'Term limits & balance the budget!'

I think it is a matter of focus & determination. If we allow the state worshippers to constantly distract us & befuddle us with deflections, we will lose. But if every question is answered with 'Term limits & Balanced Budget!' eventually they will lose.

'What about ISIS?!? What can we do about them?!?'
Term limits, & balance the budget.

'Global warming!!!'
Term limits, & balanced budget.

'There are potholes in the road!!'
Term limits, & balanced budget.

Revolution usually results in tyranny, not freedom. For this reason, it is all the more important to keep america together, & salvage what we can of human liberty, rather than hope that some rises from the ashes.

Most of the time, it FEELS hopeless. But this is a call for intelligence, reason, & action.. We can use the feelings of dread & doom to motivate us to action, rather than fall into a defeatist stupor. We can make logical, tactical moves to preserve & further the american ideal.. the 2 big ones already have wide public support.

IMO, this is a time for focused, determined words & actions, not surrender.

"Many free countries have lost their liberty, and ours may lose hers; but if she shall, be it my proudest plume, not that I was the last to desert, but that I never deserted her" ~Abraham Lincoln

"If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide." ~Abraham Lincoln

In a time of great national despair, lincoln kept hope. In one of the most depressing settings you can imagine.. a bloody battle at gettysburg, he ended his address with these words:

It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Do we not also have a 'great task before us?' Have not many of our ancestors died to preserve the freedom we have enjoyed? Is this nation not ready for a new birth of freedom? It is too important.. too rare.. too precious in the annals of humanity to let it slip away from fools with no perspective & no concept of reality. WE the PEOPLE are the caretakers of american liberty, & we can take it back, if we want to. Where are the leaders, calling for action? Where are those who have sworn an oath to protect & defend the constitution from ALL enemies? Freedom is the life blood of americans. If we do not live free, we are not alive. We must WAKE UP to the slow tyranny masquerading as caretaking, seize our freedoms, & tweak our system so this does not happen again.

Almost every problem in american politics can find its source in the elite ruling class. Almost every thing good about america can be found in the principle of citizen representative. It's not a 'liberal or conservative' issue. It IS a statism vs individual freedom issue, as statism NEEDS a ruling class. But even classic liberals decry the loss of personal liberty, which is the constant push from statism.

Here is an interesting way to contrast the american principle of citizen representative. Read any quote or founding document.. or any speech by an american statesman. Anywhere you see 'people' or 'citizen', replace it with 'ruling class'. Here's what you get:

We the ruling class of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. 

that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the ruling class, by the ruling class, for the ruling class, shall not perish from the earth. 

When the ruling class fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the ruling class, there is liberty. 

The ruling class reign over the American political world as God rules over the universe. It is the cause and the end of all things; everything rises out of it and is absorbed back into it. ~Alexis De Tocqueville 

"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the ruling class themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but inform their discretion." ~Thomas Jefferson

This is absurd, of course, and any american would shrink from these statements in horror. Yet this is EXACTLY what we have become. We have a 2 party system of a good old boy power network dominating national politics. It HAS been going on for years, yet we seldom talk about the problems it has caused, or the intent of the founders, or the violation of the BASIC PRINCIPLE of american governance:
Citizen Representatives. It is distinctly anti american.. contrary to ALL the principles of the founders. Politicians & statesmen give lip service to it, yet work tirelessly to prevent it. They have built a monopoly.. a cartel of power where all the money, influence, & decision making is NOT available to the people's review, but is dictated. The only restraint over the years has been public opinion, which is shaped by media propaganda. .. and who controls that, now?

Libs should like this..

"We are bound by ideals that teach us what it means to be citizens. Every child must be taught these ideals. Every citizen must uphold them.... I ask you to be citizens. Citizens, not spectators. Citizens, not subjects. Responsible citizens building communities of service and a nation of character."

Sound good? Of course! Who said it? Dubya, in his inaugural address, 2001. Is there anyone who illustrates 'ruling class' any better than the Bushes? ..ok, maybe the kennedys.. but this still shows the corruption of the current system, & the departure from the principle of citizen representatives.

Public service is a magnet for scoundrels. Slimy characters like anthony weiner can worm their way into the political network, then get elected. He was not a businessman, or a working man.. a leader in his community. he got a job as an aide to chuck schumer, then ran for office himself. He never did a lick of honest work in his life, yet was promoted by the political machine & ends up 'representing' new york. What did this route give him? Fabulous wealth.. & he didn't have to work for it, unless you call sleazing around the political network, 'work'.

We could go through all the senators.. MOST of them just 'networked' their way into power. Some were rich before, & increased it. Some were not, but are now. How do most of these people get elected? They choose a 'career' of politics. They do NOT do anything productive, or anything that relates to the working man, but they pursue a career that is inherently elite. They go the route of obama, make connections in some city political machine, get elected state representative, then senator, then build a coalition & backing to go national. It is a pursuit of lordship, it is no wonder these people think themselves superior to everyone else. The system is rigged to attract these kinds of personalities.

It seems very clear to me, that to return to citizen representative principles would be easy. Take away the lifetime draw, the money, & the ascent of power, & we'd get a much better class of people doing it. This is probably the simplest, most basic principle of america, & would be easy to fix. It would have support from both liberals & conservatives. But not the ruling class! They will oppose it.. not openly or directly, but if the subject comes up, they will nod in assent to the problem, then change the subject. 'Yes, we need to address term limits.. look! a squirrel!'

1. Term limits for everyone.
2. Minimum wage.
3. Strict, enforced corruption laws.

I challenge anyone to find any changes to our system that would have a more dramatic effect, & for the good of the people, than these simple things.

Saving the Dream of America

The American Experiment defined.

1. All men are created equal.  There is no ruling elite or divine ordination.

2. The central & only purpose of govt is to provide justice & secure the rights of the people.

3. SELF RULE.  The people themselves are the only safe caretakers of our collective organization.

4. To accomplish these goals, we have established a system of self rule, with checks & balances in a governing system consisting of Legislative, Judicial, & Executive branches, all codified under constitutional law.

5. If the govt does not perform its basic duties, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, & institute one that does.  The PEOPLE are in charge, not some ruling elite.

These foundational definitions are not clearly in mind for many americans these days, & are very foreign to proponents of state centered ideologies, but they are the basis of America.

Analysis of problems.  Failures in the American dream.

1. Massive waste of public resources in unconstitutional military actions throughout the world, Govt corruption, misguided & immoral redistribution programs, & expansion of govt intrusion into the citizen's lives.

2. The decay of citizen representation, & the growth of an elite power structure.  A ruling class that has built a system or network of power. Influence has become centralized with favor providers, electioneers, lobbyists, & a 'good ol' boy' network of political favoritism. A pecking order of power has grown in the culture of a ruling elite.  Politics as a career has become a goal & a magnet for the corruptible.

3. Undue influence of special interests & the moneyed elite.  This is tied with the decline of citizen representatives, & the growth of corruption.  The 'revolving door to riches' where elected representatives become enriched by special interests, cronyism, & the use of law as an instrument of plunder.

4. Massive & dangerous debt, that will take years if not decades to get under control, if it does not collapse the nation.

5. Overreaches of power by the public servants, who are charged with defending & upholding the constitution.  They have exploited their position as stewards of the public trust for personal gain or to promote their personal agenda. Executive overreach & judicial activism are the most common examples.

6. The corruption of justice.  Crime is too rampant in crowded urban areas, & justice is not served.  The justice system has become self serving, self propagating, & a financial burden on the producers.  It no longer provides efficient justice for the people & needs reform.  There are too many conflicting, convoluted laws, too many citizens incarcerated, & too little deterrence for criminal behavior.

7. The growth of statism.  State centered regulations that nanny & restrict the freedoms of the people are systematically increasing under the guise of caring for us.

Adjustments to be made.  Can the current system be saved?  Can we 'tweak' things to salvage the experiment?

1. Term limits. This is probably THE most important thing we can do, & is one of the major things that has corrupted our system. Life time politicians worm their way into power, & curry favor with the network, & grow in the system that perpetuates itself, rather than being stewards of the public trust.  'Career Politician' should evoke the same feeling in us  as 'Career Criminal', as they become leeches & sponges.. looters of the people they pretend to serve.

2. Enlightened electorate.  If the people do not involve themselves & take responsibility for their governing process, it will fall to scoundrels, & swindlers who are drawn to 'public service' as a way to become rich without working.  The PEOPLE must embrace the american dream, & believe in the foundational principles of self governance, & not be fooled by the hucksters & con men who see govt as a means of self enrichment, living off the labors of others.  This SHOULD be the goal of public education, instead of the state centered dogma that is currently being pushed on young citizens.

3. Balanced budget.  Power follows the money, & money follows the power.  The taxpayers would have revolted years ago had they been taxed in accordance with the spending by the representatives.  But through deficit spending, they have burdened future generations with the irresponsible, corrupt spending of the current one.

4. Subsistence.  To keep honest, sincere public servants, there must not be a draw for riches. Elected representatives should be compensated minimally.. perhaps minimum wage, for their service. SERVICE is the key word here, not compensation. They are stewards of the public trust, & do not produce ANYTHING by their labor. They have no right to huge recompense & a luxurious lifestyle on the backs of the working man. It should not be a 'revolving door to riches' nor should public service provide other means to wealth. Conflicts of interest, graft, cronyism, nepotism, & other corrupting practices should be severely punished.

There is more, i am sure, & i welcome additions & corrections to this list.  The goal is to salvage the american experiment, even though some are working to destroy it.  But if we lose it, mankind will be set back centuries or even millennia in our quest for human freedom.

"Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else." ~Frederic Bastiat

"Our public economy is such as to offer drudgery and subsistence only to those entrusted with its administration--a wise and necessary precaution against the degeneracy of the public servants."~Thomas Jefferson

"This human struggle and scramble for office, for a way to live without work, will finally test the strength of our institutions" ~Abraham Lincoln

"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government -- lest it come to dominate our lives and interests."  ~Patrick Henry

"My idea was that if they might be re-elected, they would be casting their eye forward to the period of election (however distant) and be currying favor with the electors and consequently dependent on them. My reason for fixing them in office for a term of years rather than for life was that they might have an idea that they were at a certain period to return into the mass of the people and become the governed instead of the governor, which might still keep alive that regard to the public good that otherwise they might perhaps be induced by their independence to forget." ~Thomas Jefferson

"Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience." ~John Locke

Anarchy as governance?

The central duty of government is to provide justice. At its very basic form, it is a cop. That is all the people need. A cop to deter & punish aggressors, foreign or domestic. The american system of citizen representatives is just a means to hire cops. We also hash out the details of the law, through the elected representatives, at both the local & national level. Then the cops enforce it. The legislative branches do NOT enforce the law, they only tweak it & codify it, in our stead. They are NOT supposed to act on their own, or in their own interests, but in the interests of the general public. This is just a collective process, that we have evolved from the authoritarian, 'might makes right' systems of the past.

Anarchy destroys this process. There is no citizen representative to tweak the laws, or codify it in our stead. Anyone can do it, & if they have the juice, they can enforce THEIR vision of the law. This is merely a return to 'might makes right', & strips the people from having any influence in the law making process. History is full of cultures being oppressed & plundered by tyrants, parties, coalitions, kings, juntas, or caliphs all using LAW as an instrument of plunder, to take from the working man the fruits of his labors. The ONLY HOPE the working man has if if he can control the process, or have major influence, which is the goal of the american experiment. Anarchists wish to end this experiment, & return us to the dark ages, or worse. The power of the process of law making is too important & too easily abused to leave it to the aggressive, the strong, the rich; & this is what anarchy does, by stripping the people of their collective power, that we have built into this system.

Pretending there can be 'no rulers' or no system of law is the most absurd fantasy in the history of human governance. Laws are constantly crafted.. some good, some bad, & need constant supervision & enforcement. Everything from traffic laws, to patents, to property rights gets more complex, the more dense the population gets. More regulations come with more population. That is inevitable. To try to summarize every detail of law into some general platitude is madness & folly. An accident in a busy intersection cannot be adjudicated by the non aggression principle. The property rights of a patent need more legal examination than some sense of 'common law' can provide.

Why is this so hard to understand? Why do anarchists plug their ears & stubbornly repeat their mantras of non aggression? Why is this even an issue for thinking, rational people? It is calling evil, good. Madness, wisdom. Destruction, order. It is a model for disaster, nothing else. It has no basis in history or reason. ALL anarchist ideology has resulted in destruction & chaos, from as far back as you want to follow this bizarre thread of human ideology. It is just as absurd.. perhaps more so.. than the convoluted progressive, leftist ideology that pretends the state can be a benevolent taskmaster, if we relinquish all control of it to the experts. BOTH of these ideologies KILL the concept of self rule, & citizen representation in the lawmaking process.

Why would we want to do either of these things? How can we believe the lies that either of these could be valid, useful tools in our collective governance? Both of them lead to despotism & oppression. THAT is where we are going, if we do not rescue the american ideal of self rule.

In times past, anarchists contented themselves with 'propaganda of the deed', or blowing stuff up. Talk & reason isn't really their thing.. action & explosions are more satisfying to them. Logic gets stuck in their beards, & they long for some blast echo against their faces.

It is a peculiar ideology.. i suspect popular more for seeming to be 'hip', or 'trendy' or 'avantgarde'. IMO, it is a rogue male thing, who seem most drawn to its philosophy. But i don't get the attraction of progressive thought, either...  Both seem so irrational & fantastic.. i can't really see how someone arrives at that thinking. I was raised in progressive indoctrination, too. But a few years of real history study, reading classics, studying philosophy, & especially the american founders, & the 'dream' of america captured my imagination. But i have to credit my grandmother.. she gave me a parchment copy of the declaration of independence when i was 7.. i had fun trying to decipher the f's into s's.. & even years later, the words were deep in me, & resonated in my mind. All men created equal. Endowed with unalienable rights. Govt to secure these rights, or be altered or abolished. As a model or mission statement for human governance, i have still not read anything to match it.

But that is old fashioned. It is not cool or trendy, like the regurgitated 'isms' of today. So we will be sold out for fashion, & an illusion of hipness, for the usual standard of human society: despotism.

Important point:

Libertarian does NOT equal anarchy. Most libertarians are for limited govt, that does not intrude into personal decisions.. they might be for drug legalization, but they do not advocate anarchy. They might disagree with some points in the constitution, but they basically agree with the concept of rule by law, instead of 'no ruler' or despotism.
Just like some progressives like to hide in republican garb (rinos, they are called), some anarchists hide in libertarian clothing, ready to destroy ALL hierarchies & any semblance of organization.

The Absurdity of Anarchy

The central goal of anarchism is the dissolution/destruction of all governing systems. 'No Rulers!' is the cry, & any organized hierarchy is seen as an enemy. It is an absurd ideology, that ignores some of the most basic realities of human nature. 

Q. Does man need a governing system?
A. 1. Man is a herd animal. The basic unit of mankind is the nuclear family. Anthropologically, this basic unit is the building block of the herd. Within that herd, there are sometimes rogue males, who disrupt the social fabric. And there are detached females, with or without children, who depend on the central core of the herd for protection & sustenance. In a healthy herd, all do their part & the disruption & dependency is minimal. The central core of family heads provide the protection, & must be united to present a deterrence to dangers & disruptions. The rogue males are kept in check by the core of family heads, & are either run off or submit to the power structure. The central role of the united family heads is to provide protection.. from outside aggressors, or inside disrupters.. i will call this 'Justice'.
2. Size of the 'herds' correlates with the organization needed to provide justice. Small, detached family units need little organization to function. Justice is simple, & easily adjudicated by the family unit. But as population density increases, the need to organize also increases. Remote country roads need no traffic controls. Busy urban intersections do. A single sherriff can provide protection for a large, sparsely populated county, but a dense city needs a big police force. This also carries over to national protection. A large, affluent society needs more deterrence to protect from outside aggressors. Thieves & imperialistic nations will come in & plunder the resources of a people, if they do not have the means to deter them. Some herds unite in larger coalitions, but these have become so blurred as to be indistinguishable from a single large herd of modern national identity.
3. As society grows & evolves, the reach of the central power system has gone through many changes. We have had kings & emperors, caliphs & parties, juntas & coalitions. Some have done a better job at providing justice for the citizens than others. Some have claimed divine ordination, or special privilege to rule. Some have ruled by decree, whimsically dictating justice to a confused people. Then the concept of LAW began to grow. This is the idea that there is a higher set of rules that EVERYONE is subject to, not just the ruled people. The lords, kings, caliphs, or anyone in authority was subject to this law. You see that in the 10 commandments.. the magna carta.. martin luther's 95 theses.. these are all appeals to LAW over subjective, imperial decree. This concept was codified into a system of governance in the american experiment. We were not to be ruled by elected leaders, but by LAW.. the elected representatives were in charge of protecting, tweaking, & crafting these laws for the protection & benefit of all.
4. In historically disruptive times, when the existing organizing system breaks down, there is chaos & disorder. The strong oppress the weak, theft & murder goes unchecked, & a vacuum is created. In every instance, a new system of order is forthcoming. It is usually despotic, with a powerful central govt that takes authoritative power to 'bring order'. The people submit to this, & prefer it to the chaos of disorder & crime.

Summary: Yes. Man needs & always wants some kind of social order & justice system in his collective communities. The more moral a people are, & the more they recognize & esteem natural law in a society, the less intrusion is needed by the justice providers. This is the closest you can get to a voluntarist society, where a moral people live in united harmony under an agreed upon core of law. It does not eliminate the need for order, it just minimizes the cost & effort of the society to provide it.

“I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such: because I think a General Government necessary for us, and there is no Form of Government but what may be a Blessing to the People if well-administred; and I believe farther that this is likely to be well administred for a Course of Years and can only end in Despotism as other Forms have done before it, when the People shall become so corrupted as to need Despotic Government, being incapable of any other.” ~Benjamin Franklin

Q. Can society function 'without rulers'? Is an anarchist system possible?
A. 1. If justice is a commodity, it can be bought & sold to the highest bidder. This is a 'devolution' of society into more primitive governance, where 'might makes right'.
2. Without a common defense, with power to enforce it, there would be a proliferation of 'justice providers', battling each other for control, & none as strong as if they combined their forces. This weakens the society, & would encourage crime & foreign aggression.
3. There are NO examples of this actually working in any society in the history of mankind. A few small tribes functioning in a vacuum of power for a while is not a shining example of anarchism working in a modern industrial society.

Q. Why should the state have a monopoly of force?
A. This prevents corruption of justice, if the justice providers are HIRED by the people to dispense justice for society. Competing justice providers are merely gang turf wars on a national scale. A citizen run, citizen funded, citizen overseen system of blind justice is the best for preventing corruption, providing fair, unbiased justice, & is a more efficient system than multiple, competing justice providers. National defense is also better under a single, powerful deterrent force, than many competing factions. The native american tribes exemplify that point.

Q. Why not boil all the law down to 'thou shalt not initiate aggression'?
A. God himself, sir, gave 10 commandments to moses. The son of god summarized them like this:Matt22:36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38“This is the great and foremost commandment. 39“The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
'Initiate aggression' is too vague. It is not a model for a system of governance, or a system of law. It is a return to the old way of 'everyone did what was right in his own eyes', aka 'might makes right'. If you are starting a religion, & want to use this as a starting point, good luck with that. You have no basis or authority to appeal to, just some vague notion of 'natural rights' which the aggressors will ignore & plunder you & yours with superior force. You rely on the goodwill & altruism of man, which is not there, collectively. It exists in singular form, rarely, but still needs the deterrence of punishment of law breaking to keep order in society.

Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants." –William Penn

In the black & white world of the anarchist, there is only statism & 'no rulers'. They see no difference between a limited, subservient govt & totalitarian despotism. The nuances of governance are ignored, as they pitch their fantasy of 'no rulers'. But true to form, they disrupt & destroy any semblance of order to promote their fantasies. Law & order, logic, human governance, & even the concept of self rule are ridiculed & heckled by them as 'statist' or authoritarian.

At its root, anarchism is chaos. It is 'no order', & pretends that this is a virtue. They have spread chaos in every generation since the concept has gained traction. It has never become a system of national identity, but has always been crushed by stronger forces, supported by the people who want law & order, & the ability to live & work in peace. Anarchists destroy. They build nothing. They tear down any hierarchy, order, or organization in a society, whatever it is. They were stereotypically bearded, bomb throwing rogue males... atheists, agents of chaos, & haters of any tradition or religious values. They can hide behind the anonymity of the internet, now, but their goal is the same. Chaos. Disorder. Destruction.

We can learn from history, evolve as a society & pursue human freedom & sound governance, or we can be stuck in an endless loop of doomed repetition. Anarchy is a celebration of that loop, & is a surrender of the social structure of society to the rogue males.

The progressive left: Enemy of America. Enemy of mankind.

The history of humanity is a record of man's quest for personal freedom. Leftist ideology is a step backward in that quest. More than that, it is an enemy of human freedom.

1. Rule of law versus Imperial mandate.
Over the millennia, the concept of Law has evolved as the preferred system of governance. Imperial decrees, while efficient & effective in accomplishing ideological goals, have been historically damaging to the overriding goal of human freedom. Law, codified into systems of governance are a check to oppressive rule by decree. The 10 commandments, the magna carta, the american constitution, & even the 95 theses Martin Luther nailed on the door are attempts to elevate Law as the arbiter of justice, rather than the whims of a ruler. But the progressive left sees the rule of law as a hinderance to their goals. They have an agenda, & need power to be used for mandates, rather than blindly upholding Law. Law is something to manipulate, not enforce. They pick & choose what laws they want to enforce, ignoring the core values of rule by law. They drag us backward in our quest for freedom, shackling us in the timeless chains of imperial rule. The constitution is ignored, trampled, & ridiculed as outdated & irrelevant, as they push for rule by decree & imperial mandate.

2. The basic rights of life and property.
To the leftist, the individual is not a sovereign entity, but a statistic.. a pawn of their social engineering manipulations. Neither life nor property is safe from them, as they see the state as supreme, & the owner of everything & everyone. The concept of the right to your own property is contrary to the state centered, redistributional goals of the leftist. People are not free to work for their own advancement & prosperity, but are tools of the state in the fools errand of 'social justice', where the great fiction is believed, & people attempt to live off of everyone else through govt theft. They worship the state, & see it as the savior of mankind, bringing equality & harmony to all. But they deliver oppression, theft, & state domination, as the simplest, most basic right to the individual is trampled in the name of economic justice: The right to property.

3. Other rights that have evolved such as freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, the right to due process, face your accuser, presumption of innocence, etc.
Facts & evidence have no importance to the leftist, only propaganda & manipulation. Their agenda is supreme, & everything revolves around it. They do not wait for facts or due process, but rush to judgement in the most absurd cases. They take a media edit of a 911 call, 'He looks black', & trump it up to a big racial issue, not waiting for, but ignoring the evidence, promoting their racial agenda, regardless of the facts. Their propaganda is constantly distorting reality & the facts, just to promote some social narrative & further their agenda.

4. The uniquely American concept of government as a protector and defender of individual rights.
The left is anti american.. oh, they love big govt, but not the constitutional, limited govt of the american dream. They see govt as an implementer of their social justice, redistribution, & socialist goals, not as a defender of individual rights. They want a govt nanny.. a behemoth that interjects itself in every aspect of our lives, dictating what to eat, where to live, where to work, lifestyle, & economic goals. The constitution is seen as outdated & an old fashioned restriction on their dreams of social utopia. Their support of the irs to punish their ideological enemies, & intimidate those who oppose them is just one example. The DOE, EPA, & many other govt agencies are complicit in pushing a leftist agenda & state centered power, NOT securing our basic rights. They see themselves as lords of the manor, not servants of the people.

5. Police state abuses.
In a bizarre twist of irony, the left opposes law & order, & normal human justice, but promotes state centered power & intimidation. Police are hindered & demonized in their normal duties of law enforcement, but federal intervention in land disputes with a citizen are applauded. Unconstitutional & irrational expansion of police power have been steadily growing in the leftist run, progressive based administrations, promoting the notion that the state holds the power, not the people. Fear & intimidation are used, & constant threats & limits are placed on the 2nd basic right of americans: To keep & bear arms, which is the final deterrence to an oppressive government.

6. The destruction of society by overload. One of the central goals of leftist ideology is the 'cloward-piven' strategy, where the goal is to overload our governing systems. Muddy justice, immigration, entitlements, welfare state abuses, & the ruin of the currency by deficit spending, the dilution by 'quantitative easings', & massive growth of govt. The producers in a nation cannot support this much dependency, & it will collapse the system. The left hopes to blame this collapse on the american system, when it is a conspiracy of their own making. But their propaganda will demonize the taxpayers, capitalism, or some other scapegoat to further their collectivist goals.

7. Demonizing American values.
The concepts of self rule, citizen representatives, limited, subservient govt, freedom & opportunity are enemies of leftist ideology. They distort these concepts into racism, greed, hate, & build evil caricatures of the american experiment. They constantly compare american freedom to fascists, nazis, racists, and any oppressive, hate centered ideology out there. But their race obsessed, govt mandated ideology is more akin to these demons than the american ideal of freedom, equality, & justice for all. Truth is not their goal, but manipulating propaganda, to build their false narrative.

There is more. I am not trying to be conciliatory, or find common ground. I see the progressive left as enemies of human freedom, & opposing all that america stands for. Americans who see the dream, & want to keep the experiment in liberty alive should resist these villains at every opportunity. They have hijacked almost every american institution, & poisoned them with their lies & propaganda. Too many americans are in a drugged stupor, blinded by the lies & distortions of the progressive left, & are unwitting dupes in this most basic battle for human liberty. If we do not turn from this path, we will wake up as slaves in this nation founded on liberty.

The Contest of the Ages..

The contest for ages has been to rescue liberty from the grasp of executive power. ~Daniel Webster

History is a record of man's struggle for freedom & survival. Ambitious people have enslaved, oppressed, & lorded it over the common man forever. But over the millennia, humans have banded together to deter the aspirations of conquerors & despots. IMO, it culminated in the creation of the United States, the first nation centered on the individual rather than the leaders in govt. Govt was to SERVE the people, not exploit them. The people WERE the govt, & it existed of, by, & for them.

Somewhere along the line, the rulers created a self serving monster that did not concern itself with the interests of the people, but their cronies & themselves. Citizen representation was eroded, as a ruling elite gained power & jockeyed for position & re-election. The 'contest' that webster speaks of seems to be going against the people, & for the rich ruling elite, who seem drawn to politics like moths to flames. Unfortunately, we the people are the ones who get burned.

What can we do to turn this contest around? Is it too late, & only a 'reset' of revolution will end the current slide? How can the individual once again be granted freedom.. for his own life & property?

"This human struggle and scramble for office, for a way to live without work, will finally test the strength of our institutions" ~Abraham Lincoln

Those who rise to power, and in power ride rough-shod over the rights of men, seem always to stand in marble on our public squares while those who carry the torch of liberty rest in unmarked graves. ~R. Carter Pittman

The end of limited govt..

I always find it ironic how leftists see tea party types & anarchists as the same.. i guess if you're a big govt worshipper, any limits on govt is seen as 'no govt'. Anarchists are the same, & see traditional americans as 'statists'.

In the spanish revolution of the last century, resisting monarchism & their fascist supporters was the only thing that united the anarchists & the communists. They fought together against the 'system' there, to bring it down. I see a similar pattern in the US. The one thing anarchists & leftists have in common is their hatred of traditional america. They both want the american dream to be over, they just have different goals afterward. The anarchist/libertarians want 'no govt' to take its place, while the progressives have a collective, socialist utopia in mind, where govt provides all, & is actively involved in every aspect of our lives.

The limited govt, traditional american is caught in the middle. The leftists call them anarchists, & claim they have no respect for law or any govt. The anarchists call them statists, & claim they want total govt domination. But their common goal of overloading & destroying the american system of limited, citizen run govt will likely bring it to pass. Those are seen as 'new' or 'hip' ideals, & are more exciting than the boring old notion of a govt of, by & for the people, & the slow, inefficient process of representative democracy. The loudest voices now are either the more radical libertarian anarchists, or the progressive left socialists. Just like in spain, they might work together for a while to defeat a common foe, but they have nothing in common, otherwise.

To a limited govt, citizen based proponent of the american experiment, both of these ideals seem very short sighted, & have NO historical basis of working as a system of governance. How can people be deluded into thinking these are valid options? The only thing that anarchists & collectivists are good at is tearing down. Neither of these ideologies has any track record of building, but only destroying. They attack the status quo, & tear apart the culture & power structure, but have nothing to replace it with, except tyranny. The left has been tirelessly working at overloading the system in america.. ..the safety net, the budget, foreign policy, domestic policy & programs have burdened the taxpaying citizens to the point of collapse. The currency is unstable, the confidence in govt is at an all time low, prison populations are booming, the debt is insurmountable, the nanny state growing.. Anarchists applaud this as a sign of impending collapse. Collectivists say we need to spend more, & hasten the collapse, as corruption rises to third world levels.

But they have a new ally in the quest for america's destruction! The muslim caliphate! Now, the euro socialists, the academic constitution haters, the anti ALL govt anarchists, & the muslim empire builders have something in common to fight against: American liberty. Together, they will bring it down, & then they can fight among themselves to see who gets the spoils. The great irony is that just like in spain, neither extreme was organized or competent enough to manage a real revolution, so it fell to the aggressive tyrants to gain control. That is the usual pattern of revolutions. Promises are made. Utopias are dreamed about. But despotism is the typical result. Both the anarchists & the collectivists are mere useful idiots for the caliphate empire builders.. they are more realistic about their goals, & will kill & die for them. The faculty lounge anarchists & progressives will aid them in their goal.

It was a good run. It proved that citizen representatives & limited govt COULD work, but it is easily corrupted. Without the constant care & attention from the citizens, unscrupulous scoundrels interject themselves into positions of power, & corrupt the system from within. We were victims of our own success, as opportunity, freedom, & equality brought unprecedented prosperity. But promises & lies have deceived the people into believing the extremes, that either govt is a god, or it is the devil. There is no room for a balanced view of limited, citizen run govt, so it will fade into the dustbin of history.

It is a sad time to live in, & watch the slow destruction of such a grand experiment in human freedom. Hope against hope, i wish for a turnaround, but that would require a devoted, altruistic citizenry, which you both have noted we do not have, anymore. Daniel webster's prophetic warning is very sobering, even though the anarchists will celebrate that event, if it happens.

"Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster, and what has happened once in 6000 years, may not happen again. Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world." ~Daniel Webster

"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money." ~Alexis de Tocqueville

“I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such: because I think a General Government necessary for us, and there is no Form of Government but what may be a Blessing to the People if well-administred; and I believe farther that this is likely to be well administred for a Course of Years and can only end in Despotism as other Forms have done before it, when the People shall become so corrupted as to need Despotic Government, being incapable of any other.” ~Benjamin Franklin

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the Public Treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the Public Treasury with a result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy always followed by dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years." ~Sir Alexander Fraser Tyler