Book Review of Oathkeeper

Originally published on www.denverlibertarian.com

On occasion, through no effort on my part, the stars align and a prescient book lands on my lap that coincides perfectly with a current events story and the two seamlessly meld together. In this instance, the book Oathkeeper, by Troy Grice, although written in 2015, perfectly describes a general mood of distrust and disillusion with the governing order, as if predicting the essence of the views expressed by those at the recent Virginia 2A rally. The book also succinctly encapsulates the notion of an enemy-of-the-people media establishment eager to propagate fear and promote the primacy of the state above anything else. Undoubtedly, many of those in attendance at the rally were portrayed as fringe, domestic extremists and much to the dismay of the media, the rally remained peaceful.

In his book, Grice has written a genuinely entertaining work of fiction expounding upon the perils of an overbearing federal policing apparatus with a storyline feels all too real. Indeed, this storytelling approach is very effective at conveying concepts without being too heavy handed and academic and allows the reader to discover new concepts and question the status quo narratives of government workers just doing their job for the good of the people. Without invoking any common characterizations of left/right or progressive/conservative, Grice has written a story of the individual versus the state and ultimately, liberty versus tyranny.

The stage is set when, under the guise of the Drug WarTM, a sheriff is descended upon by a cabal of conforming organization men who exist wholly to serve the Federal government. This group spreads their web of state privilege across any and all who dare to challenge their authority. Oathkeeper brings to life the reality of an overtly militarized Federal law enforcement apparatus that takes on the task of cleaning up an alleged drug problem, in the process, a shocking but all too familiar incident occurs and sets in motion a standoff of epic proportions. Average, everyday folks are put into extreme circumstances and grapple with the concepts of federal versus local control, who to trust in an era of media manipulation and ultimately, how far one is willing to go to defend oneself. To some, the ending is shocking, to others, it is inevitable.

The book will make you think about the powers continually granted to government:

“You may have nothing to hide today, but what about a decade from now, when there are different people in power? What if those people in power don’t like you? What if they fear you?” (2977)

The book will make you think about who you should believe and how pervasive the intelligence alphabet soup agencies have become:

“I’ll make it a national security issue...He can easily be portrayed as a domestic extremist..we’ll throw in some racism or religious fanaticism or sexual deviancy for good measure...they’ll find something, contextual or not.” (3153)

The book will make you think about the everyday nature of authority:

“When faced with resistance to their [law enforcement] demands, their response is simply to escalate, all the way to violence if necessary. The vast portion of the civilian population quickly and wisely capitulates before it comes to that, regardless of the legality of the demand.” (2558)

At every turn of the page, there are countless opportunities for the uninitiated to go down any number of rabbit holes of research: what is the FISA court, what was Plessy v. Ferguson, what was the Kelo house all about, what was the Korematsu Case, what is the true nature of police brutality, probable cause and a legal system stacked against the average person and how does one rein in a drug war ran amok? Perhaps one of the most important avenues for investigation presented in the book is the reality of a kangaroo court system where, “...they [government] win 97% of their cases by verdict or plea bargain. That isn’t justice...it’s show trials.” (2825) How does one counter a system that has infinite resources?

The court proceedings described in the book may seem far fetched to some, but they aren't and I present to you, if I may, another quirk of fate as evidence. As I finished reading the book, I found myself listening to an episode of the Free Man Beyond the Wall Podcast (#373), where the guest tells the shocking inside story of being on a jury for a recent Federal drug conspiracy case. Through the course of jury deliberations, the uncompromising actions of one of the jurors helped secure several acquittals for the defendants due to the lies, manipulation of evidence, and sheer incompetence of the drug task force. Many jurors were eager to toe the line and do whatever the prosecutors told them to do and send their so-called fellow men off to prison with absurd sentences. The prosecution thought they had the case in the bag and they thought the defendants would get buried under the pressure of the machinations of the Federal prosecutorial apparatus; they were wrong. The true nature of a nefarious court system set up to work against the average individual is described in infuriating detail in the podcast episode and there are striking parallels from this true story to the fictional one told in the book. Indeed, the odds were against them, but all it took was one person to stand in defiance of the status quo to take down the system.

This defiant spirit is alive in well in the book with the main character grappling with the absurdity of a drunk-on-power Federal agent hell bent on using any means necessary to bring an alleged outlaw to justice. The law is set up to protect the officers, not the people, and alleged violations and probably cause, “could be manufactured by any officer who had even the slightest modicum of legalistic creativity.” (621) The book captures and cogently describes this concept with the characters living in an epoch of a, “voluminous list of highly specific and contradictory edicts promoted to create an illusion of justice, but written by the rich so that those who could afford counsel could always escape punishment by exploiting technicalities.” (1603) As for the rest of us? Off to jail.

There are many concepts at play in this book, but perhaps the book is best summarized with the following passage, “They’ve probably decided that things are a little more complicated when people shoot back. They aren’t used to that.” (3734) This is true literally and figuratively. We would all do well to get to know our neighbors, be wary of trusting government propaganda, avoid the pervasive media fear-mongering and always question authority. This book fulfils two key aspects in the continual quest to overcome rampant statism in favor of a freer society, that of education and entertainment. I encourage everyone to support this author and share this book widely.

Visit www.TroyGrice.com for other books by this author.