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Dear Yuyutsu,

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You wrote :

« I assume that the house/apartment in question was built by your own effort (or was freely given to you by the one who built it, etc.).»
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I might be able to buy a small tent for my wife and myself and install it. But I very much doubt that I could build a house. I wouldn’t even know how to begin.

As far as I can remember, nobody ever gave me anything apart from Christmas and birthday presents, which are more of sentimental rather than merchant value. I was the black sheep of the family and left home at the age of 18 with some small change in my pocket, and that was it. My mother wrote to me a few years later to tell me she had decided to will the old family home to my elder brother when she died. When my brother died, the home was inherited by his children who sold it to get the money.
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« You cannot say the same about this earth or any of its continents … claiming sovereignty over a region of land is robbery, thus not worthy of respect. »
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You didn’t indicate who you consider is being robbed, Yuyutsu.

Sovereignty is the authority of a state to govern itself. Owning land is the exclusive right to control a specific parcel of land. The latter may be passed on to somebody else by sale, lease, rental contract or gift. It is the exclusive right that is passed on, not the land itself.

The same principle applies to property in general, be it buildings, houses, apartments, etc.

If you have built, purchased, leased, or rented your house or apartment, you have the exclusive right to occupy it with your family. If a foreign family moves in and occupies it without your permission, that is an act of usurpation (robbery).

Usurpation is not just man-made law. All animals practise the same law and defend their exclusive rights to their homes as best they can.

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(Continued …)

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(Continued …)

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I leave it to you to decide what your so-called divine law has to say about the self-defense of :

• human territory and animal territory
• human homes and animal homes

The principal difference between us humans and other animals, in my view, is that we have invented a peaceful means of transferring the right of “ownership” (exclusive control) of territory and homes to third parties, thus avoiding the unnecessary robbery and violence that often continues to exist in the animal kingdom.

As a closing remark, allow me to add, Yuyutsu, that when I was a child, I was told “when in Rome, do as the Romans do”. That is a general rule of conduct I have practised all my life, and I thoroughly recommend it.

It is futile to expect the Romans to do what you do.

Naturally, if the “Romans” in question happen to be cannibals, it would be preferable to leave discreetly before they decide what to prepare for lunch.

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(Continued …)

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Despite the principles I outlined above, perhaps I should say a few words about human conquest of territory which, regrettably, also continues to exist.

The right of conquest was historically a right of ownership (exclusive control) of land after possession via force of arms. It was recognized as a principle of international law that gradually declined until its proscription in the aftermath of World War II.

The United Nations Charter subsequently banned the use or threat of force as a tool of international relations, even when used to rectify prior injustices, the sole exception being self-defence.

Unfortunately, that has not prevented Russia from invading Ukraine nor the Hamas-Israel-Iran war.

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Dear Banjo,

«You didn’t indicate who you consider is being robbed, Yuyutsu.»

By being deemed the black sheep of your family, you were made to leave the house where you grew up and had a natural share in, then you were prevented from returning and living there because your elder brother's children sold it. You were effectively robbed.

In a similar way, idiomatically of course, we are all God's children.
We did not create this earth, nor is it ours. We only share it by God's grace.
For one sibling to deny their other siblings access to their Father's property, is robbery.

«Sovereignty is the authority of a state to govern itself.»

"Itself" cannot include that which does not belong to it.
The earth belongs to God, not to any state(s).
States have never received any authority from God to exclude His/Her/Its other children.

«Owning land is the exclusive right to control a specific parcel of land. [details follow]»

These are internal arrangements among those who agree to have a state.
They have no moral authority outside that group.

«Usurpation is not just man-made law. All animals practise the same law and defend their exclusive rights to their homes as best they can.»

You are now confusing "land" from "home".
People and animals are entitled to the improvements they made by their toil, such as turning a parcel of land into a home. The improvement(s) are their creation, but not the land itself.

«The principal difference between us humans and other animals, in my view, is that we have invented a peaceful means of transferring the right of “ownership”»

One simply cannot transfer the ownership of that which they do not own!
The "ownership" you are speaking about is only an internal convention among those who agreed to have a state, and is meaningless for all others.

[continued...]

[...continued]

«when I was a child, I was told “when in Rome, do as the Romans do”.»

I see - you were brainwashed by Roman propaganda.
Others wanted you to conform, so they tricked you.

In modern terms, this is called "Child Abuse".

«It is futile to expect the Romans to do what you do.»

But no one was expecting anything of the Romans. It is them who wrongly expect you to conform, even while they have no right over your lifestyle.

«Despite the principles I outlined above, perhaps I should say a few words about human conquest of territory which, regrettably, also continues to exist.»

Yes, barbarism from Alpha to Omega.

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Yes, it’s been a long conversation, Yuyutsu. Not to worry. I understand.

Take it easy. I’m sure we’ll have more to say to each other on some other thread of mutual interest.

All the best,

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