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Our Republic and Our Free Republic
9-6-02 | Joe Phillips

Posted on 09/06/2002 8:17:16 AM PDT by BADJOE

History teaches some very good lessons. They are hard to learn but our forefathers did a great job.

From the beginning of time man has overthrown one form of centralized government only to re-establish another one in its place. Our forefathers understood this far better than anyone ever had. They said governments are the eternal enemy of free men. They said that in order for man to remain free it would take a bloody revolution every other generation, unless you bound down (bastard) government with the chains of the constitution.

On another site this week a poster asked if anyone else hated government as much as he did. I replied to him

"Hell !! I thought you were not a good American if you didn't love our country and hate our government.

At least that is how I have always felt about it"

I think our forefathers had the same attitude that I have now. And I think it is inherent in the average Americans attitude to distrust and have disdain for any government, including ours. One of the hardest conclusions I had to arrive at as a young man, after having been a product of the public school system, was that our government was not on our side. As James Forrestahl, former secretary of the Navy, who suffered a mysterious death, once said about our State Department's foreign policy, " Stupidity is never a mark of consistancy. If they were merely stupid, they would occasionally make a mistake in our favor".

Newt Gringrich put it in a humourous manner when talking about the attitude of Europeans. He related the following story. If you go to Europe and drive on the Autobahn, you feel pretty good cruising down the highway at 100 mph when some some German passes you doing 140 mph. Now he said if the Bundestag passed the 55mph speed limit law, every German would dutifully obey that law, untill the next election. They would vote the 55 mph crowd out of office and the no speed limit crowd in. In America Newt said "A speed limit sign is a benchmark of opportunity.

It is obvious that Yankees and Euros have entirely different attitudes about government's edicts. There are darn few Americans who do not break the speed limit laws everyday.

Now we come to the Free Republic. Once a free wheeling, joyful site for news and discussion of politics, economics, philosophy, ethics and morals. I could not understand the transformation that has taken place in the last six months. Camaraderie, the sense of family, and cooperation seems to have disappeared. Are the Freepers exhibiting the same disdain for the new FR as Americans have for our government?


TOPICS: Heated Discussion
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To: Ragin1
That's related to nothing.
1,581 posted on 09/06/2002 10:29:56 PM PDT by ArneFufkin
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To: Texasforever
That is VERY good. And I had never thought about it that way before. Thank you.
1,582 posted on 09/06/2002 10:30:20 PM PDT by justshe
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To: Texasforever
Drug crazed selfish liberals, Tex, get it right next time
1,583 posted on 09/06/2002 10:30:37 PM PDT by MJY1288
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Comment #1,584 Removed by Moderator

To: Texasforever
Just a minor question....

Is a 'Constitutionalist' (in your view) a 'conservative'????

redrock

1,585 posted on 09/06/2002 10:30:47 PM PDT by redrock
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To: niki
Well, you have just overwhelmed me with your handling of the English language. I'll just have to bow to your superior use of snappy phrases.
1,586 posted on 09/06/2002 10:32:57 PM PDT by Howlin
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To: Texasforever
STANDING OVATION!

BRAVO!
1,587 posted on 09/06/2002 10:32:58 PM PDT by justshe
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Comment #1,588 Removed by Moderator

To: redrock
I don't know what the hell a "constitutionalist" is beyond some self-aggrandizing, meaningless, smug label to make a few damned mal-contents feel superior when they can't put two words together to define what the hell they mean by it.
1,589 posted on 09/06/2002 10:34:22 PM PDT by Texasforever
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To: redrock
Is a 'Constitutionalist' (in your view) a 'conservative'????

Does the widdow Constitutionalist claim that speeding tickets are a 'Constitutional crisis' and that Arlington National Cemetery is a 'socialist enterprise'? Then no. They are ideologue loons, and can offer nothing to conservatism but disruption.

1,590 posted on 09/06/2002 10:34:23 PM PDT by Cultural Jihad
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To: Chad Fairbanks
Will there be photos?

 

Oh I hope not, after running into KneelbeforeZod's pics on the HTML thread, I've had enough of them lately.

Man, I spend 6 hours in the tattoist's chair tonite and come home and find out I missed out on a good catfight.  Somebody needs to let me know the schedule for these things. 

1,591 posted on 09/06/2002 10:36:01 PM PDT by FatherTorque
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To: ArneFufkin
Now, now, I was once a libertarian sort of, maybe libertarian lite I guess. I was quite agreeable back then, before I became a mean old predatory lawyer. I was a parasite though, because daddy was paying for my education, and he did it for a very loooong time, bless him.
1,592 posted on 09/06/2002 10:36:15 PM PDT by Torie
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To: ArneFufkin
Harrowup describes himself as a "liberal that likes Bush". Now, I am assuming he means the president.
1,593 posted on 09/06/2002 10:37:33 PM PDT by Texasforever
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To: Texasforever; gcruse
To: gcruse
"Nope, we can't say anything against Republican support of the drug war."


To: exodus
There are at least 3 threads per day doing that very thing. So you are a liar.
# 1494 by Texasforever

*************************

I don't lie, Texasforever.

You don't see threads criticizing Republican President Bush's support of official murder under the cover of the drug "war," like you did when Clinton was President.

What you see are a lot of Freepers being very careful to avoid any actual charges of crimes committed by any specific Republican, while stating in a general way that "the government" shouldn't be killing and abusing citizens.

1,594 posted on 09/06/2002 10:37:45 PM PDT by exodus
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To: FatherTorque
We try to arrange these for friday nights... but usually it's just luck...
1,595 posted on 09/06/2002 10:37:48 PM PDT by Chad Fairbanks
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To: Texasforever
Could you be a little more clear about how you really feel about the ankle biter (AKA) tpaine. I need a little more clearification, The first time I read it, It was so spot on, I want to hear it again :-)

Thanks in advance

1,596 posted on 09/06/2002 10:38:08 PM PDT by MJY1288
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To: Cultural Jihad
Libertarianism by nature adheres to humanist moral-liberalism. They have more in common with the Greens Party, the DNC, or the Trotskyite Spartacist League than they do with the Republican Party.

You're right about that, because the Repubs have much more in common with Dems than they do with conservatives.

1,597 posted on 09/06/2002 10:38:51 PM PDT by FatherTorque
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To: Texasforever
I belive it was that great philosopher Cheech Marin that so wisely uttered, "Man, pot should not be legal...it should be mandatory".

I think he parks his hookah over at Liberty Post.

BTW, some faithful FReepers might find it interesting to know what the average number of posts are to each thread on about a half dozen topics at Liberty Post:

Judicial . 5 (one month of threads)

Health & Science 3 . 7 (one month of threads)

News & Current Events 4 . 9 (one month of threads)

Crime & Corruption 6 . 4 (one month of threads)

Constitution & Law 8 .2 (one month of theads)

Drugs & Dope 17 . 3 (one month of threads)

Anti-FReeping 150 (one week of threads)

* * * *

I'll leave it to others to draw conclusions from these data.

1,598 posted on 09/06/2002 10:39:11 PM PDT by Kevin Curry
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To: Torie
Torie, the Libertarians here demand all their personal rights, and acknowledge no reciprocal communal responsibilty. That doesn't play in my world. It never will.
1,599 posted on 09/06/2002 10:39:17 PM PDT by ArneFufkin
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To: Texasforever
The old texas gungrabber speaks.

Your stance on our 2nd amendment makes YOU the village idiot at FR, tex.
Hard to believe you can pass yourself off as a conservative, -- till we look closely at the politics of your cultist buddies here, -- that is.
1,600 posted on 09/06/2002 10:39:55 PM PDT by tpaine
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