Are Americans really scared of their Government

Hello everyone ive got to ask this question after several comments ive heard recently, Firstly i was talking to a friend in Arizona recently and the discussion bounced around a little from UFO's , 9/11, And several other topics when my friend became a little worried he might get into trouble, when i asked why he said he did not want to talk about it anymore, then i called another friend a few days later and similar subjects came up and she said almost the same thing that she was worried who was listening.

Then a couple of days ago i was watching the new Michael Moore movie about health care in the USA and a few people commented on their that where afraid to speak out simply because they where afraid the Government could make live hard for them? so i began to research a little and ask some more people and most of them had concerns that to say the wrong thing in the wrong place had them worried that life could be made hard for them or their families if even in jest they spoke out.

I want to ask is this true? does the US government do things or express itself in a way that to do, talk about or be in certain places makes you afraid to express yourselves?.

Now being on ATS its obvious most here are not afraid but may know somebody who is? if that is the case what subjects are a taboo? and why?

Please post a response because i am intrigued as to why and what about.

Thank you all in advance..

I guess the silence either means everybody is afraid so wont answer, this thread is so crap its not worth answering(lets see who answers this theory first?) or nobody is afraid at all and dont know what im getting at?

Let me say this i lived in the USA for quite a time and some aspects of American life did make me a little afraid (like walmart greeters) actually i found it a very comfortable society to live in but there is a fear aspect to it,

I would live there again if i had the chance and wasn't so ill, only a small part of the people i saw there scared me and they usually wore a uniform and called me sir while feelin up my ass.

reply to post by azzllin


To be completely honest, if your two friends aren't necessarily very heavy hard core conspiracy theorist's I'm surprised you were able to get that much out of them, not to mention they got worried enough to stop talking about it. Most people I've met preffer to buy the agenda and dismiss any of the theories I've posed. I don't think necessarily the people are scared per se, some people choose to buy the govt. story because they want to continue living in this delusion that the U.S. is the equivalent of paradise on earth (metaphorically speaking). Others that I met that also stated they werent' scared. Said that IF there was some truth to the conspiracies and the NWO, that the american people would be able to stop it before it happened. Which in my opinion, it's a naive point of view for people like them to have considering they have not researched, nor do they know what most ATSers here know.

Youre asking about fear of the govt on this site? Im surprised you havent been met with a deluge of responses.

If youre looking for govt fear, you have come to the right place.

I have to say that there is an undercurrent of fear in America. Yes, there are many who just take whatever is fed to them and go on in blissful ignorance. But there are a growing number of people that are sure the government/PTB are "up to something". (Note the rate of growth here at ATS.)

The fear is that they aren't sure which way to jump. Is there really a terrorist threat of such magnitude that a wrong word could bring a lot of grief from a too reactionary federal agency? Are the powerful taking over life to such a degree that angering them, or even being noticed, would/could lead to being suspected as a dissenter? Could they be being set up by questioning on certain touchy subjects that are out of favor with TPTB?

It started years ago with the widespread use of 1-800 numbers for people to snitch on their neighbors and friends, and get a reward for doing it. It created a sense of always being unsure what could be twisted to imply guilt that would have to be fought long and hard, with lots of money for a lawyer, to prove innocence.

The best of motives led to this, it was to protect children and to stop litter and catch drunk drivers. But the misuse was what was so easy to imagine. And the misuse is widespread.

Case in point. Some months ago at a cafe, my wife and I were eating when a woman came in and asked who owned such and such car. It was mine, so I went out to the lot expecting a fender bender. I was in my space, fully within the lines with a new SUV now across the line touching my bumper head on. The man waiting there, her husband I guess, wanted $100.00 to repair the damage to his vehicle, even though he was inside my space by a good margin. I laughed at him and offered to to call the cops.

He got mad, demanded I pay for his bumper, and then stormed off when I again refused. I went back in, finished my Mexican dinner and polished off my second cold Corona and paid out and left. In the parking lot were two cop cars waiting on me. He had called me in as a drunk driver. Now I got out of it because it was plain I wasn't drunk, and my wife was driving. But the little bastard tried to get even with using the snitch tool. The cops even admitted they were responding to a report on the free drunk hotline.

Add to that all of the new things like the Patriot Act and the knowledge that an "enemy combatant" or someone accused of aiding the enemy in any way, can be thrown in prison without a lawyer or a trial date, and you have fear. Even the most innocent cringe at the thought of what can and does happen.

And with a camera on half the corners in the US and every other traffic light, suspicion is a plague on the American soul. It has a withering effect on the inner sense of freedom. It is the uncertainty that is worst of all. A real criminal is much more relaxed, for he knows that vigilance is his normal recourse, and that the time in jail is his price for following his chosen trade.

Violence is the result of stress for many first time offenders. Stress leads to a "don't give a damn" point in the lives of some. It is a form of despair wherein a person feels trapped, and decides to go down fighting. The attitude is that if one is caught in the invisible maw of the all consuming "law", then one might as well be guilty of a real crime as opposed to going to jail for no real reason at all.

Yes, there is fear in the land. But it cannot last forever. Like a kettle on a fire, it will boil over. When it does, no man can know the outcome.

reply to post by SwatMedic


I have to agree. Seems like majority here are afraid.


Im not afraid...at all. Not always happy w/ it. But certainly not afraid.

Originally posted by azzllin
Are Americans really scared of their government??

darn tootin !!!
but I haven't changed
they have
they have taken away all my rights
our government is nothing more than
a terrorists organization in itself
and that is what I'm most scared of

I'm more scared of Bush than Bin Laden

I can fight an enemy I can see
I can't fight an enemy I can't


[edit on 24-1-2008 by SimonSays]

Originally posted by SimonSays

Originally posted by azzllin
Are Americans really scared of their government??

darn tootin !!!
but I haven't changed
they have
they have taken away all my rights
our government is nothing more than
a terrorists organization in itself
and that is what I'm most scared of

I can fight an enemy I can see
I can't fight an enemy I can't

What rights have you lost? Are in interred at Guantanamo bay?

Another thing to note:

If that thought crime homegrown terrorist bill passes ...
then folks like Alex Jones and Michael Moore are
gonna disappear. Not to mention the nice folks who
give us a home here at ATS are gonna lose this website
cuz it would be instigating rational thought against
the gubment. So ATS admins, better look out, if it
passes, they just might consider you folks on the
top of the list for giving us a place to congregate.
Harboring dangerous terrorist fugitives and running
a terrorist website.

Then we won't have a place to meet like this.
What a horrible thought !!!!!

If that bill passes then there will be more terrorist here
in the US than in all of the world put together. As you
can't question the leadership without getting to be an
enemy combatant. Maybe that's what those secret
jails around the US are for ???? ..... us

Best wishes to ya, if you wind up in Gitmo with
a bag over your head. We won't be far behind ya
my friend.

My prayers are with you all .....

Originally posted by SwatMedic
What rights have you lost?

dude .... you really need to get out more
or read more articles here
as I'm not gonna post them all
but I can start with

Operation Carnivore _ NSA - Secret wiretapping
of internet for key words, when found, wire tap
phone line of individual
takes away right to privacy

writ of Habeas Corpus
I don't exist when I get put in a cell

to be treated fairly while in captivity
with no torture
Patriot Act I of 2001
they can kill me if they wanted to
with no recourse

I can't sue Bush or his administration
for his torture cuz he's already pardoned
himself for those crimes
so my right to sue my government is gone

that's just the tip of the iceberg
shall I continue??

I know you are a police officer and I commend you
for that. But the laws you are enforcing are not
what our forefathers intended. You just remember that
the next time you are on a terrorist raid.

All of us in this country are terrorist according to
our government. Anybody who opposes our current
leaders can be put in jail as long as the president
wants us there
the new thought crime terrorist bill being passed
by our current reigning senate. So I ask you as
a cop ..... is that the same goverment you signed
up to uphold it's laws?? or has it changed since
you became a cop ??

reply to post by SimonSays


I was fearful at one point in my early eye opening stage. The more you educate yourself the easier it gets to simply soak in the information and then work for what you know to be the right thing in a calm and decided manner. You will find that most of the really smart people here on this site are very well grounded. That helps alot as you make your way through the stuff you will discover about the past present and the possible futures we all face together. Together, remember you are not seperate and we are all in this together. Always use your gut instinct, and take the high road in all matters and tune into your heart always.

Did you know that government can kidnap you, even at your request, without the knowledge of your family or anyone?

As long as you aren't committing a crime you have nothing to be afraid of.

Under the constitution and bill of rights you are a free person to do as you wish. You can speak however you want about the government and conspiracies. If you feel threatened exercise your second amendment right and buy a gun or 5.

Remember living in fear is what they want. Don't be scared of the guberment boogeyman.

Originally posted by SimonSays

Originally posted by SwatMedic
What rights have you lost?

dude .... you really need to get out more
or read more articles here
as I'm not gonna post them all
but I can start with

Operation Carnivore _ NSA - Secret wiretapping
of internet for key words, when found, wire tap
phone line of individual
takes away right to privacy

writ of Habeas Corpus
I don't exist when I get put in a cell

to be treated fairly while in captivity
with no torture
Patriot Act I of 2001
they can kill me if they wanted to
with no recourse

I can't sue Bush or his administration
for his torture cuz he's already pardoned
himself for those crimes
so my right to sue my government is gone

that's just the tip of the iceberg
shall I continue??

I know you are a police officer and I commend you
for that. But the laws you are enforcing are not
what our forefathers intended. You just remember that
the next time you are on a terrorist raid.

All of us in this country are terrorist according to
our government. Anybody who opposes our current
leaders can be put in jail as long as the president
wants us there
the new thought crime terrorist bill being passed
by our current reigning senate. So I ask you as
a cop ..... is that the same goverment you signed
up to uphold it's laws?? or has it changed since
you became a cop ??

You said you lost "ALL your rights" I think you have a few left.

Why I signed up and how I conduct myself has ZERO to do with past or current administrations. I am not a federal agent. Although technically I am an agent of my local government I serve the people of my community.

You seem to think we all congregate in dark rooms looking for ways to screw over John Q Public when that is the opposite of the truth.

We work to remove the communities fear not to expand it.

Originally posted by SwatMedic
Why I signed up and how I conduct myself has ZERO to do with past or current administrations.

that is wrong !!!
the FBI, CIA or DEA or Dept of Justice can come in at any
time they want and take over your tasking. It's called
Federal Jurisdiction and it supersedes, city or state.
Then you are a federal agent by proxy and assume
the powers given to that federal authority. You will serve them
just as you serve your chief at that point.

So yes it does, if they take over your dept. then it does
matter what administration. When you make a terrorist
arrest of any sort, it comes under federal jurisdiction. You
will arrest and hold that individual until feds arrive to escort.
You are serving the current administration.

There will also come a time in the future when you will have to
decide:

do I fire on these protesters that claim this goverment is
corrupt? or do I join them ?

I might be the one you look at down the sights of your MP5.
Would you shoot me if I'm not armed ?? Just cuz I'm shouting
"Impeach Bush!" ?? You may have to do it just cuz our current
administration thinks I'm a terrorist. Do you not have any
moral judgment in yourself ??

Will you bite the hand that feeds you?? or
will you lick his hand ??

As bush's own words

"You're either with us
or you're with the terrorist"

When Bush starts calling normal everyday folks who don't
agree with his policy a terrorist. Then you can call me a terrorist
also.

I think even more so than fear of government or big brother, a lot of Americans are mostly afraid of day to day realities - fearful of not being able to make the mortgage note or pay the heating bill, fear of the declining wages, fear of gang violence which is spreading like a virus, fear of retiring with nothing due to an unstable economy, fear of terrorism, fear of the illegal alien invasion, and for many fear of getting sick and losing everything due to lack of affordable health insurance.

I can't and do not attempt to speak for all of course as everyones experience is unique, but working in a financial field with the public on a day to day basis I get to see first hand what is happening and what people are worried about. I try to help people as best I can and at least try to put a decent spin on the things they are saying, but in reality I know that they are right.

I think most of all people feel like the bus is rolling down hill and there is nobody at the damn wheel. Sorry if this post comes across as negative or bums anyone out, but somebody needs to acknowlege the 10,000 lb elephant that is sitting in the middle of the room.

The good news....Hope is not completely lost here in America, we as a nation are very resilient and incredibly stubborn. There will come a great change one day soon, but it will get worse before it can ever get better. Good luck out there.

reply to post by BlackOps719

great post and worthy of a star

and I do believe you are right when approached
in a broader term

Fear of the government? No. Wary, maybe.

The people you meet on ATS are NOT a standard sample of the US population. Most of the people here are the Tin foil kind who are ready to call the end of the world at a drop of a hat and see conspiracies in everything.

Most Americans believe that they live in the best nation on the planet there ever was. Most americans are too busy working and living life to worry about conspiracy theories and other bunkum that the paranoid cook up. There are some (a minority) who feel like the "government is out to get them" and are quite outspoken about it. There is also a majority that thinks these people are wacko's and lets them be.

There maybe many problems with the systems we have here but by and large Americans know that what we have here is better than what anybody has anywhere else.

reply to post by IAF101



I would agree wholeheartedly when I say that I would never live anywhere else, I love America and all that it is and all that it has been built to represent. It is my home and I know no other. So being that we are fellow Americans and can agree on that point, I agree with 99% of what you are saying.


But maybe it is time for us "hard workin" and " life living" Americans to take a big step back from all of those distractions and take a serious look at what is happening in our country. Our government has been hijacked and our tax dollars have been squandered and all of the VH1 sitcoms and Starbucks latte's in the world will not be able to numb the pain of realizing that our country is slowly being destroyed right before our very eyes.

Your government does not care about you.

Yes, I am afraid of my government. i was afraid to even post my beliefs. i am just one and it is not all about me. it is about every other person's right to prepare and braise themselves against the probability of terroristic attack(s) and us soil, marshal law, FEMA taking control as a result a biological/chemical or nuclear blast, there are so many threats specifically directed at the United States of America.

We are the focal point of much hatred on a global scale. No, I do not trust and I am afraid of my government.