Land Of The Free No Longer

When I was growing up, I didn't really have any access to the internet, not until I was a teenager anyway. And it wasn't until my early adulthood that I actually started paying attention to the world and began to visit alternative news sites and discussion forums such as this one.

So during most of my early life the only ideas I had about Americans were given to me by my family and friends in Australia. And I don't think many of you Americans realize just how much people in other countries dislike you. I literally believed you guys were the most ignorant egotistical people on Earth.

There were always so many jokes and insults slung around, talking about how you guys were nothing but docile gun totting hill billies who believe they've got the biggest balls on planet Earth. Even just earlier tonight my father made a joke about how easy it is to get a gun in America.

Then I found ATS and forums similar to ATS, and I discovered these forums were filled with brilliant curious people who were questioning the world around them and asking questions which many other people are too scared to even think about because such thoughts compromise their paradigms and beliefs.

I also discovered that the majority of those people participating on ATS were from the United States. This altered my view of Americans in a drastic way. I begun to understand you were just normal people like everyone else, and many of you were very intelligent, caring and humble.

I started to read some of the arguments about pro-gun rights and it made logical sense me... it's not the tool which is to blame, and the person who chooses the use the tool in the wrong way. In reality it's about the principle of choice, having the FREEDOM to own a gun if one so chooses.

It started to dawn on me that freedom was very important to you guys, and in fact you had good reasons for believing in the things you believed. America was founded on principles of freedom and liberty... the right to live free and prosperous without interference from a totalitarian Government.

I remember watching something about the Queen's Diamond Jubilee on TV a few nights ago, and they were interviewing some sort of English/British official. He stated something along the lines of "I would rather serve the Queen with loyalty and dedication rather than some elected leader who always changes".

I was really angry when I heard him say this... it was as if he was saying the will of the people means absolutely nothing, all that matters is the will of the person sitting on top of the throne. He was basically saying we should all bow down and kiss her feet like the servants we are.

As I mentioned already, I live in Australia, and as you may or may not know Australia is a part of one of the only remaining monarchies on the globe. We are part of 16 countries (Commonwealth realms) that recognize Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state.

There aren't a whole lot of Australians who actually realize just how much power Queen Elizabeth II has over Australia. Even though she doesn't live in Australia she is styled as Queen of Australia. Many of our Governors are chosen by her and represent her, such that they act on the advice of her ministers.

When I heard that statement on TV it all started to make a lot of sense. I now understand why America chose to break away from the British Empire and form their own democratic nation. I mean honestly, who wants to live in a system which is designed as such an unfair pyramid of power?

People want their voices heard... they want an accountable Government who can represent the will of the people... they want leaders who are chosen fairly by the people... they want FREEDOM! The founders of America were able to establish the "land of the free" because they knew what it meant to lack freedom.

In one year, the conditions [of the Colonels] were so reversed that the era of prosperity ended, and a depression set in, to such an extent that the streets of the Colonies were filled with the unemployed... The colonies would gladly have borne the little tax on tea and other matters had it not been that England took away form the colonies their money, which created unemployment and dissatisfaction (Currency Act of 1764). The inability of the colonists to get power to issue their own money permanently out of the hands of George III and the international bankers was the PRIME reason for the Revolutionary War.

~ Benjamin Franklin, from autobiography

And so they took action, they stood up for their beliefs and reached out their hands to grasp the reigns of freedom. They established the United States of America with important documents such as The Declaration Of Independence, The Constitution, and The Bill Of Rights.

They decentralized power among the states and devised a system where they could all choose who they thought would be the best person to lead the country. America quickly became what could be argued "the best country on Earth". Many people may dislike that statement, but it was true.

Indeed, the United States once was the best country on Earth because it was built on principles of freedom. No longer is that statement true... the economy is crashing, the quality of education is declining, and your freedoms are slowly being stripped from you one by one in a process referred to as "the slowly boiling frog".

Your privacy is being invaded, your lives are being directed and controlled through coercion and threats, corporate interests manipulate media and politics, your health is no longer in your own hands, your food and water has become unfit to consume, your savings are being stolen from you by big government and bankers.

The constitution is no longer relevant, the President thinks he is above the highest court in the land, essentially doing what ever he wants as if he were some type of king. How did it ever come to this? Don't you people realize the path you are walking down? Have you forgotten the past?

It's easy to see what led America to greatness in the first place... now all of that is being reversed and marginalized, essentially turning America into the totalitarian dictatorship which it was designed to defeat. Activists and protesters are now labelled as terrorists or communists who hate America!

One of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our fathers used in the great struggle for Independence.

~ Charles A. Beard

Freedom in America has literally been reduced to a state where it's almost illegal to have your voices heard, the dissent is squashed and muzzled and the dissenters are treated like criminals and extremists, they get attacked and arrested by employees of the system. This is absolutely disgusting and infuriating.

And the tyranny doesn't just stop there. Now America is trying to intervene with the world, they are literally trying to police the world and enforce their beliefs and policies on other nations. They are engaging in illegal wars which don't have legitimate congressional approval. They are killing thousands.

Many of the people killed are just innocent people, including children and families who have bombs dropped on their towns. Much of the time the underlying cause of these wars is oil and other monetary reasons. It's absolutely despicable and your country should be ashamed of what it has done to the world.

Meanwhile all these endless wars and big government operations can't even be funded, thus the government must lend money and go into debt... then they pull a neat little trick where they monetize the debt, essentially converting it into inflation, which is to say they rob wealth from the people to fund their nonsense.

This all really started to happen after 9/11. You may not know this, but Bin Laden has destroyed America... he has plunged America into a state of fear and distrust, forcing you to wage war on abstract concepts. "And it all shows that the real loser is you," Osama said. "It is the American people and their economy.".

You have fallen for this plan hook line and sinker. He also said al Qaeda has found it "easy for us to provoke and bait this administration.". And now even after we all know the man is dead, the war still goes on. The debt gets larger and your freedoms slowly get stripped away from you as a sacrifice for security.

This is all so very obvious to any outside observer looking in. All us folks from other countries can easily see that you are driving yourself into the ground by denying the very principles which made your country so great in the first place... but yet it seems not many of you will acknowledge the problem.

It's as if the masses would rather just live in their own little fantasy land and believe everything the mainstream media tells them each night. They are comforted by propaganda and lies, and deep down they know it's not true, but they would rather live a lie than face the cold harsh truth.

And now we come to this recent election... again, all us outside observers could see that which was obvious... that there was only one man in the race who represented sustainable small government, who represented an end to the illegal wars, who represented the constitution... who represented liberty and freedom.

The policies and beliefs held by this one man are the closest to any of the founding fathers... I don't need to state who this man is because it's clearly obvious there is only one man who stands for the principles which I have just listed. Anyone with their eyes open could see the world was cheering for this man.

But the result is not what we had hoped... the chances of this man winning the election are now looking very low. Instead it seems the man who will prevail is a test-tube corporate robot backed by big banks and special interests. The very image of what America has become...

And so now I must ask myself... maybe I was wrong, maybe Americans are stupid ignorant morons who can't even see the obvious facts right before their very faces. Maybe they are fools lacking any type of common sense and decency. Maybe the only smart people are a minority fringe group who hang out on forums.

But that's not exactly true either... Australia is no different. I am surrounded by idiots every single day, sheep who believe everything the media says and fools who seem to lack any type of higher brain function or independent original thought. Like a flock of sheep all trying to stay in line so they don't get cast out.

In fact most westernized nations have completely corporate controlled news, all they do is spew out carefully manufactured propaganda... it's like one huge god damn mind game. There is very little difference between the American MSM news and the Australian MSM news, except for the accents.

These days it truly feels like I get more truth and unbiased news from Russian or Asian sources. I can honestly trust those sources more than I can trust the filtered slanted western sources. And this is why the masses are so freaking oblivious to reality. They never check alternative sources.

They just eat up the mainstream garbage as if it were spoken directly from the mouth of God. Honestly I don't even have a solution to any of these problems... people need to help themselves rather than rely on everyone else to help them. And I will end on that note because I have nothing more to say.

Very well said!

I'd like to see that post printed in the op/ed section in every newspaper in the country. Maybe wake some people up a bit.
getting Ron Paul into the Whitehouse would have been a great start to reversing things, but that's just a dream in our nightmare.

As an American, I'm disgusted with what our scumbag politicians, greed infested bankers, and corporations have done to this country.
As an American I'm embarrased we let it happen.

Hi there Chaotic.

Nice post, and in a lot of ways you're right. Dream is turning to Nightmare. I S&F'ed you and the thread because I think it means a lot. Even more so to hear it from a non-national like yourself.

I'm sure we could sit down and have a discussion all day long about all of the little idiosyncrecies that have led us up to this point, but quite honestly I think I can summarize it in almost a single sentence.

Look around us; look around you. Who among you or your friends or your family is so willing to give up ALL (thats what the revolutionaries did); everything in their comfortable lives to secure what once was? Give up their jobs? Give up their homes? Give up their large screen TV's? Give up their Mobile phones? Give up their ATS? Give up their Mercedes? Give up their happy little "gotta run the kids to school now so I can get to the gym" lives?

See what I'm driving at here? Before, the enemy being fought in the revolutionary war was, for all intents and purposes a remote enemy; a foreign enemy, with foreign values and foreign moral fiber. In the here and now, we would be fighting INSIDE (tantamount to a civil war), against an almost unbeatable foe; the one with all the cards....not impossible but given the aforementioned unwillingness to part with the status quo luxuries, what compelling reason is there for the majority to do anything about it?

I for one, agree with you. I would LOVE to see it, a reversal of sorts. But the truth of it all is, until ALL men are men with nothing to lose, nothing will change. That's human nature.

i went 2 nice restaraunt last night had a good meal. came home to my air conditioned house.and watched my cable tv tell 3 in the morning

getting ready to go golfin now and when i get home im gonna barbecue steaks and burgers in my yard..

i gotta tell ya i feel pretty damm free

reply to post by alphabetaone

But the truth of it all is, until ALL men are men with nothing to lose, nothing will change. That's human nature.

Well I don't necessarily see why people need to give up any of the things you listed... none of that really matters, what really matters is that which is not easily seen: the freedom to live a life free of government intervention and manipulation, freedom from absurd laws and regulations. People will eventually take action when they realize they have no freedoms left, once their liberty has been completely stolen from them they will have nothing meaningful left, just material possessions, and they will take notice... but you know the problem with that, by the time people realize there is a serious problem, it will be too late to fix the problem because they wont have the freedom required to even make their voice heard.

reply to post by superballs


Yeah and I can do all of those same things in Australia, and in dozens of different countries, and probably like every single 1st world nation... you're completely missing the point.

reply to post by ChaoticOrder


Well never let it be said that someone I absolutely can't understand in one thread. Can't get a standing ovation from me in another. That was an awesome read BTW I'm sure you've figured out for yourself that no one who totes a gun has to have big balls.

reply to post by ChaoticOrder


so are you not free?

what is freedom man?

i feel free i have a home and a family and i can do what i want when i want

so i ask agaiin what is freedom?

Originally posted by ChaoticOrder
reply to post by alphabetaone

 

But the truth of it all is, until ALL men are men with nothing to lose, nothing will change. That's human nature.

Well I don't necessarily see why people need to give up any of the things you listed... none of that really matters, what really matters is that which is not easily seen: the freedom to live a life free of government intervention and manipulation, freedom from absurd laws and regulations. People will eventually take action when they realize they have no freedoms left, once their liberty has been completely stolen from them they will have nothing meaningful left, just material possessions, and they will take notice... but you know the problem with that, by the time people realize there is a serious problem, it will be too late to fix the problem because they wont have the freedom required to even make their voice heard.

The part I bolded in your quote is exactly what I said.

That is tantamount to saying "they have nothing left to lose".

Also, without giving up "all those things", how do you think this change is going to be affected? A strongly worded letter to Congress?

reply to post by superballs

i feel free i have a home and a family and i can do what i want when i want

And that's where you are so wrong it's not even funny. I am not going to debate this with someone who is so completely oblivious to the truth of reality... it's clear you will never accept anything I have to say because you only see what you want to see.

reply to post by ChaoticOrder


so you cant tell me your idea of freedom?

you dont think your free?

reply to post by alphabetaone

The part I bolded in your quote is exactly what I said.

That is tantamount to saying "they have nothing left to lose"

Yes, and I worded it exactly like that on purpose. However, there is a clear difference between what you said and what I said. You said they need to lose their material possessions before anything will happen, where as I said they need to lose a great deal of their immaterial possessions before anything will happen. People should be free to own what ever they want, but when they have the most important things forcefully stolen from them they will take action eventually... the question is will they take action before it is too late.

I considered writing a similar piece very recently. It's truly depressing and made me wonder how the hell we can escape what seems now to be our inevitable fate.
Once the proposed fleet of drones are put in American skies it's game over. Any last illusions of freedom will be dropped and the true face of the New World Order will be plain for all to see. There will be no more voting, freedom of speech, no private ownership of firearms. Everything in our lives will determined for us if they decide we are worth keeping alive in the first place.
I don't blame Americans for their complacency, after all things seem to be ok - you have a home, food to eat, savings in the bank. The alternative? Grabbing a gun and going out to fight who exactly? Hell, we don't even have a clear idea of who is actually in control. Multiple layers isolate the elites from the rest of us - local police, state national guard, intelligence services, Homeland security and then the US military, UN and NATO forces.
But that's not all! Now there's Russian troops in Colorado "training" with our forces. Is this falling together for everyone yet?
We are on the brink of a worldwide feudal system ruled by a handful of elites. It makes me wonder if our only hope would be a pandemic that might eliminate them along with most of the rest of us.
The "Thousand Points of Light" of George W. Bush has more in common with clusterbombs than Christmas. His pet project has come to fruition and awaits the final touches that will ensure the death of freedom and a world devoid of self and National determination.
We are all world citizens sharing a common fate. If life in China appeals to you then do nothing, China is coming to you. If you love freedom and your fellow man then we face a hard road ahead and honestly I have no idea which road it is that we should take. I hope we figure it out, there is precious little time left.

reply to post by ChaoticOrder


i told you why i feel free..

you can at least tell me why you dont

reply to post by superballs


No need to get pushy, I'm writing these responses as fast as I can.

you dont think your free?

No I am most certainly not free. It seems to me like you haven't even read the opening post.

Your privacy is being invaded, your lives are being directed and controlled through coercion and threats, corporate interests manipulate media and politics, your health is no longer in your own hands, your food and water has become unfit to consume, your savings are being stolen from you by big government and bankers.

Ok... when things like this exist it is a clear sign that one is not free. That is not my idea of what freedom should be like. You are only deluding yourself into thinking you free because you choose to ignore all the obvious signs which indicate you are not free.

Freedom in America has literally been reduced to a state where it's almost illegal to have your voices heard, the dissent is squashed and muzzled and the dissenters are treated like criminals and extremists, they get attacked and arrested by employees of the system. This is absolutely disgusting and infuriating.

reply to post by Asktheanimals

Is this falling together for everyone yet?

Sure is. Soon we'll be completely F___ed. With no enemy in sight. That's the hard part.

Originally posted by ChaoticOrder
reply to post by alphabetaone

 

The part I bolded in your quote is exactly what I said.

That is tantamount to saying "they have nothing left to lose"

Yes, and I worded it exactly like that on purpose. However, there is a clear difference between what you said and what I said. You said they need to lose their material possessions before anything will happen, where as I said they need to lose a great deal of their immaterial possessions before anything will happen. People should be free to own what ever they want, but when they have the most important things forcefully stolen from them they will take action eventually... the question is will they take action before it is too late.

Actually if you re-read how I started it, I started it as they have to give up EVERYTHING. People will automatically associate giving up EVERYTHING with the luxuries that they cherish the most. So, in effect, yes they would have to give those things up. I'm a 20 year veteran of the USMC, as such I know what war means and what sacrifice means.

To bring these changes that you propose, would mean war. To mean war, would mean sacrifice and for some, the ultimate sacrifice. So, I ask again, who among you (us) are REALLY prepared to make such a sacrifice?

reply to post by alphabetaone

To bring these changes that you propose, would mean war.

No I think it would mean uniting. If the people were to unite with the common goal of freedom, then the system opposing them wouldn't even stand a chance, it would step down immediately, and that's their greatest fear. It'd be like putting a few flies up against a whole nest of fire ants. But the chances of that happening are very slim, it's more likely nothing will happen and people will just take what they get served until one day they wake up and realize they are all screwed... unfortunately.

reply to post by alphabetaone

To bring these changes that you propose, would mean war. To mean war, would mean sacrifice and for some, the ultimate sacrifice. So, I ask again, who among you (us) are REALLY prepared to make such a sacrifice?

I believe I truely am. I'm 53 and as mean as a crocidile if I choose to be. I've lived a long and colorful life. And getting old just looks uncomfortable to me. So I would sacrifice the rest trying to make a diff. That's from the heart.