This is a long article authored by Ron Paul, and covers several topics. I have excerpted only a portion of each topic here.
This is a well written article with some deeply disturbing thoughts.
To Read the complete article go to the following link: http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article48949.html
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This is a well written article with some deeply disturbing thoughts.
To Read the complete article go to the following link: http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article48949.html
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Intro:
If Americans were honest with themselves they
would acknowledge that the Republic is no more. We now live in a police
state. If we do not recognize and resist this development, freedom and
prosperity for all Americans will continue to deteriorate. All liberties
in America today are under siege.
It didn't happen overnight. It took many years of neglect for our liberties > snip
Warfare/Welfare State Requires Police Control
As the size of government grew and cracks in the
system became readily apparent, a federal police force was needed to
regulate our lives and the economy, as well as to protect us from
ourselves and make sure the redistribution of a shrinking economic pie
was "fair" to all. Central economic planning requires an economic police
force to monitor every transaction of all Americans. Special interests
were quick to get governments to regulate everything we put in our
bodies: food, medications, and even politically correct ideas. IRS employees soon needed to carry guns to maximize revenue collections.
The global commitment to perpetual war, though
present for decades, exploded in size and scope after 9/11. If there
weren't enough economic reasons to monitor everything we did, fanatics
used the excuse of > snip
Fight for Equal Protection Distorted by 'War on Poverty'
Fifty years ago, as a result of Martin Luther
King Jr.'s leadership in a plea for equal justice, LBJ declared war on
poverty. Poverty was seen at that time as the major contributing factor
in the plight of those living in the inner city. King's dream was to
make sure all people will be judged by the "content of their character"
and not by "the color of their skin." Good advice, but it was never
followed. Residual racism remains, but the excuse for every shortcoming
in the failed cities is said to be due to the color of one's skin. The
very expensive war on poverty >snip
The Victimized Inner Cities
This social disruption has motivated the
enthusiastic growth and militarization of our local police departments.
The law and order crowd thrives on excessive laws and regulations that
no US citizen can escape. The out-of-control war on drugs is the worst
part, and it generates the greatest danger in poverty-ridden areas via
out-of-control police. It is estimated that these conditions have
generated up to 80,000 SWAT raids per year in the United States. Most
are in poor neighborhoods and involve black homes and businesses being
hit disproportionately. This involves a high percentage of no-knock >
snip
The Victimized Inner Cities
This social disruption has motivated the
enthusiastic growth and militarization of our local police departments.
The law and order crowd thrives on excessive laws and regulations that
no US citizen can escape. The out-of-control war on drugs is the worst
part, and it generates the greatest danger in poverty-ridden areas via
out-of-control police. It is estimated that these conditions have
generated up to 80,000 SWAT raids per year in the United States. Most
are in poor neighborhoods and involve black homes and businesses being
hit disproportionately. This involves a high percentage of no-knock
attacks. As can be expected many totally innocent people are killed in
the process. Property damage is routine and compensation is rare. The
routine use of civil forfeiture of property has become an abomination,
totally out of control, which significantly contributes to the chaos. It
should not be a surprise to see resentment building up against the
police under these conditions. The violent reaction against local
merchants in retaliation for police actions further aggravates the
situation --hardly a recipe for a safe neighborhood.
Though poverty and excessive laws associated with the war on drugs > snip
The Rich Are Getting Richer, But Why?
Under an authoritarian regime, those in power
take care of themselves. This always leads to poverty and discrepancy in
wealth distribution. Eventually the social strife that is predictable
leads to an overthrow of the government. The Soviet communist leaders
never suffered from want, but even they were routed when the people in
the Soviet system decided that they had had enough.
We must realize that we are not exempt from a
breakdown of our system. The strife that we are witnessing is a
reflection of a growing number of people who are recognizing the
discrepancy between rich and poor, the weak and the powerful, Wall
Street and Main Street. The
courts are obviously failing at meting out justice fairly and
impartially. Money and race have a lot to do with how arrests,
convictions, and incarcerations are carried out. That provides
motivation for some people to become angry and violently strike out
against anyone who appears to have more than they do.
While the courts fail to follow the rules of equal >snip
Our Liberties Under Attack
The economic and moral decay of American society
is reflected in the loss of liberties. This problem affects all
Americans and not just the poor in the inner city. Gradual erosion of
personal and economic liberty has proceeded for a century. The loss of
our liberty has sharply accelerated since the 9/11 attacks. We have done
to ourselves what no foreign enemy could have possibly accomplished.
Government surveillance provides the state with information that enables it to know our every move. The protection of the Fourth Amendment
is gone. Many Americans are comfortable with the sacrifice of liberty
for safety and accept the notion that government's key responsibility is
to keep us safe. It's a nice dream but the truth is it can't do it. One
thing for sure: if it tries, it will do so at the expense of liberty.
Welfare, for the rich or poor, cannot exist
without the sacrifice of the principal of property ownership. Though it
always starts small and justified for the "needy," the principle of
wealth transfer incentivizes the special interests and the rich to
obtain benefit at the expense of the poor. This occurs in al >snip
The Federal Government's War on Us
Tolerance is a favorable trait when it means
acting without aggression toward others, but tolerance of the monster
that has evolved in our government is not good. Instead of adding more
government agencies to spy on the American people, we should be talking
about eliminating the ones we have, at a cost the American taxpayers of
over $80 billion per year.
We have lived with the global war on terrorism
for over 13 years now, and the threat of terrorist attacks against
Americans and American allies is worse than ever. Though a global threat
exists, the greatest dangers for American citizens here at home have
been caused by our own government. Our government's attacks on our
liberties have been overwhelming and worse than anything any foreign
power has ever done.
It's the federal government that leads the
charge in all our domestic wars, which, in addition to the global war on
terrorism, include the war on drugs, taxpayers, and poverty, all of
which contribute to the constant war on our privacy. Today every
American is a suspect. Our president has establ . snip
The US Empire: Who Does it Serve?
When Obama announced a shift in geopolitical
interest to the Far East -- to keep an eye on China -- one TV anchor
pointed out that the move seems quite logical since we have a lot of
"business interests" in the region. It is, in fact, far from logical if
one looks at the tragic mess US government interventionism has caused in
the Middle East and the conflict the US government is stirring up with
Russia over Ukraine.
Old-fashioned colonialism was deemed necessary
by various European powers to secure natural resources along with
control over sea lanes and markets for selling manufactured goods.
European-style colonialism -- supporting a mercantilistic economy --
came to be seen as politically unrealistic and unnecessary. When
free-trade principles were utilized, colonialism did not die; it only
changed form. Mercantilism in various forms > snip
Blowback All Around: We Are Less Safe
Economic blowback and unintended consequences
is one thing, but blowback from our needless and aggressive policies
around the world is another, and every bit as dangerous. As we find
ourselves increasingly engaged economically and militarily around the
world, we can expect many more attacks on American interests. With so
many military personnel abroad, they will be the easiest targets to be
hit. But attacks similar in nature to the 9/11 attacks will remain a
threat to our homeland. We will not be attacked because we are free and
rich. The attacks will come from angry people who have had friends and
relatives killed by America's careless and often vicious use of our
military force in their countries.
It is not that difficult to feel resentment
against a country that comes thousands of miles from home and bombs,
invades, and punishes with sancti >snip
What to expect in 2015?
Foreign Affairs
More American troops will be sent overseas to
places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Ukraine. There will be no
military victories to brag about. More American military personnel will
be killed in 2015 than in 2014. Military contractors will be used in
growing numbers and their casualties will not be counted as military
casualties.
The Ukraine civil war will not end, and the
United States will be further bogged down in this conflict. Relations
with Russia will continue to deteriorate. The neocons in Congress will
gain even more influence over our foreign policy. Punishing sanctions
will continue to be made more severe and push Russia further into
China's sphere of influence. Gold will gain credibility as we isolate
the Russians from the financial markets.
Sanctions on Russia will alienate Europe against
the United States. The British oil industry will suffer from the
"conspiracy" of the US and Saudi Arabia to drive oil prices down to
punish Russia.
The military-industrial complex will continue to
thrive and make even more money with the greater influence of the
neocons in the new Congress. Supplemental budgets for the military
should be expected, along with covert assistance and additional foreign
aid to finance the management of our Empire.
Our enemies' strength will grow and prompt even
more abuse of American citizens' privacy and free expression. We should
not be surprised if there is a reigniting of the conflict in the
Balkans. The first of the color revolutions in 2000 in Serbia can hardly
be claimed a permanent victory. Generally, bombs from outsiders don't
solve internal problems. Those problems must eventually be solved from
within a country rather than from outside interference.
The US and NATO announced that the 13 year war
in Afghanistan has ended. There has been neither the pretense of
"Mission Accomplished" nor an admission of outright failure, along with
an exodus. In reality the war has not ended and instead will continue
for a long time. No victory for US policy is possible. The conflict will
actually spread and increase in intensity since our goals are
undefinable and therefore the war is un-winnable.
Sanity will not return to US leaders until our financial system collapses -- an event for which they are feverishly working
Domestic issues
An honest assessment of the economy will not
reveal any significant improvement in 2015. Inflation will continue to
plague us, possibly even with the government-rigged CPI figures showing
an increase. But the true inflation of the Fed's credit creation, as
well as the subsequent mal- investment and the various bubbles bursting
will accelerate. Debt in all categories will continue to increase at
unsustainable rates. The Fed will not permit interest rates to rise --
at least on purpose. Eventually the market will demand that rates do
rise, however.
Tax revenues will continue to rise, aiding the
policy of the government spending the people's money rather than those
who earned it. Regulations, even with (or maybe especially with) a
Republican Congress will continue to increase and make the Federal
Register more incomprehensible. Friction between the middle class and
the one percent, many of whom are living off government privileges, will
escalate further and be reflected in confrontations especially in the
large cities. Financial currency controls will continue to expand
especially with cross-border transactions.
Blowback and unintended consequences from our
sanctions and foreign policy in general will continue to threaten our
domestic security and our economy, as well as > snip
Conclusion: Toward a Peaceful Revolution
Authoritarianism has overtaken our economic
system as the welfare mentality takes over at every level of government.
Once the initiation of force by government is accepted by the people,
even minimally, it escalates and involves every aspect of society. The
only question that remains is just who gets to wield the power to
distribute the largess to their friends and chosen beneficiaries. It's a
recipe for steady growth of the government at the expense of liberties,
even if official documents and laws written to limit government power
are in place. Planting even small seeds of monopoly power in the hands
of a few people in government, whether democratically elected or not,
will always metastasize like a cancer. This was Jefferson's concern when
he advised that "[t]he tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to
time." He believed the people must warn the rulers that taking up arms
against the government is legitimate if the government fails to protect
the people's liberty.
This should be a consideration. But if the
spirit of liberty is not alive and well in the hearts and minds of the
people, violence alone against the government will not be a solution.
History has shown that, more often than not, people who rebel against
abusive governments, whether run by kings or modern day dictators, do
not gain much -- overthrowing one dictator and replacing him with
another just as bad. A clear understanding of the nature and source of
liberty is required for revolutions to be beneficial. Restraining the
few who thrive on the use of force to rule over us is the challenge.
Fortunately they are outnumbered by those who would choose liberty yet
lack the will to challenge the humanitarian monsters who gain support
from naive and apathetic citizens. All positive revolutions must be
philosophic in nature to make a difference. Violence alone achieves
nothing.
Before we can actually restore our liberties, we
most likely will have to become a lot less free and much poorer. This
is sad since correct and workable answers are available to us if only
the people understood them and demanded liberty and honesty, rather than
being dependent on excessive government power and believing the false
promises of politicians.
Even with the problems we face today and the
bleak outlook for the coming year there's much to encourage us. During
this next year there will be the continuation of many more people
recognizing the failure of government to create peace and prosperity.
More widespread understanding of this truth is required in order to
bring about a successful revolution.
The freedom movement, especially with many young people involved, will grow in numbers and influence.
Current monetary policy and the Federal Reserve
will continue to lose credibility, especially with the next bailout.
Although "too big to fail" will stay in place, it will further alienate
Main Street America causing it to rebel against the system.
The real problem of course is that too many
"stupid people" are IN our government and have high visibility on the
major TV networks. There will be plenty of people, not officially
associated with government, who will rebel against various governments
around the world. The sentiments supporting secession, jury
nullification, nullification of federal laws by state legislatures, and a
drive for more independence from larger governments will continue.
We should not be discouraged. Enlightenment is
not nearly as difficult to achieve as it was before the breakthrough
with Internet communications occurred. Besides we must remember that "an
idea whose time has come" cannot be stopped by armies, demagogues,
politicians, or even Fox News or MSNBC. The time has come for the ideas
of liberty to prevail. I smell progress. Let's make 2015 a fun year for
LIBERTY.
Dr. Ron Paul
Project Freedom
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article48949.html
Project Freedom
