I've come to the conclusion that it is time to get out. I need to find a viable alternative to holding a US passport. All that document is, is a target for both the every-increasing enemies of the US, and the thugs that operate a so-called government in the name of US citizens.
I've boiled it down to three key reasons to quit: One, the little-known and even less understood Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA); Two, the NSA and NDAA; and Three, the deplorable state of American culture.
The FATCA was passed in 2010, and requires foreign banks to report on all accounts of US citizens or lose their ability to invest in securities that originate in the US. It also requires anyone with a US taxpayer number (what used to be called the Social Security number) to report and pay tax on all income from whatever source and all assets held overseas.
Now you're thinking, "Hey! That's great! All those rich guys and corporations can't hide their money offshore." Well, it ain't that simple. First, this law assumes that the US has the right to dictate to foreign banks how to go about their business and require them to spend additional time and money to comply with a domestic US law. Last time I checked, a nation's jurisdiction ended at its borders and the only legal means of compelling performance on foreign powers was through treaties.
Second, I have lived outside the US for nearly six years. I have not earned a single dollar in all that time. I do not receive any benefits from government, and the only services I have utilized are my passport and notary service, which I paid for - in cash rupiah as required by the US embassy in Jakarta - on the spot. I ask for and receive nothing from the US government at any level anywhere.
Third, I pay 25% income tax, 10% VAT and a host of other fees here in Indonesia, where I use publicly funded roads and services, and derive some benefit from living here. Furthermore, if I held any property here in Indonesia, it has nothing to do with the US government, nor do they have any interest in my ownership, so I feel no compulsion to pay tax on my assets here or anywhere outside the US.
Fourth, the law specifically states that it applies to "all US persons". In legalese, a person is a corporate entity. It is different from the organic "person" in that the plural is "persons" and not "people". Since I am a human being and not a corporate fiction, the law obviously does not apply to me. However, try arguing these fine points with bureaucratic pinheads or foreigners who don't understand the intricacies of the English language.
That list alone would be enough to drive a sane person to find citizenship elsewhere, but it gets worse.
Next, there's the NSA/NDAA fiasco. I have nothing to hide, and I like hiding that fact from any and all government prying. You see, I was raised an old-school Texan. We don't trust any government, at any level, anywhere, for any reason. Very simple point of view. The fact that I have nothing to hide is NOT an invitation to government operatives to catalog and record every single bowel movement I make. I like my privacy. What I want the world to know about me can be found right here on this blog. Anything else is my own business. So piss off.
Furthermore, both the NSA and the NDAA assume and treat US citizens as enemies of the state by virtue that they breathe. You don't have to commit a crime, be convicted of a felony, spout off or protest. All you have to do is wake up in the morning and you are an enemy of the state.
Excuse me?
Grousing about government is a time-honored American tradition. Not agreeing with 99% of the crap that comes out of Washington is every citizen's right and duty. Believing that unmanned cameras are not witnesses and unmanned drones are not law enforcement requires little more than reading a couple of documents - specifically the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Most egregious are the so-called rights to indefinite detention and warrantless search and seizure. The right to face an accuser and the right to be secure in one's property date back to the Magna Charta and are fundamental to Common Law. These two features of the NSA and NDAA radically change the nature of American legal and political life, and are far more subversive that any individual could ever be.
Finally, we come to the culture. Something is terribly wrong with America. The crassness and slimy nature of its so-called 'entertainment', and the sleaze that is promulgated in the public schools have created a public sphere that is bereft of any redeeming qualities.
Once you get out of the constant noise of it all, as I have, then even a few minutes of American TeeVee will make you nauseous. The women are all domineering sex-fiends who spend all their time fixing the messes that the emotional, indecisive men make. Every show includes a gay man that the women all fawn over. This is the role model which the American male is supposed to emulate to get women to pay attention to them. There's always a Jewish character who is the only one allowed to talk about religious matters and to have an opinion on things like race, religion and politics. No other character can do that.
Racial minorities are predominantly criminal, but they are forced to be by white male society. Once they are understood as victims of evil white men, then they are redeemed. In fact, any character who adheres to traditional roles and mores is ridiculed and forced to change by some contrived event that shows how evil the old way of doing things is.
In any event, everyone is a victim (except while males). Everyone has been downtrodden and their victimhood defines their character. Without being victims, none of the characters have any existence or purpose. Unless...
They are government agents. Then they are heroic and all-knowing. They can go anywhere, do anything with impunity. Their hunches are always right and they are allowed to break-and-enter, confiscate private property, torture and terrorize to get their suspect who invariably caves in and confesses all under the omnipotent stare of Big Brother.
Once upon a time, there were TeeVee shows where men were wise and strong, and you could go ages without seeing a government agent of any kind. If you did, it was usually Barney Fife bungling his way around being generally ineffective. The roles have been reversed now, and every single episode and every single show has some interaction with a government agency.
I won't even go into the mental rape occuring in the public schools, or the physical rape occuring in medical institutions. I won't mention the noxious stew of chemicals that infest every level of the food pyramid, and especially water. One need only look at the number of Americans on some form of happy pills to know that the society is sick and getting sicker. If the populace needs to escape that badly, something is definitely wrong.
I think it's time to start shopping for a new country. The unfortunate thing is that the US has taken upon itself to infest as many countries as it can. It's not enough that it has placed every soul within its borders in jeopardy, but it must export its error to the world. It has no moral superiority nor legal authority to do such a thing.
The only reason it has gotten away with it so far is that the US threatens the lives and property of every single person on Earth with its military might. If it keeps up, eventually the world will push back and that is the moment I surely don't want to be identified as an American. I have not been part of the error, I have done what I can to corrent the error, and I sure as hell won't go down for the error of a rogue nation.
It's time for the American people to wake up and see what is being done in their name. It is no longer enough to hide behind willfull ignorance and psycho-active drugs. It is especially time for men to stand up and act like men. Don't follow that rubbish on TeeVee. Women respect strong, decisive men and they'll quickly back down.
You know what would really be interesting? Go to Mexico, renounce your citizenship. Re-enter the US illegally. Then get amnesty and preferential treatment when Congress screws the pooch on the immigration bill.
The first step in setting things right is turning off the damn TeeVee.
