The title of this piece will likely seem extremist and very counterintuitive. Perhaps a better title would be "The American Federal Government, Question it and Keep it's Authority in Check or it Will Become More Tyrannical and You Might as Well be Living in Some Authoritarian Collectivist European Regime of the Past." Hmm, that's a little wordy. It's almost as long as one of my longer sentences.
As you may have figured out, I derived the above title from the old saying "America, love it or leave it." That saying has always struck a raw cord with me. It is perhaps one of the most un-American thing one could say, in my opinion. You might as well say "If you don't agree with what the federal government of this country is doing you should just bite your tongue and go along to get along no matter how tyrannical the government acts." This attitude is the same type of attitude that helped create the darkest aspects of the communist regime in the USSR, the fascist regime in pre-WWII Germany and the socialist regime of East Germany. I would bet that it's an attitude prevalent in modern China.
It is very difficult for government authorities, A.K.A. federal law enforcement, to do their jobs without the help of the citizenry when their jobs become corrupt and they seek to squelch political dissension. Even with all of today's modern equipment it is very difficult to spy on all the populace without the help of jackboot kissing individuals. It takes an army of nosy busybodies to report on their neighbors. It takes a lot of fear and propaganda to create such an army. This is not the way of freedom loving people.
Furthermore, individuals who are truly worried about their personal freedoms ought to worry about the personal freedoms of others. Allow others to make their own decisions as you would want to make yours. So long as you are not treading upon the rights of others you should be allowed to do as you please, and so should they. This is as American a concept as you can get. Yes, it is okay to offer advice and discuss methods which have worked for you, yes you should be able to offer your opinion even if not asked for it, but forcing someone to do something against his will simply because you feel it's the right way to do things is wrong. You would not like to be treated in such a way, so why would you treat someone in such a way?
When government has the power to force your neighbor to do something he doesn't want to do, for instance with his property or his business, then they have the power to force you to do something you don't want to do. Once freedom is diminished and power is given over to government, it becomes very difficult to reclaim that power, as we have discovered. Everyone, including kings and over reaching presidents, believe they know what's best for everyone else. Amazingly, what's better for everyone else usually corresponds with what's best for the individual making that decision.
Given the power to take someone else's money under the guise of the legitimacy of governance, one would be loathe to give that power back. When the people of a nation simply decide to let the power elite do as they please with the money they collect in taxes (by force I might add) without questioning who benefits, then no one should be surprised when only the power elite and their friends and supporters are the ones who benefit at the expense of everyone else. By intimating one should not complain about such circumstances one shows his favor and fealty to the power elite. This would be tantamount to a colonist supporting the king of England in the late eighteenth century. The king did, after all, supply an army to the colonies to help keep them "secure" against the French, the Spanish and indigenous peoples. Isn't that akin to the excuses they use today, to allow your freedoms to be violated for a sense of security?
Yes, it is okay to dislike what government is doing, particularly the federal government which is the government most disconnected from the people. It is fine to protest government policy. It is, in my opinion, necessary to always question authority, to forever point out government flaws and the wrongs done in the name of government. It is even a good thing, in my opinion, to hate certain aspects of government and those that do have likely somehow suffered or have seen loved ones suffer due to some policy, regulation, or power abuse of government. Nothing is more American than to try to do something about such unfairness and to promote liberty for all.
I don't hate America. I love the land. I think there is beauty everywhere. I love the people. I think Americans are some of the most real, most generous, most caring people I've ever known. I think that given the chance and opportunity, they become some of the most industrious and innovative people also. Government takes those things away when it becomes as huge as the one we have today. Those who receive from the government worry about what will become of them if they have to start providing for themselves again. Those on top of the heap worry about losing the power they have achieved or perhaps even inherited. These people feel entitled and squeeze those in the middle who are now struggling to simply maintain a way of life that has been generations in the making.
If you don't ask me to leave the land I love because I happen to disagree with immoral government practices and policies, I won't ask you to leave because you agree with those policies and somehow twist them to make them moral in your mind. If you don't hate what the federal government has become, or even any aspect of it, then so be it. You can continue to fawn over it all you want. You can set up a shrine to it in your living room and pray to it, for all I care. I don't truly ask you to leave this nation, though I question how much you're going to like it when freedom once again reigns supreme over this land. You will still be welcome to stay. I will honor your right to your opinion and your right to express that opinion as you see fit. I simply ask that you honor my right to express my opinions as I see fit. I ask that you allow me to live free as I see fit. I ask that you treat me as you would want to be treated. I ask that you open your mind. If you can't do these things, than I simply ask that you leave me alone. I would also claim the right to be left alone and insist that big government honor that right for everyone who has not harmed or trampled upon the rights of others.
If you like my writings, I am asking for your help. Please visit my website szandorblestman.com to see my archived articles and help support me by making a donation. I am also pleased to announce the release of the latest book by Matthew Wayne entitled "The Edge of Sanity" at smashwords.com. If you do not wish to make a donation this is a product you can purchase. The download for this book is only $2.99, but interested readers can receive an additional 25% off by entering the coupon code CX99R until Jan. 29th, 2012. Even if you simply take a moment of your time to download the 20% of the book offered for free that will be of tremendous help to me in gaining exposure for my work which will help create sales.
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