"free"

You’ve sold everything you could and gave away the rest to charity. You’ve converted what you could to coins and stamps and jewelry - anything that you can convert back into money when needed... you remember the story of the Soviet scientist that sold all he had and bought platinum - he melted the platinum down and formed it into a clothes hanger for his suit, he packed what he could, threw the hanger with his suits on it over his shoulder and left the U.S.S.R... taking all his money with him... Your Government will only let you take ten thousand dollars in cash out per person... but you can take out your twenty thousand dollar ROLEX on your wrist... a pocket full of collectible gold and silver coins, a book of collectible stamps... and a hanger made from platinum... you set up a bank account for your IBC in a secure bank in Asia on your last trip outside your country with a buffer bank for transfers in South America. You have prepared and you have waited... you hoped and prayed that things would return to the way they were... but it will never be the same... the country you grew up loving... the place you were once so proud of has broken your heart and shattered your dreams... as the stories begin to circulate of those being “disappeared” and detained... for speaking out and asking the wrong questions... you came to realize that it’s now or never... get out while the getting is good... Patriotism... Patriotism has nothing to do with staying... in fact it is the worse reason to stay... it will be the Patriots that will be rounded up first... stay and fight? Not you.... protect your ass and your assets... the Jews that waited too long when the Socialist took over their home... those were Patriots... it wont happen here... people tell you... well... it already is happening... little by little... we are there... Patriotism... no... you think of all those before you that left the country they were born in to find a better life someplace else... those that ran from a country that turned on them... those who had to flee from persecution for their beliefs... their religion... the color of their skin or their ethnic background.... it won’t happen here.... it will never happen here...

You cross the border... and are ready to renounce your citizenship... but you hesitate... is it safe... what if they actually start detaining those that want to renounce right there and then and “disappear” them... not an outlandish thought... NDAA... Secret Kill Lists... Off Shore Prisons... any one is a terrorist... all you want to do is be free to make an honest living without fear of being arrested for not filling out the right paper work... you want to be free to state your opinion with out repercussions... you want to be free and see the world before its completely devoured in war and poverty... you just want to be left alone to chase your dreams and live your life on your terms - your way - according to your beliefs and values... without being labeled a threat... an extremist... a right-wing Christian Fanatic... a free-thinking-freedom-loving-hard-working-conservative-entrepreneur... “he has the potential to reach the 1%...” they say... that makes you quite dangerous indeed...

You’ve crossed the border... jump into a cab and head to the airport... to the Capital... another flight to Panama... The Caribbean... Venezuela... You zig-zag your way through Brazil until you reach Paraguay... They just over-threw a Marxist... you like that... you consider staying... but your journey has just begun... your options are few and too far apart... you have taken your first step... some where out there is a place just for you... and people just like you... or... you could just keep moving... it’s your life to live as you want to live it... on your terms... your way... according to your beliefs and values.... the only label you have now is “free”.