Topic: History of Liberty in America
Re-assume Your Responsibility or Take Your Punishment Opinion around the world concerning the level of responsibility of the average American for the actions of the federal government is changing. After receiving a pass for decades, the citizens of other countries are beginning to hold us accountable for what is being done in our name.by Ken D. Berry, MD
(libertarian)
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The American People have shirked their duty and squandered their power almost from the beginning. We are not speaking here of government officials or business leaders, but of the common man and woman on the street. For decades, the citizenry of other countries, being in love with the American Ideal, have given the American people a pass as being either too powerless or too innocent to be held accountable. This has been changing for the past few years, accelerating with the Islamic uprising(s), and this acceleration is accelerating. Soon, the American Citizen will be held accountable in fact for their government's actions.
On my latest business trip to northern Italy I found myself were I often do, in a semi-heated, informal debate with a group of foreign peers concerning what is wrong with the world in general, and America in particular. My usual opening question to get things started is something like, "So what do regular Italians REALLY think of America?" This question is always met with a quite circumspection by those within hearing as they wonder if I'm serious, and whether I really want the answer(s). Regular Italians are a little more formal and a lot more polite than the average American, so their answers are metered and muted, initially. They usually put out a feeler question or two about where I'm from and what I do. Learning that I am a physician usually has a calming effect on the situation and they warily begin to open up.
The average American never hears what these Italians think about such questions. Mainstream media, pundits nor politicians seem to think it important to discuss what intelligent, caring citizens of other countries think about the goings-on in America. If we will but look, such discussions hold up a mirror, showing us a reflection that we might very well like to ignore, but had better scrutinize. Do not take me for an internationalist, or a one-worlder. I am a red-blooded American and think multi-country blending such as our Supreme Court justices taking foreign law into consideration while deciding domestic cases, noxious. However, the perception of logical adults from other nations is a barometer of the American condition; the pressure is rising and must be attended to.
In such conversations, one is often given a quick primer on the actual behavior of our federal government in places we do not often think about, like Germany, Cuba, and Iran. The arrogance and cruelty of OUR federal government's foreign policies is quickly apparent to those of us who sit quietly and listen to the narrative as it grows louder and more animated. For decades, the beauty of the American Ideal has rightfully intoxicated the people of other countries (not the leaders, as much) and has thus far induced them not to blame the American citizen at large. This feeling was given voice after the tragedy of September 11th by the near-unanimous cry of the western world, "We are all Americans!" The world wanted to rally around us but was soon repelled by our Departments of State and Defense (Offense) and their actions. The positive attitude of the world regarding the American people has been changing for a variety of reasons, and may soon fade altogether.
Many who have been awakened by the egregious actions of the current administration naively believe these are the actions and consequences of Bush/Cheney alone. Actually, America's federal government has been violating human rights and human nature abroad for well over a hundred years, and citizens of other countries have been quite patient with us. Since there have been multi-national corporations and a profit to be made, there have been abuses and atrocities. Foreign policy has been more in line with the corporate charter than with the Constitution. Awareness of such events of late is more acute to some of us due to proximity and the possible consequences that are starting to accumulate. The internet and a budding new awareness of our government's behavior make it more possible than ever to be aware of what is being done in our (your) name. The compound question is quickly becoming, "What must be done, and who must do it?" The answer is lots, and You. What is the take-home message from my acquaintances in Italy? The world has had about enough of an empire marauding in the deceptive robes of freedom and liberty; of promising one thing and doing a very different thing.
Many of us are aware of the either factual or mythical question and answer at the close of the constitutional convention between a woman and Founder Ben Franklin:
Woman: Well, Doctor, what have we gota Republic or a Monarchy? Franklin: A Republic, if you can keep it. (Yes, you personally)
This exchange makes plain either the explicit instruction or the implicit will of the Founders, that this Republic is ultimately policed by The People, and that they are ultimately responsible for its actions and its well-being. Again, buried deeper in the Declaration of Independence than most Americans ever read:
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government (Again, that's you)
Further down, and much more powerfully:
it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security (And again, Your duty)
Rarely before in our history has this concept been more imperative. Never before has this medicine been more bitter, or more needed. What many are beginning to realize is that at some point the guns and deeds which used to be pointed outward, have been turned inward upon us. The surveillance that was once used against the enemy in Moscow is now being used against your neighbor; the propaganda that was once used against the Vietnamese is now being used in your neighborhood; and the subtle fear once felt only by the enemies of our country is now being experienced by you and yours.
The time for sarcasm, apathy and limp-wristedness is quickly lapsing. Our country and ideals which once were regarded so highly in the world that books were written and statues carved in dedication has seen its estimation in the eyes of the world plummet. Perhaps George Bush does not care about his approval rating, but the world's opinion of the American people must be cared about. It is hard to love that which you do not know, but it is easy to lose it nonetheless. Either we will stand and speak loudly of reform, and alteration, and perhaps even of throwing off, or we will not. The taste of vigorous action may be more palatable than the consequences of doing nothing.
If you do not know enough yet to love the American ideal, then learn; if you do not hear our reputation being besmirched beyond repair, then listen; if you do not want to be complicit in snuffing the world's Light of Liberty, then act.
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The views expressed in this
article are those of Ken D. Berry, MD only and do not represent
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I enjoyed your article Dr. Derry. The problem is a chain is only as stong as its weakest link. I imagine it wasn't as much of a problem during the time of our founders. Today, stupidity can spread at the speed of light (although, admittedly, it also allows for easier access to government doings) as opposed to speed of horse.
Good article but it's coming a bit late. My question to the author is "where have you been for all the time when your country's reputation started to be eroded?"
I have a great respect to Paul Findley, ex US congressman ,who lost his seat because he dared to speak up.
He was an early bird in defending the pillars of justice and liberty in America. As opposed to your article, he attacked the root cause of evil: Zionism. I suggest reading his decade old book "They (zionists) dare to speak up".
Other early birds are Paul Craig Roberts, a fine American who has been for years now trying to explain to the American people that American foreign policy has been hijacked and if nothing will be done, America itself will be at great risk.
Michael Collins Piper in his last Piper Report of 2008 put it so well.
Piper in his own words: "The same people who are trying to murder the people of Gaza are the same people who are trying to murder Liberty in America".
You can download his entire show here:
http://216.240.133.177/archives32/Piper/2008/12/Piper_1_123008_200000.mp3
Thanks for the article, I would say it's a step in the right direction.
LeBlanc, Canada
Response to Article by Dr. Ken Berry on Fourth Party-
EXCELLENT piece --- it shows a maturity of perspective that is far too often lacking these days. And the LACK of that sort of perspective is what has MIS"led" "us" into the "economic" and "political" MESS in which "we" now find "our"selves, and into which "we" have now dragged the whole "globalized" (largely by "us") world.
I submit that the PRIMARY thing this nation needs to do to in order to REDEEM itself and reclaim as much as may still be possible of its former, once-proud "world reputation" WOULD BE TO GET BUSY AND NOW PLAY A LEADING ROLE IN TACKLING THE HUGE TECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGE THAT IS NOW LOOMING AT HAND --- which, I submit, could ultimately lead to the answers to EVERYONE'S problems (including "OUR" OWN most immediate needs).
The IMMUTABLE REALITY that DOMINATES this era is that "we" are now (ALL of us) at the CUSP of a MONUMENTAL "SEA CHANGE" IN THE HISTORY OF HUMAN TECHNOLOGY!
We know now that our most remote ancestors were animals living by gathering fruit in the treetops of the jungles, that some of them came down and extended their territory to the land, and that some of THEM learned to use (and even MAKE) simple tools for purposes of hunting OTHER ANIMALS for food. And THAT was the FIRST "Grand Paradigm Change".
All that while, "man" had only the power of his/her own muscles. But it also came to pass that eventually "man" STRUCK UP AN ALLIANCE WITH THE COW --- from which not only MEAT, but also MILK could be obtained --- and also THE CHICKEN, for EGGS, and THE HORSE for TRANSPORTATION. And thereafter, some even learned to HARNESS large animals, using their strength to enable "us" to PLANT things, and thus it was that AGRICULTURE came to be invented. THAT was the NEXT "Grand Paradigm Change".
Now that was as far as things went for MORE thousands of years, until the time came when "man" eventually learned to build STEAM ENGINES, which gave rise to the "Industrial Revolution". These soon came to be powered by "fossil fuels", which are the leftover remains of living things from earlier eons. Of those, COAL was the most abundant, and has long been and is STILL used for MOST "STATIONARY" engines. And THAT was the NEXT "Grand Paradigm Change". But for some purposes (most notably early LIGHTING), and especially for MOBILE engines, LIQUID fuels have great advantage. And "man" learned to extract and harness OIL, which has come to be the MAINSTAY of our entire VEHICULAR fleet.
Now that has been the "order of things" for the last 150 years --- which is longer than the living memory of ANY of us, so it SEEMS to "us" (incorrectly) that that is the way things have ALWAYS been. The first oil well was drilled in Pennsylvania in 1859. It wasn't very deep, and its yield was used to provide OIL FOR LAMPS. (That early oil SAVED THE WHALES --- which would probably otherwise have been hunted to extinction by a whaling industry that SOON WENT BELLY UP! And perhaps also of interest to some, it also saved the GALAPAGOS TORTOISES --- which, because they could long survive in the holds of the ships without food or drink, were captured and used as the MEAT supply for long whaling voyages --- it is sometimes quite odd how things interact with other things.)
In the 1880s it came to pass that a German engineer by the name of Karl Benz INVENTED THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE --- which eventually became the basis for "our" "modern" vehicular technology. (Probably not very many people here remember his full name --- but he had a beloved GRANDDAUGHTER who IS remembered today the world over. Her name was MERCEDES!)
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Our problem TODAY, though, is that THE OIL RESOURCE IS FINITE. And though there is still a LOT of the stuff elsewhere in the world, the remaining reserves ARE QUITE UNEVENLY DISPERSED. "We" here in the US certainly had a generous share. But having STARTED using up "ours" sooner than most --- and having been really quite PROFLIGATE about doing so --- "we" here HAVE NOW ALREADY CONSUMED ABOUT 70% OF "OUR" PROVIDENTIAL ENDOWMENT --- much more than the fraction used up by many others.
Now "we" actually KNOW all of that for FACT --- because it came to be understood by a PETROLEUM ENGINEER by the name of HUBBERT, working back in the '60s already, utilizing the then-newly-emerging computer technology that made it possibly to apply computationally-intensive statistical analytical methods to an extent not previously practicable, was able to INFER from data on PAST discoveries of oil, A ROUGH ESTIMATE OF HOW MUCH MORE OIL THERE WAS OUT THERE WAITING TO BE FOUND!
He applied his methods to the data that was available back then, and came up with the alarming conclusion that the world WOULD RUN OUT OF OIL BY ABOUT 1995! And needless to say, THAT thought provoked all manner of consternation among oil company managerial types (and others). So people got very busy looking for more oil.
Now they had two new technologies that DID INDEED enable them to find quite a bit more. It being the ‘60s, one was SATELLITE SURVEILLANCE of the Earth: it was possible to do comparison surveys (in different ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum) of regions where oil HAD been found and other regions that had not been thoroughly explored. And they also devised means to MAP OUT STRUCTURES DOWN INSIDE THE EARTH: the same ideas as those familiar to most people today in the form of medical ultrasound used to visualize a fetus in the womb were ALSO applied.
They thereby managed to push "judgment day" back about 40 years or so --- BUT THAT IS ABOUT AS FAR AS IT CAN BE PUSHED. Moreover, "OUR" OWN "easy" oil reserves, in particular, ARE KNOWN TO NOW BE LARGELY USED UP. The remaining 30% is to be found only in LOW-CAPACITY "STRIPPER"WELLS that produce just a few barrels a day (by comparison to huge fields elsewhere where wells may come in at THOUSANDS of barrels a day), or UNDER WATER, or SOMEWHERE NORTH OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE, or WAY DEEP. The largest known reserve of "easy" oil remaining here in this country is a very-big-sounding 4-BILLION-BARREL reserve up in the Dakotas. But the problems are (1) that is ONLY ABOUT A HALF-YEAR’S SUPPLY for this country, and (2) it is FOUR MILES DOWN!
That is, "our" remaining reserves are QUITE EXPENSIVE TO "PRODUCE". THAT is why "Drill, Baby Drill" IS ACTUALLY A PIPE DREAM! And THAT is also why it has SEEMED economically "cheaper" to import the stufff from elsewhere --- especially if you DELUDE yourself to the effect that the HUGE costs of "military operations" such as those mounted in Iraq and elsewhere to "subjugate" "insurgents" in order to "defend access" to it somehow do not count as "costs of production" of the oil ON WHICH YOU HAVE BECOME ADDICTIVELY DEPENDENT!
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So, folks, it is "crunch time". And "we" ARE OPERATING IN UNCHARTED TERRITORY. The LAST great "Technological Paradigm Change" was back before the end of the horse and buggy era, and NONE OF US WAS AROUND TO EXPERIENCE THAT! So "we" are ON OUR OWN. We need to get SERIOUS about devising and implementing ALTERNATIVES --- which DO exist, and HAVE BEEN being "investigated" FOR A VERY LONG TIME NOW ALREADY.
If THIS country --- which actually stands in the position of having the GREATEST and MOST IMMEDIATE need --- would get busy and ACTUALLY TAKE THE LEAD, then THAT, I submit, would go a LONG way toward redeeming the sins of "King" Georgie and his Crackpot Cabal of NeoConMen, and their predecessors (of BOTH political "parties"), all the way back to Ronnie Ray-Gun (who SQUELCHED the early "green" initiatives that had been undertaken by his predecessor). Then maybe "we" could hold "our" heads up again in the world.
Posted By: Jahfre Fire Eater
Date: 2009-01-08 23:10:58
Hi Ken,
I sure hope the American Citizen ducks when the French start hurling tomatoes. :-)
I don't share your concern for what (some people in) other countries think of Americans. I also work with a group of international colleagues. None of them are holding me responsible for anything our government has done. They don't interact with me as The American Citizen, but as an individual.
I hold myself accountable for my actions and don't give a hoot what anyone else, foreigners or countrymen might have to say about it. They are welcome to their opinions but ... I believe that if the shoe doesn't fit, I'm not obligated to wear it for one collectivist group think moment.
I appreciate your passion, I just don't buy the collectivist BS. However, a lot of others will get similarly worked up over your words and agree with you wholeheartedly. That's great.
The only problem is that all you say is to "act." Everyone is already acting. Most have no idea how to judge if their actions are helping or harming their goals. As a result, a lot of futile, wasted activity is done for the sake of people feeling good about themselves. They fill every day with this and that but seldom manage to become more effective over time because they just keep repeating the same useless patterns as their kindred spirits have throughout the ages.
You had them all foaming at the mouth and didn't follow through by telling them what to do and why. Instead you offered a lame platitude about the "taste of vigorous action". That is the same atitude as Congress with their "do something" approach to every new situation they face. Say...are you sure you're an M.D. and not a politician...I suppose you could be both like Dr. Paul. :-)
If you want to preach to your choir then the lofty platitudes, generalizations and collectivist phrases are just fine. If you want to capture the attention of a free thinking individual you have to find a way to connect as an individual. As long as the consequences of one's actions promote their stated goals who cares what other people think about it? The key is to decide what one wants to accomplish and set about acting in ways that work toward that goal.
The point I'm trying to make is that there might not be a taste of vigorous action, it might be dull drudgery or uncomfortable social interactions for a lifetime but if those are the actions that best promote one's goals, the taste is irrelevant and the opinions of others are as well.
Nice. Left out our main problem (another)though - Population explosion and the consumption and destruction it brings - and the Emperor has no clothes laissez faire treatment this subjust gets.
To even bring it up you are deemed evil to not advocate having as many babies as one wants.
Also reprobate is subject of consumming less - and that business, industry, population and economies CANT grow forever. Growth is the guilded calf.
Everyone I know is upper middle class college educated people who say they are environmental. NONE of them turn off lights. ALL drive new big SUVs. ALL consume and vote without regard to pollution, those less fortunate or our future world.
Not that SUVs are bad - we just ALL drive too much - without much thought. Like heating our houses too much. No one ever opens windows anymore. And No One is wondering what our purchases mean in manufacture and mining and dumping toxins in the ocean.
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