Michigan Monarchy
The word monarchy comes from Greek and means "one ruler". It's an old form of government, and it's new again.
In a monarchy the authority of law emanates from the king or queen. This is opposed to the idea of natural and individual rights. And the similarities between how the government in Michigan is currently operating, and a medieval monarchy, are quite striking.
In a monarchy the queen issues edicts. Laws that she makes whenever, wherever, and however she wants. In Michigan, Queen Whitmer calls them executive orders. And she's issued over 100 in the last three months. In a monarchy you must live by the whim of the sovereign. In Michigan, the same.
In a classic monarchy there isn't a congress in the way the United States has traditionally had a congress, designated as the branch of the government with the power to make and change laws. That power is held by the queen. Instead, the queen has an advisory council that can suggest things, and she thinks them over and might issue an edict. In Michigan, Queen Whitmer has completely ignored the congress. She alone holds the power to make and change laws, now called executive orders. The congress can make suggestions, and she thinks them over and might issue an executive order. The congress has become an advisory council.
There are other things we could look at. Like small whims leading to the destruction of entire cities. For instance, Queen Whitmer not letting the water level in dams be lowered, leading to the collapse of said dams, and the flooding of entire cities. Or, the normal resistance from various parts that all monarchs get, as in the sheriffs that have issued statements saying they won't enforce the unconstitutional edicts of Queen Whitmer. Or punishing little peasant dissidents that aren't part of the elite class by ruining their lives, like Karl Manke, better known as the heroic Karl the Barber. Or, that she's proposed using a police force that she appoints and is loyal to her to enforce special new fines that are higher, and prison terms, for violating any of her edicts. These are all classic patterns in monarchy. But instead of focusing on those, let's look at a favorite of the elite class.
Since the power emanates from the queen, she is technically above the law. She issues edicts, and can change them whenever she wants, but even without changing them she doesn't have to follow them. It's the classic motto of rulers throughout time, "Rules for thee, but not for me."
One of the first things people pointed out was that Queen Whitmer was still getting her hair and nails done, when that is illegal for everyone else. I've had two uncles escape to another state to get haircuts. She opened up part of the state so that her daughter could have her graduation party at what royalty calls a cottage, and most people call a mansion. And her husband Marc Mallory not only took his boat out, he tried to intimidate a dock owner into putting him ahead of other people on the list by pulling rank, because he's the governor's husband. Queen Whitmer was able to apply a little pressure and get both the dock company and a state senator to take down social media posts talking about it. Classic.
There is always resistance against tyrannical monarchs.
The most important and significant thing holding Queen Whitmer back is that she doesn't have the full backing of the police and military. When a queen has such a backing, even an armed populace struggles against such might. Well done to those sheriffs and other police and military that make the hard call and sacrifice to do the right thing.
There are people coming together to speak out against her, like Stand Up Michigan. https://standupmichigan.com/
There are many people suing Queen Whitmer at several different levels. How effective that is depends to a large extent on how much influence the monarch holds over the judges. That remains to be seen. Two groups that I know of have multiple lawsuits going: Michigan United for Liberty https://www.michiganunitedforliberty.com/, and The Mackinac Center for Public Policy https://www.mackinac.org/.
(Also, good luck to the Michigan state congress, who is also suing Queen Whitmer. Essentially, for exactly what I'm talking about in this article.)
And what we're seeing with all of these things coming together is another thing that often happens to monarchs, especially the tyrannical ones. They have a tendency to fall. And when they do sometimes the people take a moment to reflect on what went wrong, and then take action to correct it. That is the way that freedom has been won in the past. And that is the way that freedom can be won now. (See my article "Five Key Documents in the History of Freedom" for what that pattern looks like: http://www.jeffreyalexandermartin.com/2020/02/five-documents-in-history-of-freedom.html)
If leaders are willing to step forward at multiple levels to correct the wrongs that we have witnessed in policy, then the tragedy of seeing the fall of freedom can be redeemed and reclaimed. Just recently a small group of people started the Restore Freedom Initiative. They've written adjustments to the Michigan Constitution to prevent such overreaching of power in the future, and to constrain the government to it's just and rightful role. Not as a monarchy, but as a republic, accountable to the individual rights of the citizens. And the people get to decide. If the petitions get signed in June, and the votes are made in November, then the freedoms that have fallen away can be resurrected and restored. https://restorefreedommi.com/
Those are the two things necessary for a better political system: better principles and better people. (The Two Things Necessary for a Better Political System: http://www.jeffreyalexandermartin.com/2019/04/the-two-things-necessary-for-better.html)
In a monarchy the authority of law emanates from the king or queen. This is opposed to the idea of natural and individual rights. And the similarities between how the government in Michigan is currently operating, and a medieval monarchy, are quite striking.
In a monarchy the queen issues edicts. Laws that she makes whenever, wherever, and however she wants. In Michigan, Queen Whitmer calls them executive orders. And she's issued over 100 in the last three months. In a monarchy you must live by the whim of the sovereign. In Michigan, the same.
In a classic monarchy there isn't a congress in the way the United States has traditionally had a congress, designated as the branch of the government with the power to make and change laws. That power is held by the queen. Instead, the queen has an advisory council that can suggest things, and she thinks them over and might issue an edict. In Michigan, Queen Whitmer has completely ignored the congress. She alone holds the power to make and change laws, now called executive orders. The congress can make suggestions, and she thinks them over and might issue an executive order. The congress has become an advisory council.
There are other things we could look at. Like small whims leading to the destruction of entire cities. For instance, Queen Whitmer not letting the water level in dams be lowered, leading to the collapse of said dams, and the flooding of entire cities. Or, the normal resistance from various parts that all monarchs get, as in the sheriffs that have issued statements saying they won't enforce the unconstitutional edicts of Queen Whitmer. Or punishing little peasant dissidents that aren't part of the elite class by ruining their lives, like Karl Manke, better known as the heroic Karl the Barber. Or, that she's proposed using a police force that she appoints and is loyal to her to enforce special new fines that are higher, and prison terms, for violating any of her edicts. These are all classic patterns in monarchy. But instead of focusing on those, let's look at a favorite of the elite class.
Since the power emanates from the queen, she is technically above the law. She issues edicts, and can change them whenever she wants, but even without changing them she doesn't have to follow them. It's the classic motto of rulers throughout time, "Rules for thee, but not for me."
One of the first things people pointed out was that Queen Whitmer was still getting her hair and nails done, when that is illegal for everyone else. I've had two uncles escape to another state to get haircuts. She opened up part of the state so that her daughter could have her graduation party at what royalty calls a cottage, and most people call a mansion. And her husband Marc Mallory not only took his boat out, he tried to intimidate a dock owner into putting him ahead of other people on the list by pulling rank, because he's the governor's husband. Queen Whitmer was able to apply a little pressure and get both the dock company and a state senator to take down social media posts talking about it. Classic.
There is always resistance against tyrannical monarchs.
The most important and significant thing holding Queen Whitmer back is that she doesn't have the full backing of the police and military. When a queen has such a backing, even an armed populace struggles against such might. Well done to those sheriffs and other police and military that make the hard call and sacrifice to do the right thing.
There are people coming together to speak out against her, like Stand Up Michigan. https://standupmichigan.com/
There are many people suing Queen Whitmer at several different levels. How effective that is depends to a large extent on how much influence the monarch holds over the judges. That remains to be seen. Two groups that I know of have multiple lawsuits going: Michigan United for Liberty https://www.michiganunitedforliberty.com/, and The Mackinac Center for Public Policy https://www.mackinac.org/.
(Also, good luck to the Michigan state congress, who is also suing Queen Whitmer. Essentially, for exactly what I'm talking about in this article.)
And what we're seeing with all of these things coming together is another thing that often happens to monarchs, especially the tyrannical ones. They have a tendency to fall. And when they do sometimes the people take a moment to reflect on what went wrong, and then take action to correct it. That is the way that freedom has been won in the past. And that is the way that freedom can be won now. (See my article "Five Key Documents in the History of Freedom" for what that pattern looks like: http://www.jeffreyalexandermartin.com/2020/02/five-documents-in-history-of-freedom.html)
If leaders are willing to step forward at multiple levels to correct the wrongs that we have witnessed in policy, then the tragedy of seeing the fall of freedom can be redeemed and reclaimed. Just recently a small group of people started the Restore Freedom Initiative. They've written adjustments to the Michigan Constitution to prevent such overreaching of power in the future, and to constrain the government to it's just and rightful role. Not as a monarchy, but as a republic, accountable to the individual rights of the citizens. And the people get to decide. If the petitions get signed in June, and the votes are made in November, then the freedoms that have fallen away can be resurrected and restored. https://restorefreedommi.com/
Those are the two things necessary for a better political system: better principles and better people. (The Two Things Necessary for a Better Political System: http://www.jeffreyalexandermartin.com/2019/04/the-two-things-necessary-for-better.html)
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To read more from Jeff go to JeffThinks.com or JeffreyAlexanderMartin.com
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