State
of the Delusion
Freedom and Democracy: an American Illusion?
http://wakeup-world.com/2015/09/30/freedom-and-democracy-an-american-illusion/
30th September 2015
By Alan Adaschik
Guest Writer for Wake Up World
Language defines the world within which we live
because through language we define and shape ideas and concepts that are
the basis of what we think. In turn, what people think determines how
they behave. Therefore, controlling the behavior of people is simply a
matter of shaping their world by defining the concepts that form the
basis of their thoughts.
There are three ways to accomplish this:
Redefine concepts and ideas slowly over time to accommodate desired
changes, allow unwanted concepts and ideas to fade into obscurity, and
prevent undesirable concepts and ideas from developing.
In America today, the process of controlling
people through language has been developed to a fine art by those in
government with the cooperation of the media, our educational
institutions, and the entertainment industry. The use of the socially
acceptable phrase “politically correct” exemplifies this. In the final
analysis, politically correct thoughts are nothing more than those
acceptable to the ruling establishment. The unfortunate aspect of this
situation is that they are correct only because they are acceptable. Merit,
reality, principle, reason, logic, and/or constitutional concerns have
nothing to do with determining their degree of acceptability. During the
cold war, communists subscribed to the notion of politically correct
thought; the only difference was that we called their politically
correct thoughts propaganda or brain washing.
The end result of a successful thought-control
process is the general acceptance of change because those affected are
not aware that a change took place. The situation changed, but the
description of the situation changed along with it and, to someone not
paying attention, nothing changed. While this is all well and good for
harmony and tranquility’s sake, there is an inherent grave danger when
those in government can wield this kind of power. It enables them to
make changes at our expense and not in our best interest. This is why
our Founding Fathers added an amendment procedure to our Constitution.
They strongly believed that it is morally repugnant for government
officials to use stealth to make fundamental changes to how we our
governed and that the only acceptable way for such changes to be made is
by informed consent of the citizenry after careful consideration of the
implications associated with the change being considered.
Unfortunately, in the United States of America
today, governmental change by stealth is the order of the day and things
have progressed to the point where not only is consent of the governed a
dysfunctional concept, it has been almost entirely replaced by
deception and illusion. We are truly now a nation of the con and conned
and we euphemize this lamentable state of affairs by calling it
“politics“. Unfortunately, the end result of the “politics” we are
talking about is that not only have we been robbed of our heritage and
birthright, we are now being ravaged and looted economically with the
complicity and cooperation of those entrusted to protect us.
The above statements and conclusions are
anathema to most Americans, which does not in any way reflect upon their
validity or truth, but instead, indicates how successful the
change-makers have been in achieving their ends. This can be clearly
established to anyone’s satisfaction by a careful examination of two of
our most revered and sacred concepts; freedom and democracy. These words
exemplify the very essence of Americanism and they role off our lips as
sacred and inviolate truths. Millions of Americans have died for the
sake of these words and it is taken for granted that those who made this
supreme sacrifice have not died in vain, but have they?
The “real” truth, out there for anyone to see if
they just open their eyes, is that what we call freedom today is not
the same freedom we enjoyed in the past and the U.S. nation is
democratic in name only. If our Founding Fathers suddenly arose from
their graves and surveyed our present situation, to a man, they would
hold that not only are we not free and not a democracy, but instead a
subjugated and downtrodden people.
Freedom and Democracy an American Illusion - Freedom
Freedom is an easy concept to understand. One
is free when able to do as one wishes. However, there are obvious
limitations to our freedom; the first one being physical reality. We are
free to jump off a building if we wish, but if we do, there is a severe
consequence for exercising this kind of freedom. Similarly, other
people are a limitation to our freedom. An individual’s freedom ends
where another person’s begins. From this it necessarily follows that the
more people around, the less freedom everyone has. This is why people
in a young and relatively un-populated United States enjoyed far more
freedom that Americans do today. But this is not why our Founding
Fathers would conclude we are not free.
To understand their point of view, it is
necessary to realize that there are two distinct aspects to freedom:
personal freedom and political freedom. Personal freedom is the freedom
to make personal choices such as what channel to watch
on television, what to eat for dinner, whom to marry, whether to take a
walk or not, etc. However, political freedom was far more important to
the Founders than personal freedom because they clearly understood that
the only way to have and ensure personal freedom was to protect and
preserve political freedom. They believed that without political
freedom, personal freedom is at risk because it can be compromised at
any time. Therefore, when drafting our Constitution, foremost in the
Founders’ minds was to create a document that ensured and protected
political freedom. As an after-thought, they later added the Bill of Rights to ensure that some highly important personal freedoms were specifically protected.
What is political freedom? Political freedom is
the inalienable right of self-government and it was identified by
Abraham Lincoln when he described our government as being “of the
people, by the people, and for the people”. Unfortunately, in America
today, most people do not realize the significance of these words and
only think of them as a historical curiosity, but in truth, they are the
very touchstones of political freedom.
“Of the people”, means that private citizens
hold office, not professional politicians. “By the people”, means the
people as a group determine how they will be governed and this function
is most emphatically not the providence of elected officials alone. “For
the people”, means that our government is our servant and not our
master. This is what the Constitution of the United States of America is
all about, this is the primary goal the Founders had in mind when
drafting it, and these are the principles they enshrined therein.
Underscoring these principals and necessary to ensure their perpetuation
are our inalienable right to free speech, our inalienable right to
petition government for the redress of grievances, and our inalienable
right to hold those in government accountable for their actions under
the Constitution. In addition to the foregoing, the final element
necessary to ensure freedom is the two underlying principles of
enlightened democracy; majority rule tempered by the protection of
minority rights.
The issue on hand that would be of major concern
to our Founding Fathers and should be to us, is how well does the
government we presently live under measure up to the above-described
principles? Unfortunately, upon examination, the answer to this question
is painfully obvious; it does not.
Freedom and Democracy an American Illusion - Of thePeople
First and foremost, we do not have a government
that is “of the people”. Instead, our elected representatives are
lifelong professional politicians whose first order of business is
feathering their own nest and protecting the status quo. However, this
is not the worst of it because in the United States of America today it
takes a tremendous amount of money to run for national office.
Therefore, in keeping with a desire to look out for their own interests,
the very first order of business of a professional politician is to
ensure that those providing him with money and support continue to do
so. The only way to do this is to do their bidding. No one with power
and influence contributes to and supports politicians so they can
independently vote their conscience in the best interests of this nation
and its people. Therefore, the real first order of business of a
professional politician is to vote to please those who contribute money
and do favors for them. Doing what is best for the people of this nation
is secondary.
“By the people”: Instead of living under the
government created and bestowed upon us by the Founders, how our
government functions and operates has been changed through the years,
not by amendment as required by our Constitution, but, wrongfully, by
simple legislative acts. In other words, the government we presently
live under is not the brainchild of our Founding Fathers as we delude
ourselves into believing, but instead, the handiwork of professional
politicians whose loyalties and motives have just been discussed.
“For the people”: A healthy economy is in
everyone’s best interest and many politicians, especially Republicans,
subscribe to the trickle-down theory of economics as follows; when
corporations earn profits, for the most part, they are reinvested in the
economy thus creating jobs and adding to the prosperity of all
concerned. This kind of thinking is used by politicians to justify their
catering to special interests. True, it is self-serving to a degree,
but in the past such thinking had validity and did no real harm to the
nation. However, this is no longer true. Special interests and the
corporations they represent have become globalized. In other words, our
situation is now such that those who call the tune that politicians
dance to are concerned with global issues and have no concern for the
well-being of Americans and the American worker. This being the case,
the trickle-down theory, as far as Americans are concerned, is bankrupt.
When politicians cater to special interests and help corporations earn
money from Americans, this money is invested overseas where it is
cheaper to do business. The end result of this is a steady flow of
wealth out of the country that is robbing us of our prosperity. Our
elected representatives pretend to be for us, but in deference to those
who back them, knowingly act to allow this to happen, belying what they
pretend to be.
Freedom of speech: It takes great courage for
someone to speak out against what is wrong with government in America
today and this does not just mean running the risk of being ridiculed or
labeled politically incorrect. Speaking freely about how we are
governed in the United States of America today will affect your job,
opportunities for employment, opportunities for advancement through
promotion, and your ability to earn a living for you and your family. If
the consequences for speaking freely are this severe, then free speech
is not free and has a terrible cost associated with it.
Petition Government: In America today, writing
to elected officials is a waste of time for matters of substance because
professional politicians cater to special interests when it comes to
deciding such matters. This being the case, our final redress should be
the courts. However, the courts have wrongfully and unconstitutionally
ruled that citizens alone or in concert have no legal recourse over the
actions of Congress that affect all citizens equally as a group. It is
more than ironic that the Judicial Branch of our government, which is
constitutionally tasked with ensuring that the other branches of
government abide by constitutional precept, has acted in an official
capacity to ensure that the other branches of government do not have to
and that no one, not even all of us acting together, can do anything
about it. Not only is this a gross and flagrant violation of our
Constitution, it abrogates one of our most important inalienable rights.
Accountability: Americans can no longer achieve
redress of their grievances by petitioning government officials or by
suing them in a court of law. Thus, we have no means of holding them
accountable other than voting them out of office. However, voting them
out office will only produce results if there are alternative candidates
who hold different views from the incumbent official that coincide with
ours. While some third-party candidates offer such options, the simple
truth of a matter is that the two major parties have such a lock on the
electorate and elective process that addressing issues about how we are
governed through the ballot box is impossible. The inescapable result of
all this is that elected government officials are accountable to no one
other than the special interests that help get them elected and keep
them in office.
Majority Rule: The only thing that the majority
really decides in America today is whether Twiddle Dum or Twiddle Dee
will hold office. However, average citizens have absolutely no say in
who becomes Twiddle Dum or Twiddle Dee and once either one is elected,
as far as our system of government is concerned, they are one and the
same person. Furthermore, there are many important actions taken by our
government today that, if the truth were known, the majority would be
dead set against, yet our government is able to take these actions
anyway.
Freedom and Democracy an American Illusion - Minority Rights
Minority Rights: Minority rights in America have
come to mean rights solely associated with one’s color, creed, gender,
sexual preference, or national origin, and no longer includes protecting
the rights of an individual against majority preferences and excesses.
Not only are the minority rights of an individual no longer afforded any
special kind of protection by government, we have also been stripped of
our God-given inalienable rights. Our perception of rights and minority
rights has changed and because of this, we docilely accept a government
that instead of protecting our rights extends or takes them away at
will.
In conclusion, Americans are free to go to the
bathroom when the need arises, but when it comes to enjoying the
elements that comprise political freedom, all of them have been
compromised and are essentially dysfunctional. Yet, we go about our
business thinking this is not the case. We think we are free because we
confuse personal freedom with political freedom and no one in
government, the media, or our educational institutions will risk their
jobs or future well-being by clearing up our misconceptions. We have
lost the only thing that ensures our personal freedom — our political
freedom — and an inevitable result is that we are now losing our
personal freedom as well.
If we have been robbed of our political freedom
by those elected to serve us, what then does this say about the kind of
democracy we have? No American would intentionally vote away our
political freedom, yet it is gone and has been taken from us without our
consent. This makes a mockery of democracy and establishes that the
democracy we have is only an illusion.
For several generations, this nation was locked
in a cold war with Communism. Indeed, we called ourselves the free
world and looked upon those living in the Soviet Bloc as enslaved and
downtrodden. The question is how free are we today in comparison to
those who used to live under Communism. The truth is that we are now not
much better off than the citizens of the Soviet Union during the cold
war. We have a two-party system that in matters of substance is one
party, we no longer have inalienable rights, we no longer own the fruits
of our own labor, our property is not safe and secure from confiscation
and seizure, we are being systematically robbed of our wealth and
heritage, and we can be arrested and held without being charged or tried
at the discretion of government bureaucrats. Where then is the freedom
that we take such pride in having?
Americans are no longer free and democracy is
just an illusion kept alive by the ruling establishment so they can have
their way with us. This would be the verdict of our Founding Fathers if
they were alive today and this is the verdict that would be reached by
any intelligent individual who impartially examines our present
situation.
http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=29037
http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=29037
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