The Slaves Shall Serve: Meditations on Liberty

On the domestic side we exchange our privacy and personal autonomy for the chimerical security of a cradle-to-grave society; internationally we abdicate our ability to act autonomously in our national interest, and in accordance with our most cherished principles.

Why are we squandering the precious jewels of the greatest political experiment in human history? How, and by whom, are we being seduced into ceding that which we should treasure above all else — our most fundamental liberties? Finally: what actions can thoughtful citizens take to protect and regain their personal freedoms?

In his newest book, James Wasserman examines these urgent questions, presenting a cogent, intelligent, and often-alarming picture of our nation’s situation both nationally and globally. This revealing collection of essays, the product of ten years of study and contemplation, is supplemented with lengthy appendices of the primary reference materials that underlie the author’s bold assertions.

Readers will fearlessly explore the modern plague of collectivism, especially as embodied by the United Nations; learn the true political, historical, and spiritual roots of the September 11th attacks; revisit the Waco massacre without averting their glance; witness the cynical manipulations of the civilian disarmament movement; and be invited to contemplate the role of transcendent values in the battle to preserve and maintain personal freedoms. In terms that are lucid, passionate, balanced, scholarly, and often witty, the author shares his idealism, his outrage and his hope.

The book begins with the author's chronicle of his very personal experiences that brought him to the point where he felt compelled to write this book. Then there is a look a look at the various major strains of political thought, such as statism, collectivism, libertarianism, and so forth.

Next, a look at a subject painful to everyone: Waco. This is not the usual "such and such happened at 11:03 AM" type of chronicle (though I am not criticizing some of those very useful accounts). This is a personal account. One man trying to cope with an obvious disaster of truly epic proportions that literally stripped the veil from his eyes regarding American politics. All those people dead over a $200 tax!

It gets worse, since he then covers September 11th. I say "worse" because what other adjective can I use to describe 9/11? But the author gives a very detailed account of the forces at play. This is not your usual New York Times article on why terrorists hate us. He lays bare the actual foundations of the evil, showing how the actual issue is about a
thousand years old.

Next we get a lesson in very modern history, showing how liberty is a concept that the modern statists abhor and do their best to destroy. It is a U.S. "centric" but I can't blame the author for that; he can tackle Europe later.

He next emphasizes the need to have a system of self-discipline that transcends the individual so that a free person may function properly in society (in other words, how to be a good person).

The next chapter details actions that we can take to try to prevent the horror from continuing or getting worse (and it is getting worse). The author does a masterful job here, having previously built up an iron-clad case, and now showing how we can resist
while playing by the rules.

Next is a reproduction of the one-page manifesto of liberty by the Englishman Crowley. Not an American! An Englishman mind you, and a highly controversial one at
that! There is something deliciously ironic about this. It is written in words of one syllable that anyone can understand. Crowley's manifesto will initially shock some (it was deliberately written to shock by using some mystical statements that will no doubt offend many who don't understand the underlying meaning and symbolism). But upon reflection, you'll see that Crowley's statement will put a LOT in context.

What follows next are a series of appendices. It is in the nature of appendices that most readers skip them. These should not be skipped. There is Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution which are always worth reviewing. Then there is the absolute shock of the U.N. Charter, and a bunch of other U.N. documents. I am struck by the internal inconsistencies. For example, the U.N. seemingly declares human rights to be innate "up front" but if you read further you'll see they clearly state that human rights are GRANTED by governments and are NOT innate within us. Shocking in the extreme. And that is just ONE example! If you think the U.N. is the way to go then you need to read these documents and have your eyes opened.

The last appendix contains some writings by then U.S. President John F. Kennedy which I guarantee will shock the living daylights out of anyone who has not read them! Taken in the context of things that Kennedy was involved in, such as the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Vietnam, it puts a LOT of things into context.

An annotated bibliography of suggested reading ends up this gem. It will allow you to start your own personal journey like the author has done, if you haven't already. Plus it verifies everything in the book (the author is a very careful scholar, who attributes all his sources; I'm a real nit picker about that, and could find no fault).

I can't praise this book more highly. Buy it. Read it. Buy more and give the copies to your friends. Recommend it to everyone! I have been waiting for a book like this for a LONG time and am overjoyed that it is now available. Destined to be a classic in the literature of freedom, I give Jim Wasserman my congratulations for having the guts to write this.


Slaves Shall Serve - Liberty in the US   March 16, 2004
6 out of 10 found this review helpful

James Wasserman's newest book, "The Slaves Shall Serve - Meditations on Libetry", is a departure from his past works. The Slaves Shall Serve is a compilation of essays that examine current events and the impact of these events on the political and personal liberty of US citizens.

The book is written from a personal - sometimes emotional - point of view. Jim backs up every point with excellent research and includes three appendices of source documents. Essay topics range from the Ruby Ridge and Waco sieges to Second Amendment issues, an in-depth analysis of the September 11th attacks, and freedom of religion.

In this age of political correctness and an insidious attack through non-legislative means on our fundamental rights as enumerated by the Founding Fathers, this book is a breath of fresh air and open, honest no-spin discussion. You may not agree with every conclusion reached in the book but all the arguments are well made and well supported.
I think the quote below articulates something many people attracted feel personally. I know I feel likewise and that this statement resonated with me at my core when I read it. Regardless of technique, regardless of dogma or lack thereof, regardless of personal motivation or lack thereof, there can be No spiritual liberty, no personal spiritual advancement without a freedom to experiment and not be attacked for those experiments.

"Liberty has been the entire basis of my life quest. I have used every technique I could find to maximize my Liberty: meditation, ritual magick, sex, drugs, sobriety, philosophy, personal economics, and career choice. I have come to believe that political liberty is an essential component of spiritual liberty."

The Slaves Shall Serve isn't a conservative versus liberal political book. It isn't a Republican versus Democrat book. It isn't a conspiracy book. It is a simple, clear documentation of recent events and the conclusions an intelligent human being can reasonably draw from these events and their aftermath.

I think this book is a great investment at around $20. The appendices include a complete copy of the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and Bill of Rights, Liber OZ, and pages of United Nations documents that I found very enlightening. I think you could spend nearly $20 just obtaining the documents included in the appendices.

I strongly recommend buying the book and trying some of the actions suggested.


A modern primer on Liberty   November 15, 2004
a deriaja (New York)
4 out of 7 found this review helpful

This is a magnificent book. It provides an insightful collection of
essays whose overriding theme may be summarized by the following
statement: "Political liberty is a spiritual value." An autobiographical
introduction positions the author as a former 60s "liberal" who
gradually woke up to smell the coffee. This is followed by an essay that
distinguishes between the political philosophies of individualism and
collectivism, personal liberty versus "group rights." An essay on Waco
makes it clear that the deaths of 100 Americans can not be brushed over
as some "little aberration" of the Clinton era. An essay on September
11th draws on the author's expertise with Islamic secret societies. The
essay on the Second Amendment is written by a partisan of the Bill of
Rights who understands the meaning of the phrase "shall not be
infringed." I personally found his (humorously titled) Goddesses, Guns
and Guts to be the most controversial in the book. Here, a well-known
occultist discusses the need for belief in a higher power to make
oneself a worthy candidate for true political freedom. Suggested Actions
offers an elementary program to begin to break out of the modern media
trance of daily life. Liber Oz by Aleister Crowley makes clear the
author's true Libertarian stance in words of one syllable.

These essays comprise the first half of the book. They are followed by
meticulous documentation to buttress the boldness of the author's
statements. I had only the vaguest familiarity with the utter
contemptuousness and banality of the key founding documents and
agreements of the United Nations. Although this material may be said to
have been "hidden in plain sight" for decades, I wonder how many of you
or your friends have ever read it. I think Wasserman proves his point
that the UN is the prototype of a one world socialist tyranny designed
to creep into every living room and bedroom on planet Earth. And he does
so by providing accurate and complete versions of the material these
busybody bureaucratic wannabes have written themselves.

One may easily dismiss the author's assertions of the treasonous trend
lines of America's ruling elite (whether disguised as "democrats" or
"republicans") as the opinion of a patriot who may have an untimely
fervor for individual liberty. Like some 18th century throwback who
didn't realize the Age of the Expert had put an end to the concept of
personal sovereignty, the author's passion flows through a series of
carefully reasoned arguments. However, if you combine his opinions with
the documentary evidence provided by the Freedom From War position paper
of the U.S. State Department, (personally delivered by President Kennedy
to the UN in 1962) reproduced in full as Appendix Three, you begin to
realize that just because you're paranoid doesn't mean everyone's not
out to get you!

If I had any argument with this book, it was his presenting the full
text of the Constitution in the first Appendix. This would seem to be so
widely known that I initially wondered why it was included. On
reflection however, I remembered that my son had graduated from one of
the three advanced public high schools in NYC and had never read the
Constitution! Perhaps I understand the author's reluctance to leave that
crucial material out. It also adds immeasurably to the ability of the
reader to understand the primary question asked by this book, namely:
"Who, in his right mind, would be supportive of a political system that
intended to replace his unalienable rights with alienable privileges?"
The inclusion of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and
the Bill of Rights provides black and white evidence of the concept of
"unalienable" rights as envisioned by America's founders. The inclusion
of the UN material provides clear evidence of what is meant by the
phrase "alienable privileges." And the publication of Freedom From War
makes it clear that many in this U.S. government are seeking to
undermine our unique Constitutional freedoms by substituting the
international community's vision of the origin of political rights as
deriving from the State. The author dares to calls this "treason."

The annotated reading list suggests some great books for further
research. Personally, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.


Read this book before you vote   April 1, 2004
Stella Grey (New York, NY USA)
5 out of 9 found this review helpful

THE SLAVES SHALL SERVE: Meditations on Liberty is an amazing book. With a voice that is always clear, often funny, frequently impassioned, and sometimes even charming James Wasserman discourses about the heaviest issues of our time: the foundations of terrorism, the erosion of personal liberty, and the growth of statism. And that's just a sample. In this collection of essays written over the last ten years Wasserman gives us a thoughtful thorough demonstration of the necessary link between the individual and the global, the political and the spiritual.

As in the second half of the title, this book is indeed a series of "Meditations on Liberty". Liberty here is defined as by the Declaration of Independence and its bold assertion that "all Men are...endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights..." These rights are detailed in the Bill of Rights as sacrosanct and are explicitly protected from infringement by the State. A free person is one whose exercise of these rights is respected unhampered by outside (governmental) restriction. In James Wasserman's understanding this condition of political freedom is the prerequisite for spiritual or ethical freedom, the fulfillment of each human being's spiritual destiny. He says simply, "Enlightenment is based on Freedom." Politics here becomes the task of preserving and extending freedom so that others may achieve their potentials.

Jim Wassserman's own political stance could best be described by the combination of the concepts Jeffersonian and Libertarian. He is a completely for limitations on governmental powers and emphatic in his defense of individual rights. He is resolutely against agency or policy which would strengthen or extend state powers. Likewise he is beyond distrustful of internationalist efforts to cede the United States's autonomy to any other body especially the United Nations.

There's strong stuff in The Slaves Shall Serve, with something somewhere in it to upset just about everyone. A cursory glance through the book reveals "distrustables" including the United Nations, socialists, statists, gun control advocates, and the Clinton Administration to name just a few. But Wasserman is anything but another blowhard conspiracy theorist. Respectful of his readers' intelligence, Wasserman doesn't expect anyone to swallow everything whole; sources are cited and quotations credited. Plus, he gives us an excellent annotated bibliography detailing these sources in addition to a recommended reading list. Even better, Wasserman reprints for us in their entirety the key documents underlying his assertions.

Other reviewers have done a fine job of outlining the contents of The Slaves Shall Serve so I'm not going to repeat their work. I do want to stress that this book is important not necessarily for new information but for a new approach to spirituality and politics. Wasserman's basic message that freedom and spiritual (or ethical) development are interdependent adds an important new dimension to political conversation.

Buy this book. Or at least borrow it. Read it before the next time you vote and ask yourself where your self interest truly is. Think about where your rights come from. And where it looks like they might be going to. The worst thing that could happen is that you find yourself in possession of an excellent reading list and basic political documents.


More Relevant Now Than At Publishing   August 15, 2006
Jeffrey Peter A. Hauck (Pennsylvania USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

Review of James Wasserman's "The Slaves Shall Serve: Meditations On Liberty."

This book is prefaced on the fact that we, collectively, as Americans need to take the time to step back and contemplate the grievous implications and impact upon our lives if our personal and civil liberties were suspended, sidestepped, or simply preempted by "another law." Wasserman's treatise then, is more relevant today than it was when it was published five years ago.

Longer lived civilizations than ours have flourished and died. Syndicated columnist and author Georgie Ann Geyer wrote: "I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to have a moral community or nation without faith in God, because without it everything comes down to 'me' and 'me,' alone, is meaningless." She further opined: "Today Americans have stopped acting in terms of their own moral, ethical, and religious beliefs and principles. They stopped acting on what they knew was right--and the 'me' has become the measure of everything. However, moral societies are the only ones that work. If anyone thinks there is not a direct and inviolable relationship between personal integrity in a society and that society's prosperity, that person has simply not studied history..."

Examples for consideration and reflection: Massive corruption is being unveiled at every level of government whilst laws are being crafted to create a federal network creating "civilian detention centers" and allowing plans to declare martial law enforced federally designed to work around The Posse Comitatus Act in the wake of the "hurricane Katrina disaster," among others. See article where Rep. Alcee L. Hastings, D-Fla., has introduced to the House of Representatives a new bill, H.R. 645, calling for the secretary of homeland security to establish no fewer than six national emergency centers for corralling civilians on military installations.

Is this type of legislation necessary? How have we survived as a Nation to this date without it? Must every aspect of our lives be micromanaged by government to our individual detriment? Is that the force which will fill the vacuum left empty by our ever shrinking collective morality?

Instead of citizens desiring to remain free and independent to pursue their own dreams and goals it appears that we Americans, in vast numbers, are surrendering our inheritance of liberty to Federal and State governments under the promise of economic and military "protection." It appears that it is a violent current that we can't swim out of and must then "go with the flow."

"The Slaves Shall Serve" should function as the anvil for which our collective national reawakening must take place. Regardless of whether the reader is a Thelemite, Christian, Pagan, or other faith the common thread is the acknowledgment of a higher power and a belief in the morality that to "do what is right," "harm none," "follow the golden rule," etc., exists.

I love the fact that the Author has shown fit to publish the U.S. Constitution as so few citizens have read it. More than anything the book instructs us to retain the liberties given to us by the Bill of Rights by exercising them. Like it or not, there is no such thing as secular government or politics. A person's morality is their internal compass directly predicated upon their own beliefs and understanding. The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights is the only shield we have for protecting our pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness as outlined in the Declaration of Independence.

Absolutely worth reading and understanding. 5 stars without reservation.