The Republic of Texas was an Earthian confederation of a half-dozen regions that had once been part of a much larger alliance. Ramsey Sardonicus, a business owner from a town on the edge of the confederation – Greeley, Colorado – had had enough of sending his proceeds to the capital city nearly 1,000 miles away in the confiscatory system called taxation.
But Sardonicus was a gentle man, and while his employees, friends and colleagues all grumbled about shooting their way to freedom one day, he believed there must be a better way.
His idea was to combine Thoreau’s refusal to pay taxes, King’s direct action to force a tension that leads to negotiation, and Gandhi’s gathering of thousands of supporters simply to ignore the law.
The plan was noncooperation on a massive scale. The people of Colorado – including, eventually, most of its public officials – just stopped cooperating with the central government. They didn’t just stop paying their taxes. Builders built houses without government-issued permits. Couples got married without government licenses. People wouldn’t show up when called to jury duty. Department of Vehicles offices were empty because operators stopped registering their vehicles. They just stopped paying attention to the government.
When the capital city sent troops to enforce the laws and regulations, they were greeted by 150,000 people surrounding the Colorado governor’s mansion, calmly standing with their hands folded. The only way the troops could get inside would be to shoot their way through the crowd.
And the president and legislature of Texas blinked. After a process of negotiation, Colorado was given permission to secede without firing a shot.
Ramsey Sardonicus declined the offer to become the first president of the Republic of Colorado, but he gave me the best example I had to inspire a peaceful separation between Sirius 4 and Earth. I did not convince my president and legislature to follow Colorado’s example, but when the time came to defy our president and legislature, the people of Sirius 4 were ready.
And I had a different thought about life after the revolution. John Hemlock and his Nazarene helped me complete that thought.
Entry 38. The Nazarene
No comments:
Post a Comment