By Claire Wolfe
© 1988 WorldNetDaily.com

Welcome to FreeLife, dedicated to the proposition that the best way to be free is ... well ... to be free. This column is for doers, not for those who want others to do for them.

It goes without saying that FreeLife isn't for weenies who think "more government" is the answer to every question. However, it's also not for folks who think "less government" is the answer, either. Though FreeLife will, of necessity, keep government in its sights, ultimately it's not about government at all.

It's about living peaceful, free and unmolested. There seem to be a lot of peaceful, free -- and cussedly independent -- people in Hardyville, the very small town where I live. Quite a few of them will make appearances in this column. So will quite a few independent sorts from elsewhere. Maybe you'll be one of them. (More about that below.)

In FreeLife, we'll look at hundreds of ways to think free, build free, buy free, do free and be free, and we'll talk with some people who've done all of the above.

We'll deal with both high-flown ideas and nitty-gritty techniques. Over time, we'll cover everything from guns to butter. To wit: guns (self-defense) and butter (food supplies); principles in action; private communications; sanity through humor; ID avoidance; online schools; emigration; personal security; life on a budget; anonymous purchasing; the potential benefits of Y2K; being poor and liking it; having abundance but not being owned by the things you own.

Gradually, we'll examine alternatives to: banking, fedmoney, employment, centralized utility services, chain stores, transportation, taxes, and the ubiquitous "consumer" society.

We'll deal with ways of wresting freedom from both governments and their corporate creatures.

Privacy will be a huge focus.

Touching on dangerous times, we might talk with the operator of an underground railroad station, the organizer of a resistance group, a monkeywrencher, an ID maker, a radio pirate, or an untaxer.

Above all, we'll deal with the most important aspect of being free -- mindset.

Sometimes we'll talk about activities that might be illegal -- or legal but dangerous. I will never advocate any illegal activity. The decision to break a bad law is one for individual conscience. I will say, however, that I believe the road to freedom inevitably runs over a million broken and discarded laws, regulations and diktats.

The simple fact is, tyrants laugh at those who protest -- then obey.

You and me

Who am I to be writing this column? Above all, I'm not An Expert in anything. I'm just one of those Hardyville types who intends to live free 'til the day I die, come Hell, high water or the jackboots of tyrants. Aside from that, I'm a former political activist who learned from 30 years bitter experience that the polite methods they taught in Civics Class don't work -- not if what you want is deep, down-and-dirty, fundamental freedom. Waking up from that 30-year sleepwalk, I became the author of 101 Things to Do 'Til the Revolution, a book about freeing ourselves and raising a little heck, and I Am Not a Number!, about freeing America from the ID-and-surveillance state.

I have only one piece of genuine expertise. Might as well get it out of the way now: It is that you and I are the truest experts in living our own lives. Nobody knows better than we what's good for us, our lives and our communities. On the day we all understand that -- and live among people who respect our self-knowledge -- we'll be free. And that's that.

If you have freedom expertise and experience to share, I'd love to hear from you. You can reach me at hardyville@bigfoot.com. (And rest assured that your name or identifying information about you will never be used without your permission.) I'm grateful for constructive criticism, corrections, bright ideas and new resources. The occasional attagirl might be appreciated, of course. However, anyone who wants simply to Flame the Writer will be referred to the alt.useless.twit newsgroup, where such people can shout at each other while the rest of us find useful work to do.