Doing a Southwest Airlines

Rule one of civil disobedience is to not talk of civil disobedience. The same is true about being a sovereign. There's no point in talking about it. True sovereign behavior is to follow nobody's rules but ones own. A sovereign doesn't petition the state for anything, does not beg for anything, and does not give anything away freely. The sovereign acts, and keeps the talking to a minimum.

Once this is properly understood, all sorts of possibilities come to the forefront. We realize that we don't have to tell the state about our private affairs, and we don't have to follow their rules. Case in point is the debacle surrounding Southwest Airlines' vaccine mandate. Laws and regulations forbid pilots and air traffic controllers from striking. However, they are nevertheless striking. They're just not telling anybody about it. People are calling in sick and taking days off. They are moving slowly. They are dragging their feet. But none of this can be officially called a strike. There're no leaders. Nobody can be arrested because nothing illegal is going on.

A similar logic can be used for home schooling. There are all sorts of rules and regulations associated with this. It's at best a bureaucratic nightmare and at worst illegal, depending on what jurisdiction we happen to live under. However, there's nothing illegal about keeping a sick child home from school. Teachers are obliged to help in such situations. Parents can ask the teachers about home schooling while the child is recovering.

This gives tremendous flexibility to anyone willing to tell a white lie from time to time. With teachers petrified by the virus, we can call the school and tell them that our child has tested positive and that we think it better if the child is kept home for a few days. We can add that the child has no symptoms, in case the child is asked to participate in some online activity.

The asymptomatic virus infection can then be kept going for as long as we please, and we can ask teachers to suggest things to do to keep the child up to date on the curriculum. We can express frustration with the virus that simply doesn't go away.

The trick is to come across as conventional, friendly and helpful. With such a façade, there's almost no limit to what liberties we can take for ourselves.

A conventional looking guy