that I would generally agree with what Kokesh wants for society — you have to wonder about the judgement and mental stability of someone making that sort of plea and hoping for people to obey.
I think this is a dangerous move that plays into the worst of libertarian stereotypes. It’s likely to help isolate libertarians even more and cause the vast majority to say, “If that’s what a libertarian is, I’m staying away from those nutcases.”
What’s more, it’s likely to attract adventure-seeking crazies who are simply itching to fight The Man. (Kokesh calls his radio show “Adam vs. the Man,” so it’s clear that he sees himself that way.) I don’t think most of the people who are eager for trouble are libertarians or even understand much about political philosophy. Most of the sort of people who are ready to pick up weapons and start fighting are unstable or not very bright.
Those among Kokesh’s follower who are bright and sane are the ones who are most likely to be hurt. They face a high likelihood of being arrested and there’s even some chance that violence will actually break out. And for what?
The government holds all the cards. The vast majority of people in this country are not even vaguely close to supporting libertarian views, much less armed insurrection. So when people start being arrested, it’s simply going to make those people say, “Good. Those nuts sound dangerous.”
What’s just as bad is the effect it will have on many people who are in the middle on the issue of weapons. They might be generally sympathetic to the rights of individuals to own guns, but they’re not going to support armed people marching on Washington or on the various state capitol buildings around the country. As a result, it’s likely to erode support for allowing individuals to keep their guns.
There’s absolutely nothing good that can come out of this. Kokesh is going to gain some notoriety and a few supporters. There’s a good chance some people will go to jail. There will be a lot of sound a fury if that happens. But I see no positive outcome possible. I see nothing it gains for individual freedom.
You win battles largely by choosing which ones to fight. Choosing the wrong battle to fight — or the wrong time to fight it — is a sure way to lose the war.
As I’ve said before, I see this country heading toward economic and social collapse. I’m far more concerned about figuring out how to deal with that than I am in picking a fight with The Man.
Note: If you’d like to investigate Kokesh and his views for yourself, here’s his website.
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