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?
Yeah life's a bitch and then you die.
Looks like all was fine as long as the Libertarians felt they had a place to trash the government, to proclaim the superiority of their way over any possible other-party person in the White House and they felt their agenda was the main purpose of this forum.
Now Clinton is gone and Bush is the president. They cannot stand the fact that we have a strong man as president and people like him. They want to trash this non-Libertarian president and resent the fact that Jim has come to see that getting rid of Democrats does more to return to conservatism than just talking of the good old days.
IMHO Jim is a patriotic American that stands WITH his country and its leaders as they fight terrorists. He sees the type man we have in the White House and understands that Bush is handling the hardest job a president could have - an attack on our homeland and the resulting war against shadowy groups all over the world.
Under these conditions, the Liberatarians come across as not being on the team in support of this country as it fights for its survival. They resent feeling that they are no longer in control of FreeRepublic since more and more people realizing that the democrats are really dangerous are becoming involved.
The Liberatarians are left with a belly full of complaints, rants and hatred for their government while all others are jumping on the Bush bandwagon in the fight to take this country back from the democrats and fight terrorists seeking to kill us.
Weren't you one of those on "the other" complaining about not being able to speak freely? Now you want to prevent others from speaking freely because things are not going like you like.
Maybe we don't speak in the manner you and the complainers wish. Therefore, we must be stopped. Only those of pure wisdom in the Libertarian/hate government/hate law genre should be allowed to rant and rave all they want.
Maybe you need to join the Anti-War crowd or the "America is to blame for all bad things in the world" groups. Such a pity that you are stuck in this pitiful excuse for a country.
He's my hero. Who wants to die with a lot of money?
LOL!
Selling newspapers to customers at the McDonald's drive-thru is not a corporation. Quit exaggerating.
When did we start having this crisis of AM bias and oppression ... specifically those moderators that the GED Orcs around here somehow were able to identify precisely by ... their ... uh ... screen name? Late May? LOL
BadJoe controlled the administration of cash inflows around here. Now he doesn't. Joe can stick it.
You did. OK, what are YOUR bona fides. You're "dirtboy" LMAO. LIOA!
And funny how mixing 'religion and politics' at a so-called "conservative forum suddenly offended the sensibilities of one too many upper hierarchal FR policy-makers.
Yes!
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