Reading assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Reading - Assignment Example However it is also a clear fact that there are factors which anteceded the triggering factor described herein. The antecedent factor to the police shooting had its underpinnings in the ideological persuasions which sovereign citizens believe in. Sovereign citizens believe that being under the control of the government is wrong and for this reason, they believe that they are not under the control of the government. Members of sovereign citizens eschew being under government control because they believe that local, federal and state governments are operating illegally, since they (members of the group) exist outside these governments’ jurisdiction. Because of this, members of sovereign citizens believe that they are free from government control and therefore have their own code of law which they follow (Pierce, 1). As is provided for by the FBI, the beliefs above as held by sovereign citizens in turn have their underpinnings in the Redemption Theory. This theory holds that the U S government in 1993 when it abandoned its gold standard basis for currency and instead began to use its citizens as collateral in international trade agreements (FBI, 1). As a side note and from a common sense point of view, it is clear that any state which uses its citizens as collateral in any engagement is unjust and illegitimate, though this accusation which sovereign citizens level against the US government is not true. However, because of this false charge against the government, sovereign citizens see the supposed dereliction on gold standard as the basis for currency in 1993 as a gateway for illegal and criminal activities since the US federal, state and local governments have hitherto not been acting in the interests of Americans. The culmination of the immediate foregoing has thus been a catalogue of criminal and illegal activities which stem from one superordinate crime: personal abnegation from the responsibilities and duties of being an American citizen. Because of thi s, sovereign citizens do not pay taxes, do not drive on a state driver’s license and do not obey the law. Other criminal activities which sovereign citizens engage in because of their belief in the Redemption Theory are defrauding of banks, the US government, fraud (mail, mortgage, bank and wire), the selling and purchase of contraband such as firearms and money laundering. It is important to note that the perpetuation of sovereign citizens’ Redemption Theory and belonging to sovereign citizens heavily rely on the aforementioned criminal activities. In fact, the exaction of these crimes is the Redemption Scheme. Without crime as the Redemption Scheme, Redemption Theory crumbles. Against this backdrop, sovereign citizens illegally possess firearms and other weapons to eliminate the law enforcers and to thwart the arrest of their members. The same group uses crime to disintegrate and emasculate the government which they believe is illegitimate. Conclusion All the above u nderscores the fact that sovereign citizens have always come to view all law enforcement agencies and their officers as propagators and facilitators of an illegality, since they work for and defend an illegal government. With this twisted logic, sovereign citizens on one hand and law enforcement officers and law abiding on the other hand have lived in parallel systems: the police seek to ensure adherence to traffic rules while sovereign citizens