Like it or not, we have been played by one of the oldest strategies known to man: Divide and Conquer. In essence, it is our own damn fault. by EJ Moosa
(libertarian)
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Like it or not, we have been played by one of the oldest strategies known to man: Divide and Conquer. In essence, it is our own damn fault.
When the United States has been attacked externally, we have always pulled together enough to overcome that attack. But what about when we are attacked from within, and the attack is against the very fundamental principles our nation is built upon?
We, the People, could never be divided and conquered as long as we adhered to the Constitutional Principles we have agreed to live by. But, along the path of time, we have allowed ourselves to be divided into special interests that ironically, all clamor back to the Constitution as proof positive that we have certain inalienable rights. We just do not do it together.
On the other side is a relentless mob who wants it all. They have no deadlines. They use concepts such as consensus, bi-partisanship, and other methodologies to manipulate those of principle to compromise.
Those of us that want the Constitution followed are to blame. We have stopped locking arms with people using the First Amendment,defending their right to say something even if we disagree. We have said "There oughta be a law" against this or that. "For the kids" has often been the rallying cry.
We have fallen victim to accepting 2nd amendment intrusions under the guise of common sense. Who needs a gun in a coffee shop? Who needs a gun at church? Who needs a gun on campus? And so those that would prefer not to carry, who may be agnostic about carrying, effectively shun the Constitution, turning their backs on those why believe in the Second Amendment, allowing us to be divided and conquered.
We have allowed the 4th Amendment to be watered down. No longer are we safe from unlawful search and seizure. We have been scared into accepting body scans and searches in the normal course of our daily routines. And for those who fight for our 4th amendment rights, we are told that if we are doing nothing wrong we have nothing to worry about. We are often told this by those who we know believe strongly in other amendments yet are willing to let this one go. We are once again divided and conquered. Our own fault.
What about the 5th amendment? All around us we read stories of people losing their property via eminent domain. What of the bondholders of GM and Chrysler? Are we working diligently to support those who have lost their properties to government ambition? Are we voting out the folks that use eminent domain against private citizens for the wrong reasons? If you do not work to protect property rights of individuals, it is not a great leap to destroy the rights of individuals.
The 9th and 10th amendments are as crucial as the 1st and 2nd. Yet, they are probably the least understood. I encourage you look them up. Learn them. They are going to be the last line of defense against a tyrannical Federal Government.
My point is that if you are not willing to support all of the Constitution, you may as well support none of it. Because a minority, a mob, a consensus, can indeed strip us of all of our freedoms by dividing us into special interests and then removing the rights one by one. It's happening today. It has been happening for decades. Divide and conquer.
And it does not matter what their motivation is. Be it socialism, communism, Marxism, collectivism, or simply that we can do it better than the private sector. The result is the same.
You will lose your right to the control of your life. Your individual freedoms will be gone. You will be forced to conform to the will of the majority.
The only solution is that you must be Pro-Constitution, even if you dislike some of the things that are done with those freedoms. That's what freedom is. And you will dislike many of the things that are done. But are you really willing to give up your freedoms to control someone else?
Not me. Not now. Not ever.
If you find yourself saying "there should be a law" for someone's behavior that does not put you at risk of physical harm, you have already slipped onto that slippery slope. And there is a huge segment out there willing to help you with that. And they are in not one, but both main political parties.
They have already been helping with our 1st, 2nd, 4th,5th, 9th and 10th amendments. It's why we will now be required to buy health insurance, according to their standards.
The Divide and Conquer crowd know how to defeat us. They are doing so very effectively. It's up to you to halt this. You must support ALL of the Constitution because without it we are slaves to the majority.
We have a methodology for changing the Constitution if We, the People choose to. It's difficult, yes. But there is a reason for that. It ensures that we deliberate carefully over the action and it's results. It prevents us from bad, spur of the moment decisions.
The Divide and Conquer crowd do not choose that route for change. Up to now, it's easier to erode the support of individual amendments because they believe none of us are willing to defend the entire Constitution.
So what are you going to do? Continue to see the erosion of our rights that are individually important to you, or stand up and defend all of the rights you are entitled to?
At least for now, the choice is still yours.
Remember the old joke about how to eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
Divided and Conquered, the elephant is consumed.
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Posted By: Jahfre Fire Eater
Date: 2010-03-23 13:28:02
Hi EJ,
I think you're right. So, let's assume everyone else also agrees with you. The "waking up" is complete. Now what?
What do you suggest those who agree with you start doing today that they hadn't done before you explained this so well?
Personally, I know most folks will not do anything different no matter what they believe so I usually only address the behavior that is most constructive for those who already want to start doing something more useful. I don't care why they want that or what they believe so long as their behavior aligns with their goals in the defense of liberty.
An excellent question. And an excellent observation. Most people will not do anything different. They have been convinced that they are not part of the problem. That IS the problem.
What do I suggest people start doing today? For me to be free, I have to accept the freedom of others. They need to practice that today. It's tough.
To say that someone should be able to smoke pot or sunbathe nude or not have health insurance, even if I disagree is a great step in the right direction. There are no "victims" to these so called crimes.
When the issue is hijacked as with pot and "what if they have a car accident?", express there is a victim and there are ALREADY laws on the books to deal with accidents and negligience. We do not need addtional laws for that.
So, be tolerant of those whose behaviors you disagree with. And never ever say "there ought to be a law" for any victimless crime. Ever.
In my opinion the problem is that the American people are wholly ignorant of the constitution. They have no idea what it says or how vitally important it is for protecting our rights. Most people fall into one of two groups: One group just wants free stuff from the government. The other group can only be happy if the military is kicking the hell out of some other country, and it doesn't matter who or why. Fortunately there is a small but growing group of people who are beginning to understand the constitution.
As to what we can do now, I think the battle needs to be at the state level . 13 State Attorneys General have initiated a lawsuit against the federal government over Obamacare. And the Virginia legislature has passed a law saying that Virginians are not required to buy healthcare insurance. I've contacted my state representatives and urged them to introduce similar legislation. I hope other freedom lovers will do the same.
We should also do whatever we can to keep Democrats from getting elected to any office ever. We should support opponents of Democrats with our votes and campaign funds. Once we get rid of the Dems we need to get rid of the Republicans too, not by electing Dems but third party candidates and independents.
Your article is excellent, I most heartily agree. My two cents worth follows;
For generations now Americans have believed they could ride the Iron Mare and not pay the price. We have put treasure first, comfort before responsibility and chosen the constructed path of least resistance before honor.
Is it any wonder that the Republicans and Democrats are indistinguishable one from the other. The dolts in Congress understand that if you feed the greed and promote ignorance you acquire and maintain power. The people have now confirmed this with the election results in 08'.
I do question whether or not we fully understand the consequences of what happened Sunday in Washington. We have know lost the “Freedom of Choice” PERIOD. The 4th. Amend. has been sacked, those enumerated rights have been thrown to the ground, raped and sodomized.
The Supreme Court, Yeah, right. Someone please explain to me the difference between this health care bill and social security. I tried to opt out of social security 45 yrs. ago as a conscientious objector, joined the national taxpayers union, refused to give my SS # except for tax purposes and I still don't withhold. Do I pay my taxes? Oh! Yeah!, I'm not suicidal. Yet!
Unless enough Americans are willing to renew the Oath “Our lives, our fortunes, our sacred honor" then we will remain as we are now a failed experiment in individual liberty.
While grasping at straws, this weekend I'm going to see Glenn Beck and the judge at UCF, I am especially interested in what Judge Napolitano has to say.
I believe that we must speak directly to those persons of like mind and not bother with those who will never get it.
On Social Security: At least it had the premise that you paid in for years and years before collecting your retirement. We now know it was not truly structured that way.
Health care allows you to join immediately, and then possibly collect many times your premium in benefits. And I have seen nothing that says premiums collected will equal benefits paid. So it's just redistribution of weath from the healthy to the sick.
Excellent comments. I could not agreee more.
And now to expect the states, which have for decades bent to Federal pressures, to recoup their powers?
If I were Obama, I'd say we are going to save even more money, just as we do for student loans, and eliminate these pesky, redundant state governments and boundaries. Like business we must eliminate redundancies and put that money to more effective use.
After all, we are ALL Americans, right? (after amnesty of course)
"There ought to be a law" against politicians making more and more laws that restrict freedom or damages our constitution even further.
"There ought to be a law" that in addition to the above law, no law shall pass that is written in more than 50,000 characters. (which is about 10 times the amount of characters in the above column by EJ) That should be more than enough!
"There ought to be a law" restricting public office to no more than two terms. "There ought to be a law" limiting politician's wages to no more than 1.5 times the poverty level.
"There ought to be a law" limiting the number of laws that should be on the books at any given time to 100. So only 100 laws should run the Federal Government.
"There ought to be a law" for the removal of the IRS, DEA, FBI, Social Security, FDA, Department of Education, etc...
And last but not least:
"There ought to be a law" as follows: "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States ".
