Friday, June 8, 2007

The Amish and RFID

I'm not Amish (you probably figured that one out already). But I have a lot of respect for them. I admire their devotion to God, and even their separation in many ways from the world. While I personally like my electricity, I respect anybody that can do without it.

So it makes me pretty sad to hear how much the Amish people will be affected by the upcoming RFID act. I stumbled upon a link talking about the Amish with regards to their situation here.

It often sickens me how much government encroaches upon our freedoms and tries to force us into living a certain way. Shouldn't I have the choice to be stupid and ride around town without a seatbelt if I'd like? If I get in an accident and fly out the window, then just hand me a Darwin award... I deserve getting hurt or dying for being stupid (children would be another matter). If I want to hike up a dangerous mountain in the middle of winter wearing only a t-shirt, I should be able to do that too. If I get trapped up there and die, well, I deserve what's coming to me... and nobody should have to pay to send rescuers up there to bail me out either.

So my thoughts regarding the Amish tend to be "leave them alone and let them live their lives." But government doesn't seem to want to do that. It wants to make it mandatory to RFID their animals, apply for movement permits, etc.

To many of the Amish (and to me as well) this is just a precursor to the Mark of the Beast. The Bible says that there will come a day when the Antichrist will cause all to put a mark in their right hands or foreheads... and without it, they will not be able to buy or sell. Similarly, the Amish will not be able to transport themselves to the grocery store without this RFID mark... and if they get the mark, they then have to apply for permits to go to the grocery store using their horses... since this is moving animals.

How did we get to the point? Our forefathers would be rolling over in their graves.

I'm not a fan of RFID. If I buy a movie, computer game, or CD, when I get home I usually seek out the little RFID strip, rip it off the packaging, and throw it in the trash. When I was in the military I secretly did my own little civil disobedience by not microchipping my cat when it was supposedly mandatory to do so. I am also no fan of applied digital or their verichip.

If they can make it mandatory for the Amish, who try so hard to be separate from the world, will it be us that are next?

They RFID'd the Amish horses, but I was not Amish, so I did not care
Then they made RFID mandatory for pets, but since I did not have a pet, I did not care
Then they made RFID mandatory for prisoners, but since I was not a prisoner, I did not care
Then they made RFID mandatory for children (don't want them to get kidnapped, right), but since I did not have children, I did not care
Then they came for me, and there was nobody left to complain

Could this be our story soon?

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