I received the following email from Simon Black this morning. I
encourage all to read it.
Date: January 10, 2011
Reporting From: Vina del Mar, Chile
I abhor violence. Non-retaliatory violence is a desperate act of
intolerant men who cannot sort out their differences reasonably and
peacefully. Violence is the answer for those who lack the intellectual
merit to win a battle of ideas and can only resort to more animalistic
behavior to impress their point.
The greater the violence, the more unfortunate the outcome-- major acts
of violence result in loss of life, collateral damage, destruction of
property, changes in social mood, and more.
Every single day, crazed lunatics claim the lives of innocent people;
sometimes it's a premeditated crime, sometimes it's a crime of passion,
sometimes it's a complete accident, sometimes it's an act of terror, and
sometimes people are just in the wrong place at the wrong time when a
500 pound bomb is dropped over Afghanistan.
Each instance represents a theft upon humanity.
A shooting took place this weekend in Arizona which was devastating, to
say the least... but in my mind, no more or less devastating than any
other murderous rampage, whether in the United States or anywhere in the
world. Because a US Congresswoman was ostensibly the intended victim,
however, it's captured worldwide attention.
Speaker of the House John Boehner summarized many politicians' reactions
to Saturday's shooting when he said, "an attack on one who serves is an
attack on all who serve. Acts and threats of violence against public
officials have no place in our society."
I'm inclined to believe that acts and threats of violence against -all
people- have no place in any free society. The life of a politician is
not worth more than the life of the nine year old girl who was shot and
later died at the hospital, or the 76-year old man who died on the scene
as he was protecting his wife, or of any of the other victims.
I've seen mainstream media reports that portray the apparent shooter as
an anti-government subversive whose favorite books include Mein Kampf
and the Communist Manifesto. This makes absolutely no sense-- what kind
of anti-government proponent counts Hitler, Marx, and Engels as his
favorite authors?
Rather, it's more likely that the shooter was just another loony who
owned a firearm and decided to use it. If the victim had been Gabrielle
the bus driver instead of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, it would
have barely registered a few words at the bottom of the CNN news ticker.
With one of their own victimized, however, I'm concerned that
politicians will close ranks, capitalize on the social mood to generate
a renewed faith in government, and pass a host of reactionary
policies... all after sanitizing their Twitter feeds for any reference
to violence, of course.
Perhaps some form of gun control is in the works... though with a
Republican controlled Congress, I'd think new legislation targeting
suspected 'Anti-American subversives' could be on the table, or
something that gives sweeping new powers to government agents and police
forces.
In 1946, the 79th Congress of the United States passed public law 601
giving permanent standing to the House Committee on Un-American
Activities. This committee was authorized significant powers to
investigate 'subversive and un-American propaganda' and assist Congress
in 'necessary remedial legislation.'
Ironically, in its efforts to ensure that America was nothing like the
Soviet Union, the US government began turning the country into a fascist
collective. Given what may come after the weekend's shooting, I fear we
may be returning to a time when it is increasingly dangerous to be a
free thinking individual anywhere in the West.
With Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano perched above WalMart
shoppers encouraging Americans to spy on each other, I sense the boiling
frog may soon be getting a few degrees warmer.
I would suggest that if your ideals and beliefs make you increasingly
isolated from your neighbors, maybe it's time to find new neighbors.
Vibrant expat communities are starting to blossom all over the world,
and as we routinely discuss, it's possible (and in many cases easier) to
live a much freer life and earn a great living by applying your skills
overseas.
There are plenty of great options out there... dozens of places where
you could feel more alive, more at home, and more at ease; it simply
starts with the willingness and courage to take action, start the
research, and develop relationships with like-minded people.
Until tomorrow,
Simon Black
Senior Editor, SovereignMan.com
--
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falls into such complete forgetfulness of its freedom that it can hardly
be roused to the point of regaining it, obeying so easily and so
willingly that one is led to say, on beholding such a situation, that
this people has not so much lost its liberty as won its enslavement."
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