Of Whistleblowers and Free Inhabitants

Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it. ―Leo Tolstoy, A Confession, 1879

Guest Post by Susan Boskey

Lately, we are hearing a whole lot about whistleblowers, especially NSA whistleblowers and Edward Snowden. Those who see something, say something but just not quite the way Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano had imagined it. Despite supposed federal whistleblower protections, President Obama has the dubious distinction of persecuting more whistleblowers than all other presidents combined. Okay, you get that, but what is a free inhabitant?

Free inhabitants are a portion of Americans that the efforts of whistleblowers are unwittingly helping to liberate. How so? Someone blows the whistle to expose crimes, corruption and conspiracies in the high places of government and commerce, now pretty much one and the same thing. Their revelations open up the public dialogue where previously none existed. Best-case scenario, that dialogue leads to ever-deeper inquiry and new levels of truthful information previously kept from the unwashed masses.

Ready? Here goes.

The phrase “free inhabitant(s)” refers to early Americans and comes from the primary source of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union (the Articles). Most Americans today believe the Constitution of 1787 was the only constitution ever created. At least, when I talk to people, that is what I find out. Yet America’s first constitution was the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, approved November 15, 1777 and ratified in 1781 by 13 states. Who knew?

No doubt, “free inhabitant” is clumsy, archaic phrasing but I believe that when you understand its meaning in the context of the Articles, you’ll begin to love it. Here’s a quote from the beginning of the document:

…the free inhabitants of each of these States, paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice excepted, shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several States…”

United under the Articles of 1777, free inhabitants (former British colonists) of the several independent states were able to band together for protection from foreign enemies in ways not otherwise possible if they have remained only as separate states. However, as a result of the Articles, they enjoyed benefits of the confederation, benefits that did not require them to become federal citizens.

The federal legislature of the confederation under the Articles had never been referred to as either a nation or a government. Free inhabitants of the several states looked no farther for governance than to their autonomous state legislatures. Perhaps unbelievable to most, association among the several states and any individual state’s interaction with the federal authorities was entirely voluntary. Voluntary participation even included taxation. Imagine that!

At that time, English Common Law was the law of the land. It protected rights (especially property rights) of free inhabitants living by the ethic of the Golden Rule, “do as you would be done by.” Personal responsibility, measured by a clear conscience, rested with every man, woman and child. Natural and common law proceedings served to correct an injury to another by applying consequences of practical restitution to the perpetrator. All concerned were restored back to their community.

Obviously, these days are long gone. The Constitution of 1787 replaced English Common Law with the statutory laws of the United States Government and never looked back. Ah, but wait…there’s more.

Due to my relentless research of several primary American source documents, this writer discovered shocking public-domain information that flies in the face of the Carnegie and Rockefeller Foundation versions of popular American history. Hard evidence indicates that the lawful, unalienable rights given free inhabitants under the original jurisdiction of the first constitution, still stand. This is how deep the rabbit hole goes and how loud the whistle blows. What’s more, unless you live on land owned by the U.S. Government, YOU are a free inhabitant.

But, please, do not take my word for it. Important insights and practical solutions arise from digging deeper into what it means to reclaim your free inhabitant status.

Susan Boskey, freelance researcher and writer, is author of the book, The Quality Life Plan®: 7 Steps to Uncommon Financial Security www.AlternativeFinancialNow.com and more recently helped bring to market the book, Beyond the National Myth: waking up in the land of the free www.nationalmyth.org