by: Ryan Brown, LPNC Chair

Political Violence Is Acceptable - The Revolution Proves It

On the Fourth of July, Americans gather to celebrate the birth of a nation. There are parades, fireworks, and speeches about liberty. But beneath the noise and red-white-and-blue spectacle lies a fact that makes many uncomfortable: the United States was born in political violence.

The Revolutionary War Was Political Violence

Let’s not mince words. The American Revolution was a war - one fought not in defense of territory from a foreign invader, but in rejection of political authority. It was a violent uprising against the legal, recognized government of the time: the British Crown.

Those who dumped tea in Boston Harbor were criminals under British law. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were traitors. The revolutionaries were not “voting harder.” They weren’t lobbying Parliament. They took up arms and killed government agents in the name of liberty.

This wasn’t chaos for its own sake - it was targeted, moral, and defensive. And it worked. The result was the founding of a nation that would claim to value individual rights and limited government. That ideal has been corrupted over time, but the origin still matters.

Defensive Violence Is Legitimate

The Libertarian view is clear: aggression is wrong, but self-defense is justified. When the government becomes the aggressor - taxing without consent, regulating without representation, and punishing peaceful dissent - resistance is not only justified, it can be necessary.

That doesn’t mean libertarians glorify violence. Quite the opposite. But we recognize that not all violence is equal. Violence to preserve liberty, to defend lives and property, is morally different from the violence of the state - the violence used to enforce control, extract wealth, and crush autonomy.

The American colonists didn’t start the war. The British did - by cracking down on peaceful dissent, seizing property, and attempting to disarm the population. The revolution was an act of self-defense, no different in principle than defending your home from an armed intruder.

Secession Is the Peaceful Alternative

If political violence can be legitimate, then peaceful separation should be encouraged even more so. Secession - the act of a region or community choosing to withdraw from a political union - is the nonviolent expression of the same principle. It says: “We no longer consent to be governed by you. We’re done.”

You don’t need to fire shots at Lexington and Concord to be free. You just need to walk away.

Unfortunately, the U.S. government and many Americans treat the idea of secession as treasonous, even though it's baked into our national DNA. If revolution was legitimate in 1776, why is peaceful separation illegitimate now?

Libertarians say it is legitimate. If people have the right to self-determination, then they have the right to leave a political system they no longer support. Whether it’s an individual opting out of a law, a city refusing to enforce federal edicts, or a state withdrawing entirely, secession is the moral high ground.

Stop the Fake Outrage

Here’s the part no one wants to say: both the left and the right are full of it.

If a Democrat tweets a picture of Trump next to a guillotine, Republicans start clutching their pearls. But these same Republicans wear shirts that say “Sic Semper Tyrannis” and post memes of Geroge Washington with an AR-15 and night vision goggles. What exactly do they think they’re posting?

On the flip side, if a Republican posts a meme about watering the tree of liberty, Democrats will scream about "insurrection," while simultaneously defending actual riots and using revolutionary rhetoric when it's convenient.

Enough with the hypocrisy. You can’t wrap yourself in the American flag, celebrate the armed resistance that created this country, and then melt down because someone questions the legitimacy of a violent, controlling, and failing system.

If political violence was wrong, then George Washington was a war criminal. If revolution was unjustified, then July 4th should be a day of mourning, not celebration. You don’t get to have it both ways. If you’re celebrating July 4th, you’re celebrating the killing of state agents in the name of liberty.

The Myth of the “Good” State

The state survives on myth - specifically, the myth that this government, this moment, this regime is legitimate, while anything that came before it was barbaric, chaotic, or oppressive.

For over 250 years, the American state has carefully taught its citizens that the British Empire was evil, but the government that replaced it is somehow good. That King George was a tyrant, but the current ruling class is wise and benevolent. That taxation without representation was theft, but taxation with some paperwork and a voting booth is magically justice.

This is the lie at the core of all state education, state media, and state-approved history: that once the revolution ended, all political violence became unnecessary - because the “right people” were now in charge.

But liberty doesn't work like that. Government doesn’t become legitimate just because enough people forget how it came to power. Consent isn’t binding forever. And a constitution isn’t a sacred relic - it’s just a piece of paper.

The state always wants to freeze history at the moment it wins. But freedom means refusing to accept that any authority is permanent. The revolution didn’t sanctify the American state. It proved that no state is sacred.

This Independence Day, Be Honest

The Fourth of July isn’t just about barbecues and fireworks. It’s about the violent rejection of illegitimate authority - and the willingness to stand up, fight back, and walk away.

That’s not radical. That’s American.

Let’s stop pretending that all political violence is the same. Let’s stop acting like secession is a dirty word. Let’s drop the performative outrage. And let’s remember what this holiday really celebrates:

Not obedience. Not compromise.

But Liberty, won by people who refused to be ruled.