Edited and compiled by Frederick Mann
Copyright © 2002 Build Freedom Holdings ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Introduction
Much of the power bureaucrats seem to have over their victims is really illusory. The power seems real because if you don't obey them, bureaucrats with guns may eventually use physical force to compel you to obey -- or steal your property, jail you, and/or shoot you.
But what if they don't notice some of your activities? What if you don't tell them about some of your activities? What if you don't "snitch on yourself" by reporting some of your activities to them? How much of what they don't see and don't know about can bureaucrats really control?
And what about activities in cyberspace?
"People quickly grasp the consequences of those 1s and 0s that have no weight, no size, no shape, and no color, and can travel at the speed of light.
Just to name a few: your marginal cost to make more bits is zero. You need no inventory. You can sell them and keep them for yourself at the same time. The originals and the copies are indistinguishable. They don't stop at customs. Governments cannot tell where they are. Regulators cannot determine their appropriate jurisdiction." -- Nicholas Negroponte (Introduction to 'Unleashing the Killer App' by Larry Downes and Chunka Mui)
Another important consideration is the extent to which bureaucrats can actually control what they do know about. They have limited resources. They are often poorly organized. One department may not cooperate with another. They may not share information well. Many bureaucrats may spend most of their time on office politics and reading or writing memos and reports. So even if bureaucrats know something about you "requiring" action to enforce a regulation, they often don't have the manpower to do anything. They may have higher priorities than your "petty violation" of their rules.
Burglars typically check out several houses before they decide which one to burgle. Expect them to select a house that offers the greatest rewards with the least risk. Bureaucrats may do a similar cost-benefit analysis before selecting their victims. However, in the same way that a Mafia boss may deal harshly with some victim as an example, and to "send a message" to potential disobeyers, bureaucrats may single out some "petty offender" for harsh treatment!
It's also important to think in terms of dealing with individual bureaucrats rather than "fighting city hall." Following is an article with a highly effective technique for dealing with bureaucrats in certain situations. (Original copied from http://www.strike-the-root.com/columns/Rain/rain9.html.)
How to Deal With Government Bureaucrats by Turning Them Into Short-Term Freedom Fighters
by Jack Rain
About two years ago, I discovered a method to deal with government bureaucrats, so that minor government regulations have ceased to be a problem in my life. The method works so well that there is no way you will be able to appreciate its beauty until you try it for yourself.
I will first explain the method on a theoretical level and then give you two examples of how I actually applied the method.
You should know that I have a very strong personality and can often get my way when I insist. Inevitably, though, I have had most difficulty in getting around silly government regulations when a bureaucrat is staring me in the face with no intention of budging, regardless how ridiculous the regulation. Now when I bump into one of these bureaucrats, I use this new method with quite remarkable results.
The first step when I am in this type of situation is to state to the bureaucrat in a very friendly but business-like tone that "I am in a jam." Of course, I am in the jam because of a stupid government regulation and the bureaucrat in front of me trying to enforce the regulation, but I simply leave it at "I am in a jam," without going into a theoretical discussion of, say, Hans-Hermann Hoppe's analysis of the failures of the state [see The First Great Book of the 21st Century].
I then, as quickly and as briefly as possible, state the absurdity of what would happen if the regulation is enforced in the current situation.
I then state, "I don't think the legislators meant for the regulation to apply in this situation." Of course, if the legislators were honorable men and really understood Hoppe's critique of government, they wouldn't have enacted the legislation for my situation or for any other situation. But again, I leave this second part out. I am not trying to win the entire anarchist debate here, I am trying to take one very small step toward more freedom--my freedom--against the regulation and the bureaucrat in front of me.
I then state, "I know you have the power and authority to find a solution to this problem." Now I know this bureaucrat has the power to find a solution because he can simply ignore the regulation and become a short-term freedom fighter against the oppressive state, and I always authorize everyone anywhere to become true freedom fighters if they want to, so the authorization is also there.
Now this is the remarkable point. I suspect that few people, in arguing with this bureaucrat in the past, have told him he has power. More than likely, arguments have gone as follows: "That's a stupid regulation" or "This is ridiculous and I won't stand for it." In fact, that was my old method. But by telling the bureaucrat he has power, somehow all government rules and regulations become secondary, and I have magically authorized him to exercise his power to be a freedom fighter on my behalf. And it has worked every time I have remembered to use it over the last two years!
Once I tell him he has the power and authority, I stay quiet except for saying just above a whisper every once and while, "Come on, I know you have the power and authority."
Here are two examples.
I was recently visiting Chicago and was at the restaurant of a friend. Until recently, my friend's restaurant had two entrances, one on a side street and one on the main street, where all the traffic is. But the owners of the building redesigned the entrances so that now my friend's restaurant only has the side entrance.
The side entrance is obviously not as visible to passersby as the old main entrance, so my friend had a sidewalk sign (about 36" high) designed that described his restaurant, with an arrow pointing to the direction of the new entrance. He also chained the sign to a pole so that the sign wouldn't be stolen. It's a pretty cool sign.
All was fine until a Chicago city sidewalk inspector walked into the restaurant on a day when I was enjoying conversation with my restaurateur friend. The inspector told my friend that he couldn't have the sign chained to the pole. The sign itself was no problem. It was the chain, which was barely visible and basically of no hindrance to anyone, that the inspector had his eye on. The chain was barely long enough for anyone to notice, never mind be a hazard of some kind. There was less than two inches between the pole and the sign, so no one was going to trip over the chain, either.
Now my friend reacted the way I used to in the old days. First he tried logic. He told the inspector that he was afraid the sign was going to be stolen. He then told the inspector the regulation was ridiculous and, well, you get the picture. My friend wasn't getting anywhere.
I realized this was certainly a time when the inspector needed to be converted into a short-term freedom fighter. I signaled my friend to be silent for a minute. I then looked at the inspector and said, "You know, we are in quite a jam here. The chain isn't bothering anyone. If the chain is off, someone could steal the sign. I'm sure this regulation wasn't instituted to facilitate the theft of signs in Chicago. Now I know you have the power and the authority to find a solution. What's the solution? And very delicately, I added again, "Come on I know you have the power to find a solution." Then silence.
The silence is important here. I think the bureaucrat is actually absorbing the fact that he has power. Just above a whisper, I said again, "I know you have the power." Then bingo, the bureaucrat told us the sign could stay chained but would have to be taken in after business hours.
Solution found! My friend takes the sign in every night anyway, as the inspector was probably aware. But no need to argue here. It was just one small step for more freedom against government oppression.
The second situation also took place in Chicago. I wear contacts, the kind where I put in a new pair each day and throw away the old pair. For my trip to Chicago, I neglected to pack my daily contacts. I had one emergency pair in my briefcase, but as I am supposed to wear a new pair daily, they obviously wouldn't be sufficient to last my entire two week stay in Chicago.
So I walked into an eyecare center and told them of my situation. The first person I spoke with told me I needed a prescription, despite the fact that I had the power numbers from the side packaging on the emergency pair I had brought with me. I told them I would be in Chicago for only two weeks, knew the lens powers I needed and really did not want to go through another eye examination in a city where I was staying for all of two weeks. She referred me to the manager of the store.
I knew the manager would be a problem immediately. She came out and very forcefully told me, "We cannot give you any lenses without a prescription. It is Illinois state law."
Then it dawned on me: Although she wasn't a government employee, she certainly was acting as an agent of the state, and maybe I could turn her into a freedom fighter.
So I told her, "I am in a jam. I forgot my lenses at home. I know my prescription. I travel a lot and it makes no sense for me to have to get an eye exam if I forget to pack my lenses. I know the regulators did not intend the regulation for this situation when I know the power of the contacts I need. I know you have the power and authority to find a solution." Then, of course, I was quiet. Then after a short while, just above a whisper, in a kind of hope and anticipation voice, I said, "I know you have the power and authority." She looked at me, smiled and said, "I can give you some trial lenses." Solution found. Another small step for freedom.
This method seems to never fail, and while the obvious immediate benefit is to remove a minor bureaucratic regulation, I think it also may have a longer term impact in some cases. It teaches bureaucrats and their agents that they do have power to ignore the state. Perhaps down the road in some other situation, they will remember that they have the power and authorization to try freedom from regulation against some other stupid regulation.
So I urge you to use this method whenever the situation applies. And I would love to hear from you about how this method works for you. Good luck.
June 11, 2002
Jack Rain is a traveler and observer of world events.
Power and Authority in Your Own Life
Jack Rain's principle can be extended to your own life. You may have all kinds of power and authority you don't realize. You have the power and authority to succeed, to earn money, to be happy, and much besides.
You really have the power and authority to do all kinds of things, even if bureaucrats would have you believe otherwise. See:
LEARN TO RECOGNIZE, ACKNOWLEDGE, AND UTILIZE YOUR PERSONAL POWER AND AUTHORITY! This is a most important success principle!
Thinking Outside the Box
In order to control you, bureaucrats would like you to think within a box of their making: "We make the rules; you obey them." But what if you think of yourself as "master" and the bureaucrats as your "public servants?"
Of course, most bureaucrats probably think of themselves as "masters" and regard you as "their servant." And they won't necessarily hesitate to use extreme violence to prove their point -- as they demonstrated in Waco, Texas!
One of the basic ideas of Freedom Technology is that, in order to achieve an objective, it may be necessary to outwit bureaucrats that stand in your way. The "Jack Rain technique" is a powerful method for doing this. For most people, such techniques involve "thinking outside their usual boxes." The following article may help you to recognize your "usual boxes" and think outside them. (Original copied from http://www.pranskyandassociates.com/PAPERS/thinking.html.)
Thinking Outside the Box: What is the Box and How Did it Get There?
By George Pransky Ph.D.
If you want to think outside the box you might entertain the following questions? What is the box anyway? What is the box made of? Where is this box? Who made these boxes? What is in the box? What is outside the box?
If the most common thinking had a voice, I think it would answer those questions in the following way: The box is the current reality, the way things are right now. It's the conventions, the powers that be, the way things have always been done. Outside the box is beyond that reality. What is it made of? It is made of reality! Its rules, regulations, standard operating procedures, history, all those ways of doing things that people respect as "the right way" or "the only way." Who made these boxes? Society, organizations, the powers that be.
I suggest that the box exists within a six-inch area- between our two ears. It isn't made of "reality", as it appears to be. It is made of thought. Yes, those thoughts might appear to be real to the individual that thinks them but only because that individual has lost sight of the illusory nature of thought. When that individual remembers that thought is only made to look real through consciousness, the box will suddenly appear to be constructed by thought.
Who made the box? The box was just created this last moment by that person who sees the box. That box would not exist but for momentary creation by the generic box builder- the thinker. When the person's mind is clear of those thoughts, the box suddenly disappears. It no longer exists.
It is no wonder that people respect clearing their minds when they want to think outside the box. People go to retreats and do all kinds of techniques to prepare to think outside the box. They think they are getting outside the box when in fact they are simply refraining from creating the box in the first place.
Why are children so creative and fresh? They don't think outside the box. They don't have any boxes outside of which to think! Children don't think that their thoughts are necessarily real or right. They don't think their limited experience qualifies them to think that their thoughts are "real" and right. They are therefore in no danger of creating a box within their own minds. When they lose sight of the arbitrary, subjective nature of thought, they will begin to create boxes within their minds and then have to learn how to think outside those boxes.
When thought is seen as real, as "objective reality" it takes on a life of its own. It becomes a box. If you chain an elephant's leg to a stake, the elephant will attempt to escape and will eventually accept the reality of the restriction. If you remove the chain from the stake, the elephant will still feel confined as it feels the chain around its leg. What is restricting the elephant now? It isn't the chain. It is thought. It is the thought of the chain.
At one time Madison Avenue wouldn't mention a competitor by name in an ad because, it was thought, that competitor would be getting free advertising. Advertising students and new ad agency employees were taught this limitation, this restriction that they viewed as a "real" part of the advertising world. Their thinking would not go in that direction. Their thinking was locked in that box.
Avis mentioned Hertz in their we-try-harder ad even noting that Hertz had the primary place in the rental market. Now advertisers feel free to mention competitive products to their advantage. The thinking changed and then the industry changed. Someone at Avis asked, "Who says we can't mention a competitors name?" When that person tracked it down, that restriction turned out to be just a thought!
What exactly is in the box and what is outside the box? The box is filled with all that is known in the form of thought. Outside the box is the unknown or more accurately, the soon to be known through insight.
Our thinking comes from a place that has no limitation, no boxes, no restrictions. Our thinking is by nature creative, responsive and infinitely intelligent. If we know that our thinking comes from the deepest source of life, we can live with freedom of thought. We can thumb our nose at the known, and look to the unknown for new thought wrapped in inspiration. Every time we clear our minds and look with humility for the new, we are said to be thinking outside the box.
Ultimately, there is no box but rather the illusion of a box created by our own thoughts. In essence, to try to think outside the box is like trying to win at shadow boxing. We create the illusion of a box and then we try to think outside that illusory box. Ultimately, we need only see that the box never existed in the first place and we can live outside the box.
For many people, thinking of bureaucrats as "parasites to outwit," involves thinking outside their usual boxes. Interacting with such "despicable parasites" in a friendly, respectful, and courteous manner, and telling him they have the power and authority to solve your problem, may involve "behaving outside your usual boxes."
Here are examples of boxes that may inhibit or reduce your personal power and authority:
Let me repeat: LEARN TO RECOGNIZE, ACKNOWLEDGE, AND UTILIZE YOUR PERSONAL POWER AND AUTHORITY! This is a most important success principle!
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