20 November 2010 Live every day as if it were
your last and then some day you'll be right History is not likely to speak well of today's
Americans. While the people of nations around the
globe stand up to their oppressors, Americans sit idly
by as their government runs roughshod over their life,
liberty and property. As we speak, large-scale protests and mass
demonstrations continue in more than a dozen countries
as citizens strike back against injustice, criminality
and brutal austerity measures imposed by their corrupt
governments. In the UK, more than 50,000 students recently took
to the streets to protest a spike in tuition costs. In Greece, workers clashed with police outside the
Finance Ministry over frozen pensions and cuts in
their salaries. In Germany, tens of thousands demonstrated over the
weekend to protest government policies and social
inequities in advance of Merkel's Democrat party's
national meeting. In early October, thousands of Icelanders stormed
their parliament with renewed anger over the deepening
financial crisis, and against those responsible for
it. Many of their politicians were forced to flee out
the back door, where they were pelted with eggs, flour
and tomatoes. In France, transportation and commerce was brought
to a virtual standstill throughout vast portions of
the country, as angry citizens railed against their
government for increasing the retirement age from 60
to 62. Press coverage of these events gets little
attention here in the United States. When the press
does cover it, they portray the demonstrators as
greedy laysbouts who have been become dependant on
government handouts. In reality, people of these
countries know full well that they are being made to
do without in order to enrich powerful central banks
that conspired with their politicians to loot their
economies. The people have had enough, and they're
letting their governments know it. If only we had the same spirit. When will the
American people recognize the full frontal assault
being perpetrated against them? When will they
realize that, they too, are being made to do
with less, so that their corrupt politicians can
fulfill the unlawful arrangements they have
made with the very same central banks and financial
institutions that are bringing down nations around the
globe? Right now, millions of Americans have lost (or are
losing) their homes to foreclosure as a result of the
same kind of collusion between politicians and the
banking cartels. In 2008, the banking elite threatened to shut down
the U.S. economy unless corrupt politicians in
Washington D.C. forced through the Troubled Assets
Relief Program (TARP). Though more than 90% of the
American public voiced opposition to the bill, their
words fell on deaf ears. To add insult to injury, the
passage of TARP was actually celebrated by members of
congress, who stood at the podium with broad smiles
and giggled as they signed the hellish legislation. Billions of taxpayer dollars went to the bankers to
rescue them from foolish investments in
mortgage-backed securities. The TARP funds were
supposed to be used to clear the bank's books and free
up lending to the American people. But that didn't
happen. Instead, the bankers tightened lending even
more and used their newfound wealth to pay debts,
acquire other banks, pay huge bonuses to their
employees, and engage in more irresponsible investment
activities. To their credit, the American people found the
gumption to confront those politicians in town hall
meetings across the nation. But the media—being the
obedient lapdogs to the federal government that they
are—quickly pounced upon these unhappy citizens;
labeling them as dangerous upstarts who were working
outside the parameters of civil and polite discourse
that the government deems manageable. Raising your
voice was equated with violence, hoisting signs was
considered racist and gatherings were announced as
potential staging grounds for domestic terrorism. How absurd—that the mainstream media would think it
could even be possible to kowtow the American people
into compliance—especially when you measure these
relatively mild examples of public opposition against
the large-scale strikes and civil unrest we are
witnessing in other countries. But—ironically—many Americans did take the bait
that the mainstream media was dishing out and decided
to temper their speech after all. This was
facilitated by Judas goats like Glenn Beck and Sarah
Palin, who corralled the people like livestock into
GOP controlled rallies that advanced the Republican
agenda and insured them an easy victory in the
mid-term elections. Glenn Beck's "Rally to Restore Honor" summoned
thousands of disgruntled Americans to the steps of the
Washington Monument. Days before, he pleaded with his
audience to abandon their signs and silly clothes
because it was making them easy targets of ridicule by
the "progressive" left. The people complied—and when
they attended the function—they were treated to a
ceremony of military worship and religious devotion to
the state of Israel. It was a Hollywood production.
It was organized, polite, and nobody raised their
voice. People soon forgot about the imminent
financial threats that were bearing down upon them.
Instead, they embraced what every American should feel
good about: a bloated defense budget and a toxic
relationship with a country that has caused us nothing
but trouble. Shortly after the Beck event, the left staged a
demonstration of their own. Jon Stewart's "Rally to
Restore Sanity" was a mockery of demonstrations,
an anti-demonstration if you will. The people who attended that function did so—not to
address the criminality of their government—but to
mock those who did. They came out enmass to parody
the "Teabaggers," fellow citizens enraged over Obama's
spending policies and mandatory healthcare
legislation. Both events were completely partisan efforts, used
to define the line between Democrat and Republican
voters. Both events were used to quell dissent and
stifle speech. Both were a success—but not for the
American people. It was a success for the government,
and a major testament on the power the mainstream
media has over the American public. Americans—in large part—have become nothing more
than stupid, scared, spoiled rotten slaves to their
favorite TV programs, politicians and electronic
toys. Accusing them of such is just about the only
thing that will make them angry. Americans still
maintain that they are the freest, wealthiest and most
moral people on the face of the planet. But they are
the only ones who think so. In a Newsweek article
entitled "Post Anti-Americanism," Howard Fineman
writes: "When you read about America in European
newspapers, what you are likely to find is a tone
bordering on pity. The U.S. is depicted as a fraying
empire of obesity, ignorance, debt, gridlock,
stagnation, and mindless war. Sure, the iPad is cool,
but it is evidence of what America was, not what it
will be again. The stories are not angry, accusatory,
or even ideological. It's worse: they are
condescendingly elegiac." I think most will agree that being pitied is far
worse than being hated. Pity is leveled against those
who are unwilling, or unable, to stand up for
themselves. People of other nations pity us because
they see in us what we are unable to see in
ourselves: that we are weak. But we weren't always like this. In fact, just
twenty years ago, we were far more resilient than we
are today. We're closing in on the 20th anniversary
of the Rodney King beatings in Los Angeles. Almost
twenty years ago, the American public was shocked and
appauled as they watched one of the first incidents of
police brutality—to ever be caught on tape—broadcast
on television screens across the nation. The ensuing trial was held in a predominantly
white, suburban city (Simi Valley) that is a well
known "Cop Land," where off duty police officers from
three counties reside in great numbers. The biased
trial found the officers "not-guilty" on all counts. Public outrage at the verdicts sparked the "L.A
Riots" of 1992 that found thousands of people taking
to the streets. Businesses were looted, cars were
torched, and widespread violence spread through the
city over a period of six hellish days. Some may say that the manner in which the public
used to express their discontent was
unconstructive—but they certainly made their point.
The United States Department of Justice was forced to
bring federal charges against the four officers for
civil rights violations. Two of the four officers
were aquitted, but two were convicted and handed out
30 month prison sentences. If the Rodney King beatings were caught on tape
today, it would not even make the evenning news. The
circumstances leading up to the arrest of King would
most certainly be enough to close the books on any
further inquiry, and any ensuing protests would be met
with even more brutality from the police. The King case pales in comparison to some of the
more recent incidents of aledged police brutality. Take the case of Jordan Miles for instance. Miles,
an 18 year old black student, with no criminal record,
was simply walking down a street in Pittsburg when he
was approached by three plainclothes police officers.
According to Miles, the officers did not identify
themselves. Instead, they shouted, "Where's the
money…Where's the gun?…Where's the drugs?"
Thinking he was about to be robbed, Miles ran and
slipped on the ice. Before he could get to his feet,
the officers converged and began beating, kicking and
choking him. They also used a taser, thinking that he
was concealing a weapon. No weapon was found. Miles
sustained severe facial injuries. His face was
swollen, almost to the point of being unrecognizable,
and he continues to suffer from the severe physical
and psychological pain caused by the assault. Eight
months have since passed, and still, not one of the
officers has been held accountable. Compare that to the King case. King, a convicted
felon, led police of a high speed chase. When was
finally stopped, he emerged from the vehicle and
taunted the police officers. The officers ‘swarmed'
him and proceeded to beat him repeatedly with batons.
At one point, when it was apparent that King was still
making attempts to resist, a taser was used twice in
an attempt to incapacitate him. It was later
determined that King had a blood alcohol level that
was almost twice the legal limit. In reaction to the Miles brutality case, a few
peacful protests and marches were held in the local
community but received very little press. In reaction
to the King case, part of an entire city burned to the
ground and coverage of the riots and subsequent trials
were nationwide spectacles. American attitudes have changed. Today, the public
cowers in fear of their oppressors. What's worse is
that a vast majority will stick out their tounges, as
they lie bloodied on the street, and lick the boot of
the man who put them there. Late last September, Gene Cranick of Obion County,
Tennessee watched his home burn to the ground as
firefighters from neighboring South Fulton stood by
without lifting a finger to help put out the blaze. There seemed to have been a problem with a $75
annual fee that Cranick apparently forgot to pay for
fire services extended to residents who live outside
the city limits. In addition to his house and all of his belongings
going up in smoke, three family dogs and a cat shared
the same fate. But instead of expressing outrage, the browbeaten
property owners actually came to the defense of the
apathetic public servants. Cranick's wife, Paulette, doesn't blame the
firefighters. "They're doing what they are told to
do. It's not their fault." How have we come to adopt these kinds of
attitudes? Where is the public outrage? Is there any
limit to what the American people will put up with? Part of the problem stems from our society turning
from one that loves liberty to one that loves the
gifts that liberty brings. For well over one hundred years, social engineers
have indoctrinated Americans into believing that
indulgence is synonymous with freedom. But nothing
can be further from the truth. Freedom delivers one
from dependency, while indulgence delivers one into
it. John Adams, an American statesman and champion of
independence, feared that the American people would
some day enjoy their newfound freedoms, but neglect
the daily struggle required to protect them. Adams
was well aware of the dangers of complacency, and
warned that a society that chose indulgence over
vigilance would quickly fall into the hands of
tyrants, who would deliver a once free people back
into the chains of bondage. When the people give way, their deceivers,
betrayers, and destroyers press upon them so fast,
that there is no resisting afterwards. The nature of
the encroachment upon the American constitution is
such, as to grow every day more and more encroaching.
Like a cancer, it eats faster and faster every hour.
Adams went on to describe what would happen to that
society once these destructive influences took hold.
The people grow less steady, spirited, and
virtuous, the seekers more numerous and more corrupt,
and every day increases the circles of their
dependents and expectants, until virtue, integrity,
public spirit, simplicity, and frugality, become the
objects of ridicule and scorn, and vanity, luxury,
foppery, selfishness, meanness, and downright venality
swallow up the whole society." This is where we are today. We have become a
self-defeating society, drunk off the spoils left to
us by our forefathers. We have fallen prey to an
elitist cartel of bankers and warmongers who have, and
continue to, loot the population of its wealth and
treasure. But it isn't too late to turn things around. Right now, the American people have an opportunity
to get back that old fighting spirit. On November 24,
many Americans traveling abroad can stand defiant
against their tyrannical government. "National Opt-Out Day" is something that everybody
can get behind, regardless of their partisan politics.
Finally, across the board, we have found an issue
that all can agree upon. We are not terrorists, and
we refuse to allow our government to treat us as
such. Let us make the TSA a poster child for tyranny
and the over reaching of our corrupt government. If you travel this holiday, refuse to allow
yourself to be degraded and poisoned by the cancer
inducing pornography scanners that have been installed
in our nation's airports. You won't be alone.
Perhaps that man or woman standing there next to you
is someone you don't see eye to eye with concerning
the health care bill. But at least you can agree that
having your body ravaged by strangers is something
that no one should be forced to endure. At least
that's a start. It might be uncomfortable and inconvenient, but
fighting for your liberty and freedom always has
been—and it's about time we started getting used to
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