Superman Ends His U.S. Citizenshipby
Bob
Bauman Recently by Bob Bauman: Cheer Up! It Could Be Worse!
Indeed, the growing trend of Americans voluntarily ending their status as U.S. citizens – the only legal way by which they can escape U.S. taxes and government controls – has reached a new peak and shows no signs of abating. Those leaving the U.S. are mostly the wealthy and the talented, many of them young persons – those who have had enough, thank you. World Wide Shock I’ve observed this exodus for years but never in my wildest imagination could I have predicted that Superman (aka Clark Kent) would decide to end his many years as a respected U.S. citizen living in the city of Metropolis. Now in the latest issue of DC Action Comics No. 900, released on Wednesday, the iconic super hero renounces his U.S citizenship following a clash with the federal government. The youthful 73-year-old Man of Steel joins thousands of other Americans in announcing that he is ending his U.S. citizenship, as reported in the New York Times. Kansas Farm Boy The readers of DC Comics know of Superman’s alien origin, but with his base of operation primarily being the American city of Metropolis, we always have thought of the hero as one of our own. (The true citizen, of course, is mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, who was raised on a farm near Smallville, Kansas.) Given that he was rocked to Earth from the dying planet of Krypton, Superman’s official papers – his super-birth certificate – have never been fully analyzed. The Man of Steel, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1938, has always been recognized as a devoted American warrior who constantly fought evil, but as of now, he is no longer America’s own to claim.
Truth, Justice & the American Way “I intend to speak before the United Nations tomorrow and inform them that I am renouncing my U.S. citizenship,” Superman says in Action Commics. “I’m tired of having my actions construed as instruments of U.S. policy.”
Superman even questions his longtime motto: “Truth, justice and the American way.” “Truth, justice and the American way – it’s not enough anymore,” Superman tells the U.S. president’s national security adviser. “The world’s too small; too connected.” A Sign of the Times As I have explained in my most popular book, The Passport Book, the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed the right of Americans to end their citizenship and to enjoy dual citizenship. Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr., a leading libertarian, has placed such personal decisions in the proper perspective: “A person who decides to give up his U.S. citizenship is not guilty of disloyalty to America; quite the opposite. He could very well be more loyal to American principles than the regime is willing to tolerate. It also does not mean that he is giving up hope for liberty; he may have great hope for liberty, in a different way and in a different place.” Certainly Lew has described perfectly Superman’s surprising but understandable decision. It is indeed sad that freedom under the government of the United States has so declined as to compel this act by a respected world hero. Reprinted with permission from the Sovereign Society. May 2, 2011 Robert E. Bauman is a former Member of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland, (1973–1981). He is also a former federal official and state legislator; Member, Washington, DC Bar; Graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center (1964) and the School of Foreign Service (1959), Washington, DC. Robert currently serves as legal counsel for the Sovereign Society. Copyright © 2011 Sovereign Society
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