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Last week I introduced the topic for my next several blog posts -- 14 Signposts to Slavery, or signs that any given society might be slipping towards tyranny.
Where does the United States stand with these 14 issues?
In this post, I will examine Signpost 1. I am not an expert on financial and travel law, but I am a concerned citizen doing my best to gain a more complete understanding of the landscape of liberty vs. tyranny in our nation. I welcome comments from anyone reading this who has expertise in this area.
Signpost 1 -- Restrictions on taking money out of the country and on the establishment or retention of a foreign bank account by an American citizen. Part A of Signpost 1 -- Restrictions on taking money out of the country.
What I Found -- Though I wasn't able to find any specific law (not even on the custom's website), I found several references online to a $10,000 limit on the amount of money one can take with them without having to declare it to customs. Apparently this restriction was imposed by Nixon in the early 1970's. I was unable to find a reference to what the punishment is for infringing upon this rule.
Part B of Signpost 1 -- Restrictions on the establishment or retention of a foreign bank account by an American citizen.
Fact --
- Here is what Wikipedia says about the U.S. PATRIOT Act restricting foreign bank account holdings (done in the name of preventing money laundering -- emphasis added) --
" Restrictions were placed on accounts and foreign banks. It prohibited shell banks that are not an affiliate of a bank that has a physical presence in the U.S. or that are not subject to supervision by a banking authority in a non-U.S. country. It also prohibits or restricts the use of certain accounts held at financial institutions.[70] Financial institutions must now undertake steps to identify the owners of any privately owned bank outside the U.S. who have a correspondent account with them, along with the interests of each of the owners in the bank. It is expected that additional scrutiny will be applied by the U.S. institution to such banks to make sure they are not engaging in money laundering. Banks must identify all the nominal and beneficial owners of any private bank account opened and maintained in the U.S. by non-U.S. citizens. There is also an expectation that they must undertake enhanced scrutiny of the account if it is owned by, or is being maintained on behalf of, any senior political figure where there is reasonable suspicion of corruption. [71] Any deposits made from within the U.S. into foreign banks are now deemed to have been deposited into any interbank account the foreign bank may have in the U.S. Thus any restraining order, seizure warrant or arrest warrant may be made against the funds in the interbank account held at a U.S. financial institution, up to the amount deposited in the account at the foreign bank. [72] Restrictions were placed on the use of internal bank concentration accounts because such accounts do not provide an effective audit trail for transactions, and this may be used to facilitate money laundering. Financial institutions are prohibited from allowing clients to specifically direct them to move funds into, out of, or through a concentration account, and they are also prohibited from informing their clients about the existence of such accounts. Financial institutions are not allowed to provide any information to clients that may identify such internal accounts. [73] Financial institutions are required to document and follow methods of identifying where the funds are for each customer in a concentration account that co-mingles funds belonging to one or more customers." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_PATRIOT_Act
Here is a link to the IRS website regarding foreign bank accounts -- http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=148849,00.html
In other words, the U.S. government must be privy to all financial transactions of U.S. citizens via foreign banks, as well as be aware if anyone is taking over $10,000 in cash out of the country.
The restrictions imposed on financial transactions abroad may seem reasonable in light of threats of terrorism, and drug and arms trafficking. But remember the saying -- The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Lastly, I would have a lot easier time swallowing these restrictions and the requirement of transparency in American citizens' finances if the government (and Federal Reserve) were required to be equally transparent in their expenditures and investments.
Signpost 1 -- CHECK
1 Signpost down, 13 more to go . . .
Today is a sunny, but chilly day here in Salt Lake City. It's already mid-March, and my poor Floridian self is dying to go to the beach -- ANY beach! I want to soak in that relaxed and peaceful vibe that comes with the sound of ocean waves and seagulls, and the feeling of the sun and sand on my skin!
For now, I'll have to settle for a Northern Utah Spring (which feels a lot like winter in Florida).
I went for a walk in my neighborhood the other day (it was in the 60's!), and I must admit I love a lot about where I live. I enjoy seeing people at the park with their dogs, 20-something guys with their stunt bikes, and cute little kids stoked that they get to walk around outside without their coats on for the first time in forever!
Life goes on day by day and there is much to appreciate. I am always glad when I stop to enjoy the little things.
Sometimes I realize that some of the "little" things I enjoy really aren't that small. What a complete privilege it is to live in a time and a place where personal liberties are enjoyed to an extent unheard of by so very many! If I wanted to get in my car and drive to California this weekend just to get a taste of the beach, I would be completely free to do so. If I want to study a particular subject, no-one will stop me. If I want to pursue a certain path, my biggest obstacle is only myself.
Living like we do in our society with all of our freedoms, it can be easy to forget how very precious they really are.
Like some of you, I have studied history and read horrifying accounts of nations and societies where freedoms are trampled and the people suffer atrocities. In particular, I spent four years pursuing two Master's Degrees in Russian Language & Literature and Russian & East European Studies (for some reason, one Master's Degree wasn't enough for me). I received a fairly in-depth education on Russian and Soviet history and literature during my studies. Honestly, it was pretty traumatizing at times.
I remember reading Kolyma Stories by Varlaam Shalamov -- a collection of semi-autobiographical short stories about life in the Soviet Gulag. Outrageous, heart-rending, and horribly depressing. Just read one of them and you'll be messed up for the rest of the day.
I read Journey Into the Whirlwind by Evgenia Ginzburg -- an autobiographical account of an 18-year stint in the Gulag and some of the events leading up to it. A rank-and-file, card-carrying Communist Party member, Ms. Ginzburg had the misfortune of getting sledgehammered by Stalin's cannibalistic Purges in the 1930's in which well over a million loyal Communists were arrested in the night and accused of being enemies of the USSR.
Innumerable individuals*** were shot, imprisoned, and interred in slave labor camps in Siberia where their hair would freeze to the barrack walls in the winter nights and come out in clumps the next morning, where inmates would practically be eaten alive in the summer months by mosquitoes while building a railroad to nowhere in the Siberian steppe, and where hunger, abuse, and tortured death was a common, daily ocurrance.
I lived in Russia in the late 90's, and saw first-hand the beauty and resilience of a people who can live through just about anything and know it. I also observed the collective unhealed trauma of a nation determined to move forward, but dogged by unresolved pain from the past.
I gained so very much by my study of Russia, it's people, and it's history. I came away with a greater appreciation for those who labor for freedom, sometimes at great cost to themselves and their families.
Last Spring I read an eye-opening book called None Dare Call It Conspiracy by Gary Allen, and was particularly impressed with a short section on the fourteen signposts to totalitarianism by a historian Dr. Warren Carroll and a refugee from Yugoslavian Communism, Mike Djordjevich.
Carroll and Djordjevich compiled this list sometime in the 1950's or 60's, and warned that the implementation of any of these fourteen policies is a step in the direction of totalitarianism, and "once a significant number of them -- perhaps five -- had been imposed, we can rationally conclude that the remainder would not be far behind . . ."
Where do we stand right at this moment in our nation, while so many assure us that everything is fine while others warn of impending gloom and doom?
I decided that over the next while, I will address each of these fourteen red flags to take a good, objective look. Here are the red flags themselves --
____________________________________________________ Fourteen Signposts to Slavery
____________________________________________________ This is a pretty big undertaking for me, requiring hours of research for each point. I would like to ask any of my readers who have studied some of these issues to comment on this article or email me with resources and leads. I would like for this to be a collaborative effort at understanding the true state of our nation.
I am looking forward to it . . . ____________________________________________________
***"According to the declassified Soviet archives, during 1937 and 1938, the NKVD detained 1,548,367 victims, of whom 681,692 were shot - an average of 1,000 executions a day (in comparison, from 1825 to 1910 the Tsarists executed 3.932 persons for political crimes).[55] Historian Michael Ellman claims the best estimate of deaths brought about by Soviet repression during these two years is the range 950,000 to 1.2 million, which includes deaths in detention and those who died shortly after being released from the Gulag as a result of their treatment in it. He also states that this is the estimate which should be used by historians and teachers of Russian history.[56]
According to Memorial society,[44] on the cases investigated by the State Security Department of NKVD (GUGB NKVD):
- At least 1,710,000 people were arrested
- At least 1,440,000 people were sentenced
- At least 724,000 were executed. Among them:
- At least 436,000 people were sentenced to death by NKVD troikas as part of the Kulak operation (see also figure of 376,202[37])
- At least 247,000 people were sentenced to death by NKVD Dvoikas' and the Local Special Troykas as part of the Ethnic Operation
- At least 41,000 people were sentenced to death by Military Courts
- Among other cases in October 1936-November 1938:
- At least 400,000 were sentenced to labor camps by Police Troikas as Socially Harmful Elements (социально-вредный элемент, СВЭ)
- At least 200,000 were exiled or deported by Administrative procedures
- At least 2 million were sentenced by courts for common crimes, among them 800,000 were sentenced to Gulag camps.
Some experts believe the evidence released from the Soviet archives is understated, incomplete or unreliable.[55][57][58][59] For example, Robert Conquest suggests that the probable figure for executions during the years of the Great Purge is not 681,692, but some two and a half times as high. He believes that the KGB was covering its tracks by falsifying the dates and causes of death of rehabilitated victims.[60]"
-- Wikipedia "Great Purge" -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Purge
In February Senator John McCain sponsored a bill to regulate nutritional supplements and the companies who manufacture them (The Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010, S3002), purporting that greater FDA oversight of the manufacture of supplements was necessary in order to prevent the injury and death of American citizens. In particular, McCain is on the record stating that his goal with this bill was to protect athletes from tainted supplements, especially those laced with anabolic steroids.
This bill is now dead in the water as McCain withdrew his support when Senator Orrin Hatch expressed his concern that the bill would negatively impact the nutritional supplement industry.
Even though this bill now won’t be pushed through the legislative process, it appears that we can expect a continuing dialogue over nutritional supplement safety and regulation among members of Congress.
Along with millions of other Americans, I am relieved that the McCain bill is no longer a threat but am concerned about future developments in this arena. The thought of the FDA having any more oversight than it already does over natural products makes my stomach turn for a number of reasons.
Here are a couple --
First, there is a track record of overreaction to the dangers of nutritional supplements (supposed or real) in the media and among policy-makers.
Let’s take the example of ephedra. Ephedra is an herbal stimulant and thermogenic agent (increases body temperature) that people used for weight loss, sometimes with or without caffeine, and it was banned in 2004 because of a number of reported side effects, including hypertension, irritability, nervousness, hyperthermia, heart palpitations, seizures, and even a handful of deaths (1).
I am not defending ephedra as a supplement that is safe for all people under every condition, and I definitely believe it’s possible that it has caused problems for some people, fatalities including. After all, if an herb or nutritional supplement has any sort of biological impact on the body at all, there are bound to be people who will have a negative reaction to it!
But let’s look at the media frenzy that surrounded the deaths of 3 athletes in the last decade, purportedly due to their use of ephedra.
In 2001, Korey Stringer participated in a Minnesota Vikings training camp and died of heat stroke. Even though his autopsy showed no traces of ephedra in his system at the time of death, the herb was widely blamed for killing the young athlete (2).
Professional baseball player Steve Bechler died on the field due to heat stroke in 2003. Ephedra was blamed for causing his death, and indeed the toxicology report showed ephedra derivatives in his blood. He also had a history of heat stroke, was overweight, was on some sort of liquid diet, and was at a practice in South Florida with brutal heat and humidity, which he was unaccustomed to, when he collapsed on the field and tragically passed away (3).
The third high-profile death blamed on ephedra was that of college football player Rashidi Wheeler, who in 2001 collapsed during training exercises designed to push the athletes to the edge and died of exercise-induced bronchial asthma, which he had had problems with in the past. Even though the coroner found ephedra in his system, it was deemed not to be a causative factor in his death (4).
The death of anyone, particularly someone as young as each of these three men were, truly is a tragedy. I don’t have enough information to judge if ephedra caused any of their deaths, though ephedra’s role in killing two of them appears dubious. Either way, the both the media and the FDA jumped on the anti-ephedra bandwagon and today it is considered an illegal substance.
A handful of possible death implications and a few thousand complaints of negative reactions -- that is reason for concern, to be sure! Which is why the media and FDA's handling of a group of substances that kill between 100,000-200,000 people each year in our nation, and cause complications for far more, is puzzling.
Why is ephedra demonized and banned and herbs/nutritional supplements viewed as such a threat while young (and old) people all around us on prescription or over-the-counter drugs seem to be dropping like flies? All the while, the very agencies and organizations crying foul on supplements are silent by comparison on the pharmaceutical issue!
Why have pharmaceuticals, including many of the pain killers, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety meds found in the bloodstream of young, dead actors (and many others who were less famous), been given a free pass?
The Emperor is naked, and few seem to care . . .
28-year-old Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment in January 2008, and his death was found to have been caused by “an accidental overdose of prescription medications including painkillers, anti-anxiety drugs and sleeping pills . . . ‘Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine,’" (5)
Another young actor, Brittany Murphy, shocked the Hollywood scene when she suffered cardiac arrest and passed away in her home in December 2009. Her toxicology report states the following: “Multiple medications were present in the blood, with elevated levels of hydrocodone, acetaminophen [ Tylenol], and chlorpheniramine. L-methamphetamine was also present. It should be noted that the pattern of use of these medications suggest treatment of symptoms of a cold or other respiratory infection. Acetaminophen and hydrocodone are components of Vicodin. Chlorpheniramine is the active ingredient in some over-the-counter medications. L-methamphetamine is a component of some inhalers.” (6)
Most recently, of course, is the tragic death of 80’s teen actor Corey Haim at age 38. Haim collapsed and passed away at his mother’s home just a few days ago. While no toxicology report will be available for a few weeks, bottles of prescription drugs (and no illegal drugs) were found in his home, making it at least possible that he just became the next high-profile death by prescription medication.(7)
When compared with the public cry against ephedra and any other herbal or nutritional supplement accused of injuring people, I have to wonder -- where is the outrage against these pharmaceuticals?? These few examples of famous people dying in their homes on legal drugs are just the high-profile, proverbial tip of an enormous iceburg.
When taking pharmaceutical drugs as prescribed is attributed to at least 106,000 death per year in America alone (and possibly as many as 200,000) (8) and the total number of deaths attributed to nutritional supplements since 1989 is 230 (9), why would anyone in their right mind want to waste our government’s time and resources on regulating nutritional supplements when the pharmaceutical industry is clearly in much, much worse shape?
Let me repeat -- there are a minimum of 106,000 deaths per year in America due to prescription drugs, and there have been 230 deaths due to nutritional supplements since 1989. 1989 was 21 years ago (we won't count 2010 in these figures since the year just began). That means in the past 20 years there have been approximately 2.1 million deaths because of prescription drugs, and only 230 because of nutritional supplements, or 9,217 times more deaths due to drugs. But there is not 9,217 times more outrage. Somehow, much of the public has allowed its outrage to be focused on the 230 deaths instead of the 2.1 million!
Clearly, something isn't right here.
Even supposing there truly is a need for oversight and regulation in the nutritional supplement industry, why would we hand such a job over to the FDA when they’ve done such a poor job regulating drugs, allowing 2.1 million Americans in the last 20 years to die because of them?
Lastly, I am absolutely in support of companies who manufacture drugs, supplements, vaccines, and even food additives being required to be up front about injuries that they have been purported or proved to have caused (such as aspartame, or NutraSweet, which has over 10,000 complaints against it – more than complaints of all other substances combined) (10). That aside, I have to wonder where the government derives the authority to tell us which substances we can and cannot take into our bodies.
What it comes down to for me is this -- Washington, please leave me alone and let me take my herbs and supplements that healed me of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in 2005, kidney stones in 2008, swine flu and a mumps-like illness in 2009, chronic problems with headaches and skin, too many cold and flu-like illnesses to name just in the few years alone. I don't want to worry about limited access or increasing prices that would be sure to come with greater regulation.
And in return, let those who desire substances that are associated with well over 100,000 deaths per year in America have their pills.
(As a side note -- I am not implying that all pharmaceuticals carry the same level of risk. I am of the opinion that in some circumstances a drug may be the most appropriate solution. Even when it is not the solution I would choose for myself, I support peoples' freedom to choose how to take care of their own health. But as with anything you put in your mouth -- a food, a supplement, or a drug -- it is always a good idea to do your research first and use wisdom.)
Final comment -- allow me to briefly share my own personal experience with anti-anxiety and sleep medications. When I was ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/fibromyalgia, I didn't sleep deeply for an entire year. My doctor prescribed small doses of 3 drugs that seemed to do the trick for me (clonazepam, Neurontin, and Elavil/doxepin elixir) . The problem was, I kept needing more (a common problem). If I forgot to take the drugs with me on a trip, I would lie in bed all night with my heart racing, aware of every passing minute. After being on these drugs for a few years, I actually began reading about them. I discovered that 2 of the drugs had created a lot of problems for people, were highly addictive (in fact there are clinics to help people try to get off of clonazepam and other benzodiazapenes), and if I ever wanted to have kids I would have to go off of them first. When I got married in 2004 I decided it was time to get off the drugs. I planned on taking 3-4 months to wean off of them. What I experienced during these 3-4 months (the first few months of my marriage -- happy happy joy joy) was withdrawal symptoms including altered perception as if I was tripping on drugs, mood swings and crying spells, and a returned inability to sleep. When the prescription for these medications was handed to me 5 years earlier, I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into! And because they seemed to work, I just went with it.
Thankfully, after my months of drug trips and emotional roller-coasters in 2005, I began to seek out natural solutions and found a nutritional supplement that INSTANTLY took away the bad withdrawal symptoms, but I still wasn't able to get off all of the drugs. Months later, I came across some therapeutic-quality essential oils that healed my severe insomnia (meaning, after a period of time, I stopped needing ANYTHING for sleep), and I haven't had any problems since. So you can see why I'm such a huge proponent of seeking out natural solutions instead of blindly trusting a doctor, even if he/she is well-intentioned.
(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephedra
(2) http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al/orioles/2003-02-17-bechler-questions_x.htm
(3) http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20030313&content_id=219098&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=null
(4) http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/bigten/2003-03-11-wheeler-supplements_x.htm
(5) http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/06/heath.ledger/index.html
(6) http://backseatcuddler.com/2010/02/26/brittany-murphy-toxicology-report-full-list-of-drugs-autopsy-photos/
(8) http://www.naturalnews.com/024765_drugs_DEA_prescription_drugs.html
(9) http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/16/health/16diet.html
(10) http://www.321recipes.com/aspartame.html
***Warning -- You are leaving the Politically Correct Zone. Proceed at your own risk!!!***
A prominent politician is branded a racist when it is discovered he once said that Barack Obama stood a chance of being elected president because he was “light-skinned” and didn’t use a “Negro dialect.”
Another prominent political figure is up in arms when the White House Chief of Staff calls those who oppose Democratic policies “(expletive) retarded”, and demands that he retract his words so as not to offend the mentally-handicapped and those who care for them.
Obama is blasted by the major of Las Vegas for making the comment that during an economic crisis, it’s probably not a good idea to run to Vegas and gamble away your college funds!
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I’m not in to name-calling, foul language, labeling, racism, sexism, and a lot of other “isms”. I think being kind to our fellow man, whether we agree with him or not, is pretty much the way to go. But I find the epidemic of political correctness in our society absolutely maddening!
Can anybody say what they mean anymore without being labeled as a heartless scumbag who should immediately retract their words and issue a statement of apology, step down from any position of authority, or be taken to court?
I hate to compare everything that irritates me with the Soviet Union, but it’s a nasty habit I gained after engrossing myself in Soviet literature, history, and culture during my graduate studies, and seeing some of the same bizarre trends right here at home.
For those who aren’t familiar, the Soviet State was responsible for coining a prolific number of euphemisms to take the “edge” off of draconian policies and institutions.
The system of forced labor camps in Siberia where starvation, privation, disease, squalor, and abuse of inmates was the norm and where millions of Soviet citizens rotted and perished was called the “Gulag”. Translation – Chief Administration of Corrective Labor Camps. Sounds a bit more innocuous than it really was, doesn’t it?
(Kinda makes me think of the “Patriot” Act, Operation “Iraqi Freedom” recently re-worded by Obama to Operation “New Dawn”, but let’s not digress . . .)
Those camps designed to house dangerous political dissidents (including Baptist choir masters and human rights advocates) were designated “Extraordinary Regime Camps”.
Extraordinary indeed were the measures used to control public thought and opinion of disgusting and even cruel practices and policies through strategic, euphemistic wording.
I believe the dangers of political correctness in our society are real. Check out this incredibly informative video on the origins of political correctness (hint -- it originated with 20th century Marxist philosophers) --
In the USSR, calling things what they really were (or, how you perceived them to really be if your opinion differed from the state-sanctioned position) was risky business. Authors, artists, scholars, and everyday people who challenged the politically correct Soviet position risked imprisonment and death.
Thankfully, in America we don’t necessarily see anti-Obama, anti-Bush, or guns rights activists routinely carted off to prison. But in order to ensure this never, EVER takes place, let’s allow people to say what they mean – even if we find it offensive, even if we disagree!
I remember back in my grad school days at FSU, some friends of mine approached the door of a frat house right off campus and saw a sticker in the window saying “No Fat Chicks.”
I wonder if that sticker is still up in the window, or if some plus-sized FSU co-ed sued the fraternity for psychological trauma . . .
“Democracy in its turn is abolished and changes into a rule of force and violence” as people grow more “accustomed to feed at the expense of others and to depend for their livelihood on the property of others.” – Polybius, Greek historian
Today our world experienced another cataclysmic event – an earthquake of an 8.8 magnitude struck in Chile, prompting evacuations in nations with coasts on the Pacific Ocean. Thankfully, the casualties in Chile are no where near what we saw in Haiti, though it is certain that countless numbers were negatively impacted by this quake.
It is right and good that people come to the aid of those who were injured, left homeless, and suffering loss – something that most of us, no matter our political persuasion, can agree on!
Back in the homeland, a consensus on all policies and plans are not so easy to come by as Democrats and Republicans are fighting tooth and nail over how to reform America’s healthcare system.
How can we in America allow people to suffer with sickness and not help? How can we let an old, toothless woman in Buffalo, New York be compelled to wear the dentures of her dead sister? In America?? While the people of France and Canada, Japan and Sweden take care of their people, how can any compassionate American citizen be against the healthcare reforms proposed by President Obama and Democrats in Congress?
Compelling indeed are the many arguments for government to take over the healthcare industry in America.
But I am amazed at not how many people oppose the takeover, but how many people support it!
“By supporting an endless number of ‘good’ causes, free society gradually becomes collectivist and tyrannical.” (1)
Yesterday I was engaged in a study that would behoove all of us as American citizens to participate in – I was reading the Constitution.
This is the document upon which our entire nation was built. Though our society is not without its inequities and our history not without some serious bumps in the road, we can credit the U.S. Constitution with giving us 200+ years of freedom and prosperity of unparalleled scope.
How did it do this? It was designed that way! The U.S. Constitution was designed to protect the most basic freedoms of the people, to empower them in the pursuit of life and liberty, and to keep them far from tyranny’s grasp.
Freedom of speech, of press, of religion, of assembly, the right to petition the Government for redress of grievances, the right to a speedy, public trial by jury if accused of a crime, the right to bear arms, the right to one’s own property, the right of protection from unwarranted search and seizure, the right to not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, the right to vote regardless of gender or race. These are the rights granted by our Constitution. If you don’t believe me, please read it for yourself!
Ironically, we hear politicians and citizens crying out to meet the peoples’ rights to all kinds of things not outlined in the Constitution.
“Today, politicians promise the right to high quality education, the right to free or affordable health care and housing, and many more so-called rights. These are not genuine rights. They are benefits at the expense of others.” (2)
At the very same time, many of these same politicians and citizens trample on some of the rights guaranteed in the Constitution!! What is going on here?
When a newly-elected president is sworn in, he is required by Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution to swear to defend the Constitution.
I don’t have the time or space to research and list every infraction against the Constitution by every past and present American President. But besides the atrocious proposed Federal government takeover of healthcare, which would go against Amendment 10 of the Constitution (“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.”), a few notable Constitutional violations come to mind --
How about a whole slew of measures passed by President George W. Bush in the Patriot Act? No trial and potentially indefinite detention for those accused of terrorism. Really?? Are we going to follow in the Soviet Union’s footsteps and imprison all "enemies of the state"?
Did you know that search and seizure of Americans and businesses of America is becoming more common? And spying on the medical records, financial records, web-surfing habits, library records, and blogs and Facebook status updates of ordinary American citizens is now commonplace?
If you believe you have nothing to hide because you aren’t doing anything wrong and you trust your government won’t abuse these powers, I invite you to take a look at history to see that there is a long and prestigious track record of governments abusing the powers granted them.
How about all the measures proposed over the years for monitoring and curtailing the citizens’ rights to firearms? This is blatantly un-Constitutional.
And our tax regulations make it a habit to seize an increasingly sizeable chunk of American citizens’ hard-earned money and redistribute it to the poor through programs.
Yes, all of these measures can be made to sound like good ideas, but the truth is that each of them is chipping away at the very foundation America was built on and making us more vulnerable to tyranny.
The more the people depend on their government to provide for them, the more vulnerable they are to tyranny. And as the saying goes, when the people fear the government, tyranny reigns. When the government fears the people, there is liberty!
I want to live in a free America. I understand that there are risks and responsibilities associated with freedom, but I embrace these hazards because I believe that freedom is worth it!
I like the Constitution, and I like that it set up a system that made tyranny difficult or next-to-impossible.
After my last blog post in which I made a call to action for Christians to step up and do more to care for their fellow man, and laid out my views concerning the incompatibility of Christianity and Socialism, I have done a lot of thinking.
I was not at all surprised that quite a few people didn’t agree with what I had to say. I was, however, a bit taken aback at the few who felt the need to not only disagree, but attack and insult me.
So I mulled some things over – would there be a way for me to express my views in a way that wouldn’t rub some people the wrong way? How could I reach out to all readers, how could I ensure that everyone who reads my blog would walk away happy? Should I be more politically correct – is that the answer for me?
I pondered how I might write this next post so that nobody could possibly take offense. But I have come to the conclusion that broaching the subject matter at hand in a politically correct way would so whittle away at the heart of my message that there would essentially be nothing of value left for me to say.
So if you are easily offended and have a tendency to lash out at people you disagree with, I would ask that you either read no further, or keep your vitriolic comments to yourself. Perhaps you might start your own blog where you can express your opinions, as I do here on mine.
Comments from thoughtful, well-intentioned individuals, whether in agreement with me or not, are completely welcome.
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With that out of the way, I wanted to discuss another relatively touchy matter – one that might tick some people off, but one that must be addressed within the topic of Socialism and government assistance to the poor and disadvantaged.
If you happen to be an enthusiastic backer of government assistance, please don’t jump to conclusions about me and where I am coming from. Yesterday I saw a video clip on an online newspaper showing a Conservative, anti-government healthcare rally. I saw a man with a picket sign who was screaming – “No free healthcare. Get a job!” I was disheartened at what appeared to be disdain for the unemployed.
I don’t disdain the poor and needy. Neither do I feel the need to brag about myself and my own charitable endeavors. My viewpoints on helping the poor should be clear enough from my last post – we the people have a responsibility to care for those less fortunate than ourselves! I practice what I preach. I believe that a lot of people doing something can really make a difference.
Someone made the comment on my last post that my arguments “demonstrate[] the odd and unquestioning adherence . . . to the American myth that assumes the poor exist because of poor choices, and the rich because of wise choices (when in fact, it's usually the other way around . . .)”.
Yes, as a matter of fact, many of my arguments against Socialism do rest on the principle that there is something that poor people are doing that is causing them to be poor, and there is something that the rich understand that is causing them to be rich.
People who are happy are doing something that is causing them to be happy. People who aren’t happy are doing something that is making them unhappy. Sometimes crappy things happen. But don’t we see examples of people who find a way to be happy in spite of horrific circumstances? These are the people who inspire authors, filmmakers, and everyday people like most of us!
To me, it’s just about as preposterous to believe that people who are poor got there because of wise choices and rich people became rich through poor choices (as my commenter argued), and that the poor people deserve the wealth of the rich, as it would be to assume that chronically unhappy and crotchety people are really the ones who deserve to be happy in life – let’s steal the happiness from the happy and give it to those who are miserable!
I certainly don’t believe that blaming depressed, economically-disadvantaged people for their circumstances is the answer either. This life can be challenging, to say the least! A whole lot of people have been through a whole lot of hell!
On December 31, 2005 I stayed up late with some friends to see in the New Year. This New Year’s had a special significance for me – I had no sadness or nostalgia in watching 2005 slip away in the night. 2005 was my year of personal hell, and watching it die to make way for 2006 gave me pure delight!
Though others have certainly been through worse, 2005 was the culmination of a string of several really bad years for me. It was the pinnacle of suckiness to which my life reached; it was a year that tried me like no other.
I was an overachiever, and in 1999 I suddenly found myself laid up with a mystery illness that claimed my enthusiasm, my energy, my personality – my ability to function effectively as a contributing member of society. By 2004, it had seemed my life had taken a turn for the better with a few positive developments including marriage, which I had long awaited (I was 29).
But in 2005 it all came crashing down. The wretchedness of that year was profound to me. Ongoing physical disability, the pain and humiliation of separation and divorce, losing my health insurance, debt, underemployment, having no real address for almost the entire year, and more . . . In short, 2005 sucked in a broad, all-encompassing, multi-faceted kind of way. I even had two freak car accidents in which my car was hit and banged up by other people under somewhat bizarre circumstances! I was just waiting for the next bad thing to happen . . .
At age 30, I was forced to rely on the mercy of my parents and friends. Age 30! I had not envisioned spending the better part of my 20’s as a financial and emotional leach, and could never have guessed that by age 30 and with my two Master’s degrees, I would be so reliant on the help of others and only able to make $600-$800 per month cleaning a wealthy lady’s house and care-giving for a 90-year-old (this job was great – I got paid to take naps when she did!).
Though my life never sunk to levels faced by Auschwitz detainees or child prostitutes (thank the heavens!!!), I would never wish my 2005 on my worst enemy.
But 2005 was also a blessed year. It was the year I learned something that has changed the course of my life forever, and led to many of the good things I now enjoy in my life! Without this realization, I am quite certain I would still be sick and completely broke, and I am beyond sure that I would still be deeply unhappy.
I was reading a book that a friend gave to me, and I read this quote –
“If you want to know what your deeper beliefs are, look at your life and it will tell you. Life is a mirror reflecting back at us what we believe about ourselves.” ( Remembering Wholeness, p. 24)
Ouch.
But what a blessed awakening!
I can’t adequately describe how empowering it was for me to realize that I was not a victim of my ex-husband’s choices, chronic fatigue syndrome, or anything or anyone else! I was not a victim!
I chose out of victimhood. I forgave those who had hurt me (I believe this is the KEY to moving from victimhood to empowerment). It was a miracle! And it was the beginning of a total revolution in my life! I was able to start taking responsibility for the things that were showing up in my life, and then things started showing up that I really wanted.
In September of 2005, I got about 95% of my health back in one week after 6 years of having the stamina of a sick 80-year-old. I got a full-time job a few months later. I bought a house. I started a business, and eventually another two.
I have had my ups and downs since 2005, and do to this day because I am a human being living on planet earth. I still have rough days like anyone else -- and still have junk in my trunk.
I don’t feel sorry for people any more. But I do feel empathy. My old tendencies of wanting to rescue people (as well as wanting to be rescued myself) are dying. Good riddance!
I don't see the poor as victims, but as people who need to be taught principles that govern wealth and given the opportunity to operate in these principles. Sick people aren't victims either -- they stand in need of learning the principles that govern health, and then need to put them to use.
Though someone standing on a ledge of a 20-story building needs someone right then to talk them out of jumping, someone starving to death needs food immediately, and a person in cardiac arrest needs CPR and medical attention now more than anything else, most of us on any given day are in no danger of dying if we’re not rescued from our problems. In fact, in some cases the rescuing can do more damage than not!
People with a track record of failed relationships don’t need the perfect person to come along and rescue them from their sad and lonely state as much as they need to learn the principles that govern happy relationships and practice those principles right where they’re at!
People up to their ears in debt don’t need a bailout from their debt as much as they need to learn the principles that govern sound finances, and put them into practice now.
People with health problems don’t need free health care with prescription drug benefits as much as they need to honestly assess what they can do to change so that they can heal, and then take action!
People living in squalor, poverty, and illiteracy don’t need someone to hand them the keys to a brand new house with a well-stocked refrigerator as much as they need someone to teach them how to read, how to work, and how to manage their life, and then to be given the chance to rise up.
Tragedy seems to beget tragedy. I have personally experienced to a certain extent the downward spiral that can take place when one tragedy or difficulty leads to another, which leads to another. People need help to get out of the hole.
And I was helped tremendously by family and friends -- I owe them my eternal gratitude! But if I hadn’t taken it upon myself to learn principles of healing, of forgiving, of debt-reduction, of success in business then I could very well still be in the hole I was in 5 years ago. No government program could have taught these things to me. When I, the student, was ready and humbled to the dirt, then the teachers appeared. .
Getting out of a hole appears to come as a result of some combination of personal desire, resolve, and action, the assistance of others, and Divine Grace. Any assistance that negates the personal responsibility of the individual to do his/her part, or the role of Divine Grace in lifting people up out of a pit is not only inadequate, but totally misleading as well.
Some people reading this may not be in to this whole “Divine Grace” thing. If that is you, then you probably have your reasons for feeling that way and you are more than welcome to disagree with me. But I doubt there are many people who would argue that personal responsibility to move past dysfunction and tragedy isn’t absolutely essential in rising out of an ash heap no matter who is willing to assist, and how much!
From my perspective, in societies where Socialism is practiced, there is an underlying assumption that people are victims and must be rescued. The masses must be cared for and nurtured through government programs in order to achieve happiness and security in life.
Instead of making people into victims as we attempt to provide help, let’s give immediate help to those in immediate danger, and take action to teach everyone else the principles that will help them rise up themselves.
To be continued . . .
Today there are an estimated 6.8 billion people inhabiting this world -- a world with the technology to go to the moon and back, a world where individuals on completely different continents routinely communicate with one another via phone and internet, and a world with some serious issues yet to be solved.
Of the 6.8 billion people walking this planet, a little over 1 billion of them don't have enough to eat.
With all of the conveniences and marvels of our modern world, large-scale preventable human misery still has not gone the way of the dinosaur.
Who is to blame? What is to be done??
Of those who care to seriously address this issue, why is it that not everyone can agree on the solution? Should people be left to their own devices and let "survival of the fittest" determine who wins and loses in this life? Should governments step in and come to the rescue of those in need? What role can or should you and I play in meeting the needs of the poor and afflicted?
In this article I will share my personal convictions regarding the care of the poor and needy. I will draw upon my own experience with being partially-disabled for 6 years in my young adulthood, and being one who would qualify as poor and needy. I will also draw upon my experiences living in Russia in the late 90's and my extensive graduate-level research on the Soviet Union, as well as my understanding of the Bible and Christian philosophy.
Whether or not you agree with the arguments I lay out here, I hope that you will at the very least take them as coming from one who knows what it is to rely on someone else for my daily bread, and who has studied and seen some of the dangers inherent in philosophies popular in our world over the past century plus, including the prominent philosophy of Socialism.
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In this article, I will specifically address my comments to people of the Christian faith living the United States of America who applaud our nation's incremental Socialist agenda, who seek to enliven and expand government programs to care for the poor and needy.
I first must commend you for your active desire to see the downtrodden cared for. You show more dedication to the poor than many in your faith, "laissez faire" Christians who bemoan government involvement with welfare programs but who themselves do little to alleviate the suffering of anyone. These Christians are waiting to make it big before giving to the poor. They are waiting to have all their needs met before looking around them to perceive the pressing needs of others in their vicinity.
Next, I must tell you why I believe Socialism and Christianity to be two incompatible philosophies.
Many well-meaning Christians look upon a Socialist government and get warm fuzzies in their stomach thinking of all the people that are cared for.
But Socialism is wholly incompatible with the Christian principles of free will and personal responsibility to care for the widow, the orphan, the sick, and the poor.
What reward is there in heaven for the Christian who merely pays their taxes in a welfare state, but does nothing of their own initiative to succor the needy?
“We shall prove to them that they are nothing but weak, pathetic children, but that a child’s happiness is the sweetest of all. They will grow timid and cling to us in fear, like chicks to a hen.”
Christian philosophy asserts that, though fallen, man was created in the image of God and any man or woman is capable of inheriting salvation and all their fondest hopes and dreams from God through the mediation of the Savior, and through making the personal choice to submit to the conditions required for these blessings.
Socialist philosophy assumes that the masses as dumb as children, and they don’t need a god to reach their fondest dreams, but a government to hand out the goodies.
In Christian philosophy, individuals are responsible to care for the needs of the poor, the sick, the widow, and the orphan, but not compelled. Those who rise to the challenge will find themselves on the right hand of God because of their CHOICES, and those who don’t will not receive the blessings reserved for those who do.
In Socialist philosophy, all are compelled to care for the needy whether they want to or not (through taxation), and this care comes through the administration of a notoriously inefficient bureaucracy.
Christian philosophy causes men and women to rise up, work for their sustenance depending oftentimes on faith that help will come if and when it is needed. It is hard, it is risky, but the rewards of making the proper use of God-given free will are great. The consequences of poor choices can be brutal.
Socialist philosophy seeks to soften the blows of consequences to natural laws, both positive consequences – financial abundance for the thrifty, wise, hard-worker -- and negative consequences – poverty to those who break the natural laws that govern abundance.
A life of high stakes -- which this life is whether we want it to be or not -- engenders faith in God for those with a desire to prevail. It is the very difficulties of existence in this realm that allow men and women to develop the faith in God necessary for them to walk back into his presence.
Socialism falsely informs men and women there is another way to reach their ultimate dreams besides faith in any god.
"And men rejoice at being led like cattle again, with the terrible gift of freedom that brought them so much suffering removed from them.”
Christianity allows men and women the opportunity to make great sacrifices for those in need and reap the blessings as a results, or not makes those sacrifices and miss out on certain blessings.
Socialism steals the show and takes the credit for the care of the poor and needy, ironically leaving fewer people with the means to do great good in this world, as well as with less incentive.
Christianity says there is freedom in trusting in God.
Socialism says there is freedom in trusting in the government.
Christian philosophy depicts a utopian society, a millennium of peace after the Second Coming of Jesus, in which the meek will inherit the earth and the poor in spirit will inherit the kingdom of God, in which kings and queens (the wealthy) will willingly carry the downtrodden on their shoulders and lift them higher than themselves.
Socialist philosophy depicts a utopian society which is a worker’s paradise, a dream for the common man which comes as a result of loyalty to the state and the kings and queens being forced to cough up their wealth to subsidize the poor.
“So, in the end, they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us: ‘Enslave us, but feed us!’ And they will finally understand that freedom and the assurance of daily bread for everyone are two incompatible notions that could never coexist!”
Instead of food stamps and welfare checks given year after year to the same individuals, I would like to see the poor and needy taught to find a need in society they can fill in order to put food on their own tables.
Those who refuse to work should not eat the bread and wear the clothes of the laborer. Those who cannot work due to disability should preferably be cared for by family and friends.
Instead of people clamoring for “universal health care”, I would like to see more doctors, nurses, and healers of all persuasions donate their skills in the care of the sick who can’t afford care.
What about people who fall in between the cracks? Don’t we need a government program in place to take care of all of them?? What about Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security – don’t we need these and other programs?
I honestly don’t know about that. All I do know is that continuing our march deeper into the heart of Socialism will only lead to a weaker populace – weaker because of a dependence on government. Weaker because the most productive elements of society lose their incentive and their ability for productivity. Weaker because faith in God becomes less important as faith in a system of government, an entity that completely lacks the power to bring salvation and our fondest dreams, begins to take precedence.
Faith in any system other than the system of God is sure to ultimately bring disappointment to those who possess it. Freedom and personal accountability for how we use our freedom is risky, but there truly is no other way to salvation other than their proper use.
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I believe Socialism to be the great counterfeit for God's higher law of choosing to consecrate our means and possessions to the poor.
Socialism diminishes the incentive for excellence, is enabling to those it purports to serve, and causes people to trust in government more than they trust in God.
Look at Europe -- faith in God that was such a part of European society in past times has been replaced with widespread secularism! The great cultures of Europe are dying out due to negative population growth. Some have postulated that there is a connection between Socialism and Europe's low birth rate. I don't know about that. But I do know that in the past as well as today, Socialism has led to Communism (indeed, Karl Marx himself saw Socialism as merely a transitional philosophy that naturally would lead to Communism). If you aren't aware of the atrocities that Communist governments have enacted upon their own people, read here.
But some of you may be thinking -- we gave the Christians their chance to feed the hungry. They had a couple thousand years to do away with hunger, and they didn't do it!
You are completely correct. As a whole (with some notable exceptions, however), we have not done our job sufficiently! While there are some who admirably devote a great deal of effort and financial means to care for the poor, there are many more of us who sit back, pay our taxes, pay some tithing and offerings here and there, but are so wrapped up in our own lives that we do little to heed Jesus Christ's admonition to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick.
Fellow Christians and all other good people of the earth, let's take action TODAY. Let's take action now to help someone in need, even if we ourselves are struggling to make ends meet. Let's do so much good that those who promote government programs to care for the poor will be shocked and inspired!
What can you do now? I urge you to sit down and prayerfully consider where you can give of your time and means to bless those in need.
If you can't come up with anything that feels significant, check out this wonderful video made by some friends of mine who are mobilizing a lot of people to each do a little bit! The degree to which taking care of the poor and the needy is instituted and administered by government is the degree to which freedom is abdicated.
When individuals, families, and privately-run organizations take it upon themselves to care for the poor, and when this care is given in the name of Jesus Christ, it leads both the giver and receiver back to heaven!
If you are Christian and have read this article, you have been called to action. Choose now to answer the call!
Quotes in italics are taken from the monumental novel The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
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