by Lesley Swann, Tennessee Tenth Amendment Center

As a kid, I loved watching the various incarnations of Zorro.  I mean, who doesn’t love a sword-fighting, bullwhip-wielding guy, dispensing his own brand of justice – all the while making complete fools of the bad guys, kissing the girl in the process, and doing it with charm and style?

Zorro always seemed to have so much fun, and he never broke a sweat while messing up the bad guys – usually bumbling, corrupt government officials who could just never keep up with him.  Of course he always left his mark behind, a large Z carved with his sword, just for fun.

He broke the law, vandalized, and created all sorts mayhem and mischief.  Zorro’s chief aim was securing justice for people wronged by corrupt government officials. And if he happened to publicly embarrass them, so much the better.

Wouldn’t it be great if Zorro went to Washington, D.C.?

Last Wednesday the FBI arrested 16 suspected members of the hacking group Anonymous.  Their crime? Along with another hacktivist group, LulzSec, they hacked into the U.S. Senate web site, hacked various gaming websites and took down the Sony Playstation Network.

“We want to send a message that chaos on the Internet is unacceptable, [even if] hackers can be believed to have social causes, it’s entirely unacceptable to break into websites and commit unlawful acts,” FBI Deputy Assistant Director Steve Chabinsky said after the arrests.

Anonymous and LulzSec released a response to Mr. Chabinsky.:

Now let us be clear here, Mr. Chabinsky, while we understand that you and your colleagues may find breaking into websites unacceptable, let us tell you what WE find unacceptable:

  • Governments lying to their citizens and inducing fear and terror to keep them in control by dismantling their freedom piece by piece.
  • Corporations aiding and conspiring with said governments while taking advantage at the same time by collecting billions of funds for federal contracts we all know they can’t fulfil.
  • Lobby conglomerates who only follow their agenda to push the profits higher, while at the same time being deeply involved in governments around the world with the only goal to infiltrate and corrupt them enough so the status quo will never change.

These governments and corporations are our enemy. And we will continue to fight them, with all methods we have at our disposal, and that certainly includes breaking into their websites and exposing their lies.

They go on further to say, “You see, most people do not behave like bandits if they have no reason to. We become bandits on the Internet because you have forced our hand.”

Whether you agree with their methods or not, their stated intentions appear honorable.  Aren’t we all tired of government lies, corporate bailouts, and lobbyists who promote their own agendas over those of the American people whom our politicians are supposed to represent?

The other side of me – the side that cleans up people’s computers every day – just groans at the thought of all the sleepless hours someone has to spend fixing the damage after such an attack.  No doubt, the task is immense.

While the Tenth Amendment Center certainly doesn’t advocate destruction of private property, this, along with the Wikileaks scandal, brings some important questions to mind.  Why are we so upset about the revelation of secret government information exposing corruption instead of being livid about the corruption exposed by that information when it is finally brought to light?  Are our priorities completely screwed up?  Is it not equally important to expose when our government commits unlawful acts?

As Ron Paul says, “Truth is treason in the empire of lies.”

Would groups like Anonymous and LulzSec even exist if only our state governments had this courage of conviction to stand up to the federal government?  Our state governments need to pursue truth at all costs, and fight to stop the federal overreaches and corruption. That truly threatens all Americans.

The Tenth Amendment Center is all about encouraging our state governments to serve as the “Zorro” we need  and stand up against a corrupt behemoth of federal government. It’s long past time for our governors and state legislators to start wielding the figurative bullwhip and force the federal government back into its proper constitutional role.

After all, that’s what Zorro would do.

Lesley Swann is the state coordinator for the Tennessee Tenth Amendment Center and founder of the East Tennessee 10th Amendment Group. She is a native of Anderson County, Tennessee.

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