This article was originally published at americanchronicle.com on April 21st, 2008
Two years ago today I was given an opportunity by americanchronicle.com and I decided to start writing and posting opinion articles. I made that decision while I was sitting with a friend at a local Chili´s. I did so because I didn´t like some of the trends I was seeing in society. Specifically, I didn´t like that we as a society seem to have built a system where, for the most part, dishonesty and corruption are rewarded and hard work and honesty are punished. We can see this when we exam the nature of those who are successful against those who struggle to get by day to day. Leaders of big business and big government are all corruptible and the mere fact that they´ve elevated themselves to such positions of power makes one wonder if they´ve managed such accomplishments using less than honest means. Time and again it has come out and been shown that these powerful individuals have, indeed, used questionable means to obtain their goals and enrich themselves. In my first article I posed the question, should I teach my child to be dishonest and corruptible so he can have a chance at success, or should I teach him to work hard and be honest and become a poor, wretched wage slave like his father? It seems to me that the honest businessman or worker hardly stands a chance anymore.
The article didn´t receive too many reads at first. It really hasn´t received too many reads since either. But it did do something. It started me on a quest. It started me down a road I didn´t think I´d ever travel. I found a movement in the world that I didn´t know existed. I found out there are still people in this world who care about the principles this country was founded upon, and that those principles are growing in strength and popularity. People are getting tired of finding themselves on the short end of the stick. People are getting weary of being stepped upon. They are slowly starting to awaken to the realization that something is not right in this land we call America, that fairness no longer exists and that freedom is being confiscated little by little. There is a movement afoot, a movement that will hopefully proceed and succeed in a peaceful manner.
There was another trend I noticed growing as well, a pervasive trend propagated by the mass media that seems to have seeped into certain aspects of our society. The trend I speak of is the waning use of meaningful reporting, commentary and dialog in the news media, particularly in political circles. These once thriving devices that had been used to keep our politicians a little more honest and somewhat in check have been eclipsed by talking heads who speak only in political talking points and sycophants who spew forth party propaganda. Especially telling are the names they call anyone who disagrees with their point of view and the abuse they heap upon those who would dare question their opinions. In my humble opinion this juvenile practice of calling people names, of bullying them when they disagree, of cutting them off before they can make their point, of not letting them fully explain their opinions and of misrepresenting their points of view turns many reasonable people off, cripples meaningful dialogue between those with divergent viewpoints, and causes United States society to be viewed as childlike in the eyes of the rest of the world. It creates rifts between people which will not easily be resolved and could become permanent, rifts which cause people to stop listening to or considering other points of view no matter how valid. It prevents us from exploring other avenues for fear of ridicule which may prevent us from discovering the truth in certain matters. It plants the seeds of secrecy and denial as the dogma of a given viewpoint takes hold and certain facts are withheld, misrepresented or under reported in order to maintain that dogma. Worst of all, it undermines the first amendment of the United States – which states (paraphrasing) that this government will respect the right of an individual to speak his own opinion no matter how vile the rest of us may find it – by allowing powerful dominant groups to create laws forbidding certain speech under the guise of fomenting hate. It is for these reasons that I try to keep my articles respectful of others, even when I strongly disagree.
In my journey of self discovery over the last two years I have found many things about the world that I might not have known had I not taken this path. I found a new community of people, a community that cares about the principles on which this nation was founded, the principles that made this a great nation, the principles of individual freedom and liberty. I have learned the true meaning of freedom and that one is not truly free until he is free from the extortion of government and free to determine for himself how to best run his life and his business without the forced interference of government and its mandates. I have learned that the constitution of this great nation, which was constructed by some of the most intelligent thinkers of their time and has relevance to this day despite what some pundits would have you believe, is being slowly degraded. This document, meant as a shield to protect the individual from the strength of government force, has been subverted to make it easier for an elite de facto aristocracy to control and prevent dissent.
I have learned of a man, Ron Paul, who not only speaks about supporting such views, but as a congressman has a voting record to prove his honesty about such things. I have seen this man and the people that support him ignored and sometimes even demonized by a mass media concerned only with selling us on concepts of collectivism. I now know where their loyalties lay, and they are not with the common man. I have championed this man as much as my meager abilities allow. I have seen the extent of his support and know it to be much more than the mass media would have one believe and know he would be more popular still if the mainstream media would simply report honestly on what is happening in politics. I have heard his name recently invoked by one Barack Obama, a Democrat with a record of voting for socialist ideals, in a vain attempt to win Ron Paul supporters over to his camp. As if Ron Paul had dropped out of the race. As if supporters of true individual freedom could ever convert to a collectivist mindset. The truth is being exposed and the ideas born in the forge of the American Revolution will not be buried.
I have learned of a monetary system sickened by the unlawful takeover of private interests, a monopoly endorsed by the federal government against all advice of the elder statesmen and against the constitution they pledged an oath to uphold. I have read and written about honest money representing the labor of humans rather than dishonest money representing nothing more than debt. These men who control money have mislead the masses and misrepresented their agenda. They now claim the work of the many is owed to them, the elite few, and that the wealth created by all is due to only them. I foresee that this inequity will have to be put straight by people doing business with other people in an honest manner and creating wealth the elite cannot claim by hook or crook, or ignoring the claims of the wealthy banking elite that they are owed the wealth they have tricked us into mortgaging over to them. To accomplish this, free men may have to free themselves from the trap of government wealth redistributing schemes and take personal responsibility for their own financial matters.
I have put into words my thoughts and feelings over the last two years in hopes to have some influence in this world. I do this not for money, I have yet to earn one dime from taking the time to write these articles, but in the hopes that someone else with more influence than I can hope to gain will be able to use some of these thoughts in a way that gets the pendulum of thought swinging back toward the goal of individual freedom in our lifetime. In this way individuals of all races and creeds will be able to fulfill their greatest potential, something that can hardly be done when the weight of government mandates, regulations and laws are dragging one down and holding them back. I believe that it is through individualism, not collectivism, that we shall achieve our finest days. I hope I will be able to continue to try to convince others that this is a worthy vision as the years pass, and I hope that someday someone of some importance will realize the value of my words. Thank you all for the kindness and interest in my work you´ve shown me over the last two years. May we all be blessed with freedom and prosperity
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