"Reflections on the Loss of Liberty" by Judge Napolitano
“In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own.”
― Thomas Jefferson
― Thomas Jefferson
“A new type of superstition has got hold of peoples minds, the worship of the state.
People demand the exercise of the methods of coercion and compulsion, of violence and threat.
The state is a human institution, not a superhuman being. He who says state means coercion and compulsion. He who says: There should be a law concerning this matter, means: The armed men of the government should force people to do what they do not want to do, or not to do what they like. He who says This law should be better enforced means the police should force people to obey this law. He who says: The state is God, deifies arms and prisons.”
― Ludwig von Mises, Omnipotent Government
― Ludwig von Mises, Omnipotent Government
Over a century & a half ago, Karl Marx in a famous quote called religion "the opium of the people."! He was referring to the fact that those in power use it as a means to control the masses - convincing them to endure suffering and injustice on Earth in order to benefit from the rewards of the afterlife. This prevents the masses from questioning the status quo, allowing those at the top to stay in power. In earlier times people were generally more superstitious and easily manipulated by religious leaders, which allowed the-powers-that-be to use organized religions to assist in their control and subjugation. As the vice-like grip of religion has continued to loosen due to the increased awakening of humanity, new methods of keeping us in a state of fear- endless wars and terror, have evolved to retain control!
100 years after Marx's insightful quote, noted economist/author Ludwig von Mises in his 1944 work Omnipotent Government popularized a still new phrase, worship (or idolatry) of the State- Statolatry! Conditioned from youth to see love for the State of their birth as the highest ideal, outstripping even their love for fellow man, generations of schoolchildren mindlessly reciting the Pledge of Allegiance have grown to adulthood, many brainwashed into elevating the Almighty State to the status of a God. Abetted by those of a traditionally religious mindset who (in like vein to crusaders of earlier times) see an opportunity to gain control of State machinery to enforce their own religious views on society, an unholy alliance formed, conveying false legitimacy to a manmade institution based on brute force!
At the same time State power has shown unequaled growth, organized religion has been on the wane! Indeed, the State has now replaced the Church in many ways, with presidents and prime ministers increasingly viewed as high priests of an institution looked to by a growing crowd for their salvation. Previously dependent upon assistance from compliant religious heads to keep their flock subservient, the State has become so powerful that it no longer needs major religion to attain widespread loyalty!
The increasing hope placed by the great majority in an all-powerful State to deliver them from all of life's growing perils will resolve into a monstrosity being planned for many years- world government! But, as foretold in the Book of Revelation, the biblical Wild Beast will first turn against the Harlot (false religion portrayed as a prostitute) leaving her desolate and devour her flesh (earthly followers), also that during that time no one will be able to buy or sell - except those with the mark of the Beast!
Today, the belief that mankind must be controlled for our own good is strong among a large majority! For them the only question is who holds the reins, not the fact that a whip is applied - they will get their wish as the State achieves its zenith- problem is, the outcome will be unlike anything hoped for!
Tomorrow, those who survive the coming tyranny will learn that we are often our own worst enemy! Men treated like animals by being caged and controlled over time become animals. Instead of trying to abolish pain we must respect the right of individual choice so that people can 'reap what they sow'!
100 years after Marx's insightful quote, noted economist/author Ludwig von Mises in his 1944 work Omnipotent Government popularized a still new phrase, worship (or idolatry) of the State- Statolatry! Conditioned from youth to see love for the State of their birth as the highest ideal, outstripping even their love for fellow man, generations of schoolchildren mindlessly reciting the Pledge of Allegiance have grown to adulthood, many brainwashed into elevating the Almighty State to the status of a God. Abetted by those of a traditionally religious mindset who (in like vein to crusaders of earlier times) see an opportunity to gain control of State machinery to enforce their own religious views on society, an unholy alliance formed, conveying false legitimacy to a manmade institution based on brute force!
At the same time State power has shown unequaled growth, organized religion has been on the wane! Indeed, the State has now replaced the Church in many ways, with presidents and prime ministers increasingly viewed as high priests of an institution looked to by a growing crowd for their salvation. Previously dependent upon assistance from compliant religious heads to keep their flock subservient, the State has become so powerful that it no longer needs major religion to attain widespread loyalty!
The increasing hope placed by the great majority in an all-powerful State to deliver them from all of life's growing perils will resolve into a monstrosity being planned for many years- world government! But, as foretold in the Book of Revelation, the biblical Wild Beast will first turn against the Harlot (false religion portrayed as a prostitute) leaving her desolate and devour her flesh (earthly followers), also that during that time no one will be able to buy or sell - except those with the mark of the Beast!
Today, the belief that mankind must be controlled for our own good is strong among a large majority! For them the only question is who holds the reins, not the fact that a whip is applied - they will get their wish as the State achieves its zenith- problem is, the outcome will be unlike anything hoped for!
Tomorrow, those who survive the coming tyranny will learn that we are often our own worst enemy! Men treated like animals by being caged and controlled over time become animals. Instead of trying to abolish pain we must respect the right of individual choice so that people can 'reap what they sow'!
The State Is Our Church
Social Conservative Pharisees
In Defense of the Second Amendment
Submit and Obey - the False God of Statism
Religion and Politics: The Case for Their Divorce
The Virtue of Dissent: A New Concept of Moralism
Government Security is Just Another Kind of Violence
MOTHER, SHOULD I TRUST THE GOVERNMENT?
Saturday, December 29, 2012
The Legends Supporting the American Religion
Religion and Legend
Religion (noun)
1. A set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
In this article, I intend to explore the legends underlying the American religion. By American religion, I mean to suggest the belief by a large segment of the population in the structures and institutions of government, and the belief that these structures and institutions are used for purposes beneficial to the people. In other words, the religion is belief in the benevolence of the state and the goodness of the political leaders.
Legend (noun)
1. A non-historical or unverifiable story handed down by tradition from earlier times and popularly accepted as historical.
2. The body of stories of this kind, especially as they relate to a particular people, group, or clan….
There are several American legends that either support this religious belief directly, or otherwise contribute to the deification of the state and those who act through it. Such legends, taught in the public schools and perpetuated through various mainstream media outlets – movies, books, and magazines, as well as mainstream web-sites – create a common foundation as the basis for the desired religious belief: belief in the state.
Legends are material to be moulded, and not facts to be recorded.
Many have done valuable to work toward the shattering of one or more of the key legends, thereby contributing to the loss of faith in the religion. These efforts can only be beneficial to freedom. The work of shattering these legends is the work of revisionist historians, although not all revisionists support the idea of shattering the religion of state. Such historians have toiled tirelessly from the inception of each legend, yet many worked in relative obscurity. Certainly the internet has made their work easily available to any who care to look.
Legends die hard. They survive as truth rarely does.
There are many such legends in American history. I will explore three of these, and suggest that these three may be the most foundational due to the magnitude of awareness in and acceptance by the population at large – most importantly, due to the importance of these legends to the foundation of the American religion. Proximity in time, I suggest, is not the key criteria – one event occurred 150 years ago, while the most recent is only ten years old. But what these three cases hold in common is the level to which the legends have been internalized by large portions of the population.
Sometimes legends make reality, and become more useful than the facts.
A major impediment to shattering the legends is that such action runs full-force into a brick wall of “we the people.” Too many accept the idea that “they” are the government; that the people are in charge; that the government and the country are the same; that I vote, so I have control. As opposed to control through dictators and kings (where the self-interest of the rulers at the expense of the people was never in question), representative democracy has done a wonderful job of convincing the people that they are the rulers, choosing politicians to work on their behalf for their good.
Because they have been taught to believe that they and the government are one-and-the-same, they cannot accept that the legends are not only false but shed light on the murderous actions of government. They cannot damn themselves. Additionally, they cannot accept that the legends are false, because to do so will suggest that they have been dupes.
When the legends die, the dreams end; there is no more greatness.
I do not intend to refute each legend in detail in this post – I am not qualified to do so, even if I chose to. My purpose is to suggest the three that I view as the more important legends to burst, specifically because they are so deeply ingrained and hold significant sway as basis for the religion.
No comments:
Post a Comment