What is one of the biggest decisions of your life that you must make? It is whether to live free or to live as a slave. If you do not consciously make that choice, then you will probably become a slave whether you like it or not–by default. Yes, in the 21st century, that is the basic choice confronting all of us. Let me elaborate a little.
Values, as Ayn Rand defines them, are “that which one acts to gain and/or keep”. The more conceptual values are those such as rights, freedom, independence, free choice, freedom of speech, freedom to think your own thoughts independently, and the freedom to act on the conclusions of those thoughts provided that you do not violate the rights of others in the process. If you think about this, that was the purpose of the creation of the United States of America. The U.S. was to be the “land of the free”, where people could live and let live. Why did the U.S. quickly become the richest and most powerful nation in the world? Because, a nation’s prosperity is proportional to its freedom. By the way, freedom is also the means by which you can exercise your right “to the pursuit of happiness”.
A key question today is whether or not your freedom is being threatened? If you are a myopic and unthinking zombie of a human being, you will be puzzled by my question. But, if you do look honestly at your situation, you must conclude that your freedom is shrinking and will continue to shrink. Yes, your freedom is being threatened. How, exactly?
The United States was founded on the principle of individual rights. When your country honors and respects your rights, the result is freedom. That is why the U.S. is the first moral nation in history. That is why the Declaration of Independence is the greatest political document in history. It provides the reasoning behind the American Revolution of 1776 to gain our independence from King George III of England and thus to be able to freely exercise our rights. Our Constitution provides the method by which the U.S. would be organized, the rules which were designed to protect our rights and freedoms. It by itself might not make sense to you unless you read the Declaration which gives you the why, the purpose behind the Constitution. I hold the memory of our Founding Fathers in high esteem. They were great men. The founding of the U.S. was a parallel in greatness to the Golden Age of Greece. It was an experiment of freedom for the first time in history. As Ben Franklin said, we have created a Republic (not a democracy) “if you can keep it”. Thomas Jefferson said that, “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty”. To keep our freedom we need to understand our Declaration and follow our Constitution!
The real scale in politics is individualism versus collectivism, not liberal versus conservative, nor left versus right. The U.S. was founded as an individualist nation based on individual rights. Our Founders got that part right. What they lacked was the philosophical foundation for individualism. That is why the history of the U.S. is the slow erosion of our freedom and the strengthening of collectivism. Philosophy is that important. Philosophical principles shape the nature and character of a culture. Then, that culture forms a society, and that society directs the course of a nation. Philosophy causes history.
The missing foundation for individualism was made explicit in the 20th century by philosopher Ayn Rand. We now can defend rights and freedom rationally without reference to any mystic or biblical edict. These now stand firmly within the province of reason and applies to everyone–not only to those who believe in the bible. The caveat is that understanding this foundation of freedom requires thinking–“deep” thinking. The problem is that most people do not think deeply enough or pro-actively enough. Whether the U.S. survives as a free country will be dependent upon whether enough people think, or not.
The model for collectivism is a honey bee hive. All of the worker bees in their collectivist hive are slaves. That is why collectivism rests of the ideology of slavery. All worker bees are supposed to sacrifice their lives for the “common good” of their hive. The focus is on the group, not on the individual. Have you heard the term the “common good” before? It is an expression of collectivism which is all around us, and I am explicitly pointing it out. You must be aware of it. The three major forms or variations of collectivism are socialism, fascism, and communism. Communism is the most extreme version. It is pure tyranny. Under socialism the government owns the means of production. Under fascism the means of production are privately owned but controlled by the government through regulations. Regulations are fascist!
We have a “mixed economy” in the U.S. today. It is an unstable mixture of capitalism and collectivism. Which version of collectivism is most prevalent? If you selected fascism, you are correct! The mixture is “unstable” because it is a mixture of two opposite and incompatible ideologies: capitalism which operates on freedom, or collectivism which in its more pure forms can only be implemented as slavery. The fact that it is unstable explains why it is constantly moving in one or the other direction. We have been consistently moving toward collectivism because we lacked the philosophical foundation for capitalism. But, we have it now thanks to Ayn Rand! She is the only person in history to have articulated it. The question is whether or not enough of us will think and act to reverse the collectivist trend. Whether we remain free or become slaves is riding on the answer to that question.
Capitalism is the economic expression of individualism. It’s essence is freedom. Sadly, most Americans do not know what capitalism is. For example, they criticize “crony capitalism” and believe that they are criticizing capitalism. They are not! They are criticizing fascism which is also known as the “politics of pull”, of who you know, not of what you know. Whether you call it the free market, free enterprise, or capitalism, it is all the same. It works on the exercise of free choice. It is also called “voting with your dollars”, voting by what you choose to purchase. In a wider view, the movement of people from more restrictive and regulated states to the more free states is called “voting with your feet”. These people may not be consciously aware of the deepest reason why they are doing it, but they are voting for freedom. I am encouraging you to be aware of these things. In the end, whether you live as a free and independent person or as a slave will depend on your awareness and your thinking.
One of the many things that you need to be aware of is what you consider “facts”. The manipulation of the meaning of words is an advanced science. Whether they are politicians, the main stream news media, public education personnel, or the “Deep State”, they are all masters of word manipulation–and thus of the manipulation of ideas and facts, and thus of the manipulation of you, of how you think and vote. As an example, look at the term “liberal”. Its root in latin is “libera” which means “free”. Traditionally, the term liberalism was synonymous with capitalism. The essence of both of their meanings was freedom. However, the modern meaning of “liberal” is the opposite of freedom. In the last decade the Democratic Party has moved “far Left” which means they have become outright collectivists–the opposite of individualists. They are pushing socialism–which in America translates into fascism. There is not a lot of difference between the three versions of collectivism. For example, NAZI is the German abbreviation for the National Socialist Party of Germany. We consider them to have been fascists. The Democrats today are advocates of slavery, whether they realize it or not. Probably not.
A major assumption of today’s socialists in America is that everything else will stay the same after they change our economic system from capitalist to socialist. Wrong! Why? Because, a nation’s prosperity is proportional to its freedom. As we become more and more socialist-collectivist, we will have less freedom. As we approach pure socialism history shows that we will inevitably become a poor nation. We will not have much “wealth”, if any, to redistribute. We will not be able to afford welfare checks, entitlements, subsidies, free medicine, free education, or free anything. That is the reason why the Russian revolutionary and Marxist Leon Trotsky (1789-1940) said, “Those who shall not toil, shall not eat.” Today’s concern about “pre-existing conditions” in medical insurance will become a joke! Those afflicted will be lucky if they are allowed to live! Anyone who is unproductive, who is unable to perform the mundane work of a replaceable worker bee, will not eat! He will starve to death, just like the wretched poor million souls who came before him and were trapped in collectivist states in the 20th century. The constants you will feel are misery and hunger because there will never be enough food to eat. If you don’t work, you don’t eat. Retirement will be mean starving to death. See Venezuela, today. It was once the richest country in South America. In less than 15 years it was transformed because of then President Hugo Chavez’s 21st Century Socialism. They are now starving. That is what your socialist utopia will really be like!
Having a free country is dependent upon having an educated and informed populace. It would not work with an ignorant population because they would be too easily manipulated by the powers that be. That is exactly what is happening today with our “fuzzy” word meanings–imprecise meanings which are therefore easy to manipulate, twist, and contort. Public education is a major culprit. It indoctrinates, it does not educate! How many kids today know about the founding of America? What are the reasons we fought for independence. How many of them know that we are a Republic and not a democracy–and what is the difference? Do you know what rights are? Why are they are valid? Do you take them for granted? Do the students know that America is prosperous as a direct result of being a free country? What would it be like to live in a dictatorship where you are not free and have no rights? How would you like to feel hungry all of the time? What would it be like to be an expendable worker bee slave in the collectivist honey bee hive? We will all personally find out because the general ignorance of the voting public is taking us there!
Why is the issue of guns important? Because history tells us that tyranny cannot be imposed on an armed people. Guns are the means by which we can prevent tyranny. That is the primary reason for the 2nd Amendment. What could one man with a gun do? The example of Sergeant Alvin York in WWI gives us an answer. Also, how many members of the military would follow orders to shoot their family members who were revolting? Why is there an effort to remove true leaders and effective commanders from our military? Trump wants a strong military, but his hands are being tied by the Deep State. Our politicians might be dumb, but they are not stupid–at least not all of them! That is why there is such a push by the Democrats for “gun control”. Their plan is to do it incrementally, bit by bit, like putting live crabs in a pot of water. If you heat the water slowly enough, the crabs will not notice until it is too late! Virtually everything you know about guns that you have learned from TV or the main stream news media is not true. I assisted my buddy in his defensive firearms classes for 20 years, so I know a little about this particular subject. There is no such thing as “common sense” gun control. The “sense” they are talking about is based on the ignorance of the public because of fake news!
Free speech is also a crucial right. As long as we can speak freely and express our thoughts, we have the ability to spread ideas and resist tyranny. Have you noticed what has happened on college campuses? That is where bright young people are supposed to go to learn how to think critically and express their thoughts. But, the norm there are “safe spaces” to where students can retreat so that they do not have to hear any ideas that conflict with their worldview–which was indoctrinated into them in their youth by “public education”. That is the opposite of what is supposed to be happening. A university campus is where these bright young minds are supposed to be exposed to all manner of ideas. Then, they are supposed to think about these ideas, and to compare and contrast them. If they disagree with an idea, college is where they are supposed to learn how to articulate why an idea is valid, or not. That is the essence of an education. But, with the liberal (collectivist) domination of education in America, that is not happening. These young will become our future leaders. What is happening on college campuses is a precursor to what will happen in society. A current example is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The underlying purpose of her “Green New Deal” is to destroy rights and freedom in America! Think deeply and be aware of what is really going on before you vote!
Another threat to our freedom is the religion of Islam. Sharia law is Islamic law. It is theocracy which means rule by a religious dictatorship. In the case of Islam, all is dictated by the Koran and other Islamic texts. Do not ask for a “why”. Islam is based on mysticism, not on reason. If the Koran says it, then that is what you are commanded do. There is no “reason” beyond that. If it says that a woman is the property of a man, then that’s it! You must obey “Allah’s law”.
The Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis is known as “Little Mogadishu”. Many of the Somali’s there refuse to assimilate into America’s culture of freedom and prefer to live under Sharia law. They need to be told point blank that there will be no Sharia law in the U.S. If they want to live under it, then they can go back to the Somalian “shit hole” they came from. It is a shit hole because of Sharia law! Do not attempt to bring that “shit” here! The attached video of Birmingham, England, was sent to me by a good friend. It shows that the current population of Birmingham is about 50% Muslim. In a Democracy majority rules. The collectivists want to enforce this, even if that majority contains illegal “immigrants”. That is one of the reasons the U.S. was created as a Republic where the rights of the minority are protected. That is also why we use electoral votes to elect our President. The purpose is to insulate us from the “tyranny of the majority”, which is also known as mob rule.
Assimilation is the key to successful immigration. In the U.S. we have no explicit assimilation requirement, and we need one. The danger of illegal “immigration” here is the same as its danger in Europe. Without assimilation into our culture of freedom, mass immigration could result in the U.S. becoming a dictatorship where we would all be slaves because of majority rule, because of democracy. That’s what the collectivists want. One question to be aware of is: “Why do we have such a large number of people entering the U.S. illegally?” The answer is for jobs, and also for “free stuff”. Why do we have the jobs? Because we are still a semi-free country, and a nation’s prosperity is proportional to its freedom. Why don’t our politicians stop this influx of “illegal’s”? Because, the illegal’s tend to vote for Democrats. That is also why there is no real scrutiny against voter fraud. The Democrats want illegal’s to illegally vote for them. No, they are not eligible to vote unless they are citizens, but that is a “technicality” the Democrats want to ignore because it helps them to gain power–and in the end, to make you a slave. That is why the issue of Trump’s “wall” is so important. Effective walls are a proven method of drastically cutting down on illegal “immigration”.
What about Trump himself? He is presumably an “outsider” who is not working for or controlled by the Deep State. Thus, he is “messing up” their plans to take us into a collectivist dictatorship as quickly as possible. President Obama was a socialist ideologue, and “equality” is one of the socialist ideals. That explains why his goal was to weaken and diminish the influence of the U.S. in the world. He wanted our military to be “equal” with those of the other nations which is why he tried so hard to weaken it. Hillary is not an ideologue. She was “in it” for personal gain. Collectivism is simply a convenient path to achieve her personal power. She would have taken us to a collectivist dictatorship asap, and we would all have been her slaves. Power for Hillary! Heil Hitler! Trump is the guy who thwarted her plan, and that is the reason for the constant and irrational “Never-Trump” movement. But, Trump is a pragmatist. He does not go by principles which is why he is so inconsistent with his policies. He also is unable to identify who in his administration are members of the Deep State, and they are the ones who are undermining what he wants to achieve. Still, he is delaying their ultimate end of collectivism, of total control. He is giving us a respite, time to think and to act on our thinking. But, time is very short. We already have what radio talk show host Mark Levin calls a “soft” police state. It will not take long to turn it into a “hard” police state from which there will be no escape.
The fundamental question that confronts all of us is whether we will personally submit to tyrannical rule, or not. Islam means “submission” by the way. The collectivists are using the advance of Islam for their own power-seeking purposes. They, and the feminist and LGBT activists, assume that they can “control” Islam when the time comes, but whether or not they can remains to be seen. They are overconfident and are playing with fire. Patrick Henry, one of our Founders, said: “Give me liberty, or give me death.” The bottom line question to each of us: “Is it better to die on your feet than to live on your knees?” Will you commit to fighting for freedom and possibly to die on your feet, or are you willing to submit to collectivism and thus to living on your knees? The question of freedom or slavery in your future rides on the answer to this question. What is your personal answer?
Birmingham, England! What a Video! And folks say it cannot happen here. This lawlessness is happening all over Europe. Build the wall! (Substitute video. Original would not post.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8Kg40PQbKA