“Those that cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. Most people ironically cannot remember or never knew who the person was that said this. Some will say Socrates or Abraham Lincoln in an effort to sound educated amongst their peers, but it was actually a philosopher by the name of George Santayana. Every day in American society, it becomes easier and easier to see that we the people have forgotten our past. The scary part is that we are condemned to repeat it. Not all of it, and not exactly the same way, but we are already feeling the sting of histories repetition and sooner than later we will feel it far far worse. So hopefully my brief opening statements have grabbed your attention well enough that you should continue to read, if for any other reason than to see some of the examples of our past being forgotten.
It’s easy to see that our memories fade when we think about what being an American entails. Any American knows the basics; free speech, the right to bear arms, freedom of the religion and press etc. But do Americans realize how much they have changed through the years? Could we really call our rights rights anymore, or just privileges given to us by our nanny state that may be taken away whenever our nanny likes? Lets take a look at the basics:
The second Amendment states “…the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”. I’m sure anyone reading this knows what the word “infringed” means so how have we forgotten so much of our past that it becomes almost impossible to purchase, own, or carry a fire arm?
Free Speech and peaceful protest? Black’s Law dictionary defines “Fighting Words” as: “Inflammatory speech that might not be protected by the first amendments free-speech guarantee because it might incite a violent response” (such as a violent revolt, maybe the whiskey rebellion would make a good example). So basically you do not have the right to speak about revolt against your government, even though Thomas Jefferson stated the the main reason to keep and bear arms is so the we the people might have to fight tyrrany in our own government, even though James K. Polk stated that he believed little revolts were necessary to remind the government just who is in charge. The first amendment states that “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech” If you remember you’re history you may remember a Supreme Court Decision called US v. O’Brien which stated that you do not have the right to burn your draft card, these are just a few of many examples of how your first amendment right has been limited.
Now on to some scary stuff. Before you jump back on your X-Boxes and PS3’s just remember that the power you need to enjoy such commodities come from private companies. Now think of all of the things that have been nationalized in America like social security, Medicare, Medicaid, the multiple welfare programs…they don’t really work very well do they? Here are a few executive orders that are already in the books that you may want to consider
EXECUTIVE ORDER 10990 allows the government to take over all modes of transportation and control of highways and seaports.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 10995 allows the government to seize and control the communication media.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 10997 allows the government to take over all electrical power, gas, petroleum, fuels and minerals.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 10998 allows the government to take over all food resources and farms.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11000 allows the government to mobilize civilians into work brigades under government supervision.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11001 allows the government to take over all health, education and welfare functions.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11002 designates the Postmaster General to operate a national registration of all persons.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11003 allows the government to take over all airports and aircraft, including commercial aircraft.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11004 allows the Housing and Finance Authority to relocate communities, build new housing with public funds, designate areas to be abandoned, and establish new locations for populations.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11005 allows the government to take over railroads, inland waterways and public storage facilities.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11051 specifies the responsibility of the Office of Emergency Planning and gives authorization to put all Executive Orders into effect in times of increased international tensions and economic or financial crisis.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11310 grants authority to the Department of Justice to enforce the plans set out in Executive Orders, to institute industrial support, to establish judicial and legislative liaison, to control all aliens, to operate penal and correctional institutions, and to advise and assist the President.
…The founding fathers intended for our federal government to be as little as possible. This is why they created the 10th amendment which states “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people”. Now think about all of the things that your Federal Government is doing. I am beginning to think that we may have forgotten a little of our historic philosophy: “when the cats away the mice will play”, don’t you think you should spend a little less time with you X-Box and some more time paying attention to the employees that we elect?