Governments Don’t Like It When We Gather without Their Permission

Freedom of association is under attack.

J.B. Shurk | August 17, 2026

There are a number of ways in which Western governments are waging war against their citizens.  The United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and leftists in the United States do not believe in free speech.  These Western governments also spy on their citizens without warrants or probable cause.  They have transformed their court systems into ideologically-partisan dictatorships that impose rulings based upon feelings and “political correctness,” rather than black-letter law and self-restraint.  An offense that often gets overlooked, however, is Western governments’ infringement of citizens’ freedom of association.

Freedom of association is our natural, God-given right to meet with likeminded people, discuss ideas, express ourselves, and promote our mutual interests.  As with freedom of speech, it is fundamental to any notion of liberty.  Respect for freedom of association is the bedrock for religious freedom, freedom of conscience, communal identity, and national self-determination.  

Countries are born when people of common ancestry, language, history, and customs choose to work together and defend their way of life.  Towns spring up when likeminded people settle and develop a region together.  Religious congregations grow through common worship.  Schools, skilled trade unions, clubs, sports leagues, and civic organizations of all types are formed when people come together to pursue similar interests and advance shared ideas.  

At its heart, freedom of association respects human beings’ natural inclination to cooperate with others to build something together that would not be possible for any one person to build alone.  As a voluntary commitment to pursue a group’s common aims, it is the collective expression of each individual’s personal liberty.  

As with all God-given rights and liberties, government power (or State authority) is the greatest threat to freedom of association.  When governments prevent people from discussing ideas, worshiping together, working together, or pursuing common interests, the State is using its monopoly on the lawful use of force to infringe citizens’ inalienable rights.

What we see across the West is the bureaucratic State........

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