Zero Dark Thirty
“What country before ever existed a century and a half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”
There was a time when the United States was a beacon of hope, prosperity, and liberty. A time when the people of our nation believed in its ideals and their proliferation; when they were proud to be an American. We stood at the head of the pack – the leader of the free world – and we relished in that fact. The roots of our values ran deep. Our virtues were battled-tested. We embodied the essence of Western civilization. There was a time when the only real threats to our nation were met upon distant shores. That time has passed.
Socialism, communism, moral degeneracy, and anti-American sentiment have infiltrated and infected our society. Our decadent lifestyle – provided to us by the ethics and order established by our ancestors – have made us soft and apathetic. Strong male character and traditional values are actively being subdued in the workplace, university, and media entertainment; for they pose a threat to the Gollums that rule these establishments. We’ve allowed this weaker and pathological subspecies of man to take over our institutions. And now we’re witnessing what weak men are capable of when endowed with power.
Our leaders today are not honorable men. They aren’t even leaders at all, but simply rulers; most of whom care nothing about their constituents and are mere puppets for their corporate sponsors. In fact, the will of the average citizen or mass-based interest groups have been shown to have zero impact on the direction of public policy. Conversely, public policy has a direct correlation with the interests of economic elites and big business.[1] As a result of this crony-totalitarianism, we’re subject to over 300,000 criminal laws, 98-percent of which are created and enforced by unelected bureaucrats – and that’s just at the federal level.[2] This authoritarian regime and their thirst for complete control has subsequently produced the world’s largest prison population.[3] Are we still the land of the free?
Think of a list of things that you’re free to do; what can be accomplished in this country that isn’t either taxed, regulated, or illegal? Drive a car – purchase a license and register the vehicle. Start a business – ask the government for approval and then comply with the never-ending list of crushing regulation and taxation. Get married – get a license. Invest – give the government their cut. Receive a gift – better report that to the IRS. Provide daycare for working parents – good luck with that inspection. Put a screen door on your house – need a permit for that. Travel – prepare to be molested by federal agents and you’d better have your papers. No matter what you do, permission is required, and a fee is collected.
Speaking of fees, the average American, through the insidious spectrum of taxation, is robbed of nearly half their paycheck. Income taxes – federal, state, and local – Medicare, Social Security, sales tax, gas tax, “sin” tax, property tax, special assessments, inheritance tax, estate tax, gift tax, capital gains tax, licensing fees, registration fees, permit fees; the list could go on.
Perhaps the most devastating tax is the one they refuse to call a tax; inflation. The government is robbing you blind and selling the nation out from under itself. To support the reckless spending-habits of elitist bureaucrats, they borrow money (forge money into existence) at the expense of your future buying power. Without having to face the PR nightmare of implementing a new tax, they simply “borrow” the money from you and label your subsequent losses “inflation;” as if inflation were some sort of mysterious and unpredictable economic force. If the people understood what was being done to them, there would be a revolution by the dawn. Then again, perhaps the people don’t want to know; for knowledge begets responsibility.
And exactly who is responsible for this atrocity – this treasonous betrayal? The answer is far more damming than simply pointing the finger at a political party, degenerate ideology, or even some conspiratorial global cabal. Though these entities will, without a doubt, share some of the blame, ultimately, the men who knew better and did nothing are at fault.
“…if freedom is regressing today throughout such a large part of the world, this is probably because the devices for enslavement have never been so cynically chosen or so effective, but also because her real defenders, through fatigue, through despair, or through a false idea of strategy or efficiency, have turned away from her.”
Evil and tyranny have always existed, and the resistance efforts of vigilant citizens have always been the final and most effective checks and balance. Those men who stood on the sidelines or looked the other way, the men who could have done something to stop this madness, are to blame for the tragedy we’ve inherited. Their cowardice and negligence to fulfill their duty as men and citizens allowed malicious ideologies and despotic bureaucrats to take control of all our major institutions. They saw the darkness approaching and made no effort to protect the flame of liberty. We must correct our course.
And if you’re waiting for me to end this article with some optimistic message of hope or gratitude, you’d be mistaken. There is no silver lining. Our nation has fallen to everything we consider foreign and unrighteous. The proper response is rage and to ignite your forgotten sense of duty. Gentlemen, the time is half past dark. Stand up or shut up.
“I would rather be ashes than dust. I would rather my spark burn out in a brilliant blaze than be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom in magnificent glow – than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not merely exist – I shall use my time.”
[1] Gilens, M., & Page, B. I. (2014). Testing theories of American Politics: Elites, interest groups, and average citizens. Perspectives on Politics, 12(3), 564–581. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1537592714001595
[2] Copland, J. R. (2020). The unelected: How an unaccountable elite is governing America. Encounter Books.
[3] Highest to lowest - prison population total. Highest to Lowest - Prison Population Total | World Prison Brief. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2022, from https://www.prisonstudies.org/highest-to-lowest/prison-population-total?field_region_taxonomy_tid=All
