THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING HUMAN
By Nicki Fellenzer
If you could live in a perfect society, what kind of world would you choose?
A world with unfettered religious freedom?
A world where government’s only purpose is to protect the populace from outside aggression and manage courts of law?
A society where one is free to be armed -- or not -- whenever one wants, without fear of government reprisal, without feeling feared, discriminated against and vilified by an uninformed general public and a government controlled media? A place where you carry your weapon in the open to assert your rights, and where the rulers do not fear an armed populace?
A world where human beings are free to live, love, achieve and succeed without state intervention, licensing or tracking?
If you believe the true potential of human beings can only emerge in a completely free society – a society without government control of individual behavior, government sanctioned “morality†and government appropriation of earnings by force – Freehold, by Michael Z. Williamson will have you yearning for change more than you ever did before.
It will reinforce – maybe even redefine – what you view as human existence.
But political and social psychological analysis aside… it’s a damn good action thriller as well.
Freehold is filled with neat military hardware, intrigue and lots of futuristic military toys that appeal to tech nuts like my husband, who devoured Freehold in about two days and re-reads it every few months to get his fix of action.
For the feminist in us, the main character is a woman – and a soldier. Kendra Pacelli, a Sergeant in the UNPF (United Nations Peacekeeping Forces). The world on Earth is just what you would expect from a future spawned out of the actions of political leaders today – a subhuman hell, where every human step is sanitized, equalized and regulated by the government – the United Nations.
Framed for theft of military equipment by corrupt UNPF commanders, Kendra, feeling she has no other choice, stages a daring breach of the embassy of the Freehold of Grainne – a colony that not only refused to join the UN, but rejected most of the common standards of ship registry, public health, public standards, or even reciprocity of laws.
With the UN’s guidance and control, the media paints Kendra as a thief and a fugitive, further reinforcing Kendra’s determination to relocate to the only planet that will not extradite her to be tried in the UN’s kangaroo courts and ultimately punished for a crime she didn’t commit.
The world she finds on Grainne is a stark contrast to Earth, and as Kendra adjusts to her new home and its unfettered, unforgiving freedom, she realizes that the life she led on earth – shackled, enslaved and controlled by the UN was merely existence. What she finds in her new home is life – free, merciless, human life.
Human beings aren’t registered and tracked.
There is no mandatory formal, government controlled education or licensing for any career.
Gun control doesn’t exist. The Freehold citizens wear their arms in the open – not only to defend themselves, but to assert their rights. Anyone can purchase a firearm from a street vendor, if they so desire. No background checks, no licensing, nothing to impede a legitimate purchase. Period.
The free market dictates what businesses succeed and what enterprises fail.
Government officials are not elected by a barely informed, disinterested and disgruntled majority, seeking to gain as much largesse at others’ expense as possible. They give up the majority of their possessions, and subsist on a small stipend for the privilege of “ruling.â€
People are free to do as they wish, as long as they do not infringe on others’ rights to do the same. There is no appropriation of assets through taxes and no government sanctioned slavery or subsistence at others’ expense.
Kendra’s initial reaction is panic – panic at the lack of regulation that the UN-controlled system has forced her to accept as necessary for the common good, panic at the free and unrestricted access to guns and military hardware, panic at the lack of sexual inhibition or any regulation of “morality.â€
The quality of life, unfettered and unregulated, allows Kendra for the first time to discover who she is, what she’s capable of and to develop a sense of pride in being a human being, determined, confident and responsible for her own life and her own destiny; she’s free to earn, explore, achieve and succeed, instead of living as government controlled cattle.
But oppressive regimes are rarely satisfied with what they have. Their leaders become addicted to power and become hungry for more, swallowing every society in their wake. And now the UN is coming for the Freehold, forcing the ultimate battle between tyranny and freedom – between oppression and liberty.
Mike Williamson’s exuberant personality and sharp wit come through with every word he writes. He yearns for a Freehold with every page. He craves a Freehold with every paragraph. He thirsts for the liberty of a society that allows human beings to be their candid, bold and shameless selves – free to achieve as much as they are able without interference from those who seek power over others. He unabashedly describes the good, the bad and the ugly in an absolutely free world. He doesn’t whitewash his heroes or his villains, but portrays them as emotional, fallible and flagrantly human.
I don’t usually write book reviews for my column, but I felt this one was worth it. If there was ever a novel that will inspire you to fight harder, this is it. It makes you see what’s possible, allows you a glimpse of paradise and makes the spoils of the battle tangible for everyone who fights for freedom.
Freehold will be available in stores January 1, 2004, and you can preorder it from Amazon.com.
The first fourteen chapters are also available on the publisher’s website, and if you enjoy Mr. Williamson’s work on KeepAndBearArms.com and want an early copy, you can contact him directly and get it signed by the author just in time for the holidays.
Nicki Fellenzer
By Nicki Fellenzer
If you could live in a perfect society, what kind of world would you choose?
A world with unfettered religious freedom?
A world where government’s only purpose is to protect the populace from outside aggression and manage courts of law?
A society where one is free to be armed -- or not -- whenever one wants, without fear of government reprisal, without feeling feared, discriminated against and vilified by an uninformed general public and a government controlled media? A place where you carry your weapon in the open to assert your rights, and where the rulers do not fear an armed populace?
A world where human beings are free to live, love, achieve and succeed without state intervention, licensing or tracking?
If you believe the true potential of human beings can only emerge in a completely free society – a society without government control of individual behavior, government sanctioned “morality†and government appropriation of earnings by force – Freehold, by Michael Z. Williamson will have you yearning for change more than you ever did before.
It will reinforce – maybe even redefine – what you view as human existence.
But political and social psychological analysis aside… it’s a damn good action thriller as well.
Freehold is filled with neat military hardware, intrigue and lots of futuristic military toys that appeal to tech nuts like my husband, who devoured Freehold in about two days and re-reads it every few months to get his fix of action.
For the feminist in us, the main character is a woman – and a soldier. Kendra Pacelli, a Sergeant in the UNPF (United Nations Peacekeeping Forces). The world on Earth is just what you would expect from a future spawned out of the actions of political leaders today – a subhuman hell, where every human step is sanitized, equalized and regulated by the government – the United Nations.
Framed for theft of military equipment by corrupt UNPF commanders, Kendra, feeling she has no other choice, stages a daring breach of the embassy of the Freehold of Grainne – a colony that not only refused to join the UN, but rejected most of the common standards of ship registry, public health, public standards, or even reciprocity of laws.
With the UN’s guidance and control, the media paints Kendra as a thief and a fugitive, further reinforcing Kendra’s determination to relocate to the only planet that will not extradite her to be tried in the UN’s kangaroo courts and ultimately punished for a crime she didn’t commit.
The world she finds on Grainne is a stark contrast to Earth, and as Kendra adjusts to her new home and its unfettered, unforgiving freedom, she realizes that the life she led on earth – shackled, enslaved and controlled by the UN was merely existence. What she finds in her new home is life – free, merciless, human life.
Human beings aren’t registered and tracked.
There is no mandatory formal, government controlled education or licensing for any career.
Gun control doesn’t exist. The Freehold citizens wear their arms in the open – not only to defend themselves, but to assert their rights. Anyone can purchase a firearm from a street vendor, if they so desire. No background checks, no licensing, nothing to impede a legitimate purchase. Period.
The free market dictates what businesses succeed and what enterprises fail.
Government officials are not elected by a barely informed, disinterested and disgruntled majority, seeking to gain as much largesse at others’ expense as possible. They give up the majority of their possessions, and subsist on a small stipend for the privilege of “ruling.â€
People are free to do as they wish, as long as they do not infringe on others’ rights to do the same. There is no appropriation of assets through taxes and no government sanctioned slavery or subsistence at others’ expense.
Kendra’s initial reaction is panic – panic at the lack of regulation that the UN-controlled system has forced her to accept as necessary for the common good, panic at the free and unrestricted access to guns and military hardware, panic at the lack of sexual inhibition or any regulation of “morality.â€
The quality of life, unfettered and unregulated, allows Kendra for the first time to discover who she is, what she’s capable of and to develop a sense of pride in being a human being, determined, confident and responsible for her own life and her own destiny; she’s free to earn, explore, achieve and succeed, instead of living as government controlled cattle.
But oppressive regimes are rarely satisfied with what they have. Their leaders become addicted to power and become hungry for more, swallowing every society in their wake. And now the UN is coming for the Freehold, forcing the ultimate battle between tyranny and freedom – between oppression and liberty.
Mike Williamson’s exuberant personality and sharp wit come through with every word he writes. He yearns for a Freehold with every page. He craves a Freehold with every paragraph. He thirsts for the liberty of a society that allows human beings to be their candid, bold and shameless selves – free to achieve as much as they are able without interference from those who seek power over others. He unabashedly describes the good, the bad and the ugly in an absolutely free world. He doesn’t whitewash his heroes or his villains, but portrays them as emotional, fallible and flagrantly human.
I don’t usually write book reviews for my column, but I felt this one was worth it. If there was ever a novel that will inspire you to fight harder, this is it. It makes you see what’s possible, allows you a glimpse of paradise and makes the spoils of the battle tangible for everyone who fights for freedom.
Freehold will be available in stores January 1, 2004, and you can preorder it from Amazon.com.
The first fourteen chapters are also available on the publisher’s website, and if you enjoy Mr. Williamson’s work on KeepAndBearArms.com and want an early copy, you can contact him directly and get it signed by the author just in time for the holidays.
Nicki Fellenzer
