Unfree Republic

Let the stench of Middle East flesh reach Paradise reassuring them that these filth have gone to hell permanently."

The quote above is representative of many posted on the FreeRepublic.com site in the wake of the WTC attack, and unfortunately its like is not uncommon elsewhere. Americans are angry, predictably and rightly so, but just as predictable are the side effects. As always, that righteous anger will be accepted as a beloved gift by the state and molded into tools of oppression.

It’s funny how that works. Every single state-sponsored war the US has become embroiled in has resulted in an inexorable increase in the power of the state.

It’s also funny that it’s always assumed that human behavior in the past has no relation to how we behave today. Why those people were old-fashioned, we’re modern, educated, etc.

The beginning of this repeating pattern has already become public with the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security. It has an ominous sound, that name, almost Germanic. (I can’t wait to see the uniforms.)

On April 13, 1917, days after our entry into World War One, President Wilson created the Committee on Public Information to promote the war domestically while publicizing American war aims abroad. Bush has replicated that step, with this new cabinet-level department.

Under the leadership of journalistic muckraker George Creel, the CPI was a propaganda apparatus unparalleled at that point in world history. The CPI functioned as a de facto public censor, vetting nearly all published material about the war and helping to draft legislation such as the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918. In the months prior to our entry into the war and especially after our entry when they were nearly criminal, antiwar viewpoints were rarely heard.

The same pattern emerges now: Penn. Gov. Tom Ridge will be President Bush’s George Creel, and just as in those dim days of yesteryear, he’ll have plenty of willing civilian accomplices. And after all, there’s so much more to censor -- Ridge will need all the help he can get. In seeking warriors for the front line of Internet censorship, Ridge needs look no farther than FreeRepublic.com. The atmosphere there is now poisonous.

Again, look back to Wilson's CPI. It encouraged businesses to spy on their employees, parents to spy on their children, children to spy on their parents, neighbors to spy on neighbors, and above all to report "disloyal," pro-German sentiments. State authorities banned the teaching of German in schools and changed German street names. As the madness mounted, those regarded as pro-German were hounded from their jobs, pressured to change their German names, beaten, and in a few cases lynched. Almost all cases of violence, while incited by the state, were carried out by "civilians" in the grip of war hysteria.

Along with this anti-German hysteria, Congress passed several measures designed to rigidly suppress criticism of the war. In particular, the Espionage Act, passed in June 1917, specified a fine of $10,000 or twenty years in prison for "whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully obstruct the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States, and whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully utter, print, write, or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United States, or the military or naval forces of the United States, or the flag."

The Espionage Act was very popular in its day. It was cheered on by mindless lemmings under the influence of state propaganda. Their great grandchildren now inhabit FreeRepublic.com, viciously attacking anyone who questions the wisdom of the state.

Our Congress is considering similar measures under the rubric of "anti-terrorism," and as it was at the beginning of the 20th Century, the FreeRepublic lemmings of the 21st are cheering the morally corrupt politicians along.

It’s not just message posters on the site. The management of FreeRepublic has instituted a "loose lips sink ships" campaign, with new moderators patrolling the forum to delete posts that in their opinion are detrimental to the "war effort."

The FreeRepublic mission statement claims "We're working to roll back decades of governmental largesse, to root out political fraud and corruption, and to champion causes which further conservatism in America."

Sanctimonious hogwash. Everything old is new again – the keyboard warriors of FreeRepublic would be right at home in 1917 shilling for Wilson.

Jeff Elkins is a freelance consultant and writer living in North Central Florida. His personal website is located at www.elkins.org.

Jim and all,

The last two weeks have been very trying for everyone not only here at FR but across the country (and in other parts of the world), of course.

My personal observation is that a good deal of the hostility which arises frequently has been due to the belief of many well-meaning conservatives, Republicans in particular, that virtually all of our ills can be laid at the foot of Clinton's two terms. Though FR certainly carries its share of debate on prior events -- most particularly the War Between the States -- there is a genuinely myopic view which is bolstered by the popularity of several other sites that capitalized on strong anti-Clinton sentiment for the last five years or so.

Having met more than a few drug warriors here, I'm quite aware that the traditional wisdom completely fails to acknowledge the part the US and certain allies have played over the last 50+ years in the problems that plague us today. And this includes what we are now calling fanatical fundamental Islamic terrorism.

I have seen some of the most admirable people, JimRob included, who are willing to cut off all sense of history in order to preserve the ideal that we have been unjustly attacked. Of course civilian casualties are a horror. But civilians by the millions have suffered during the last 5 decades and more outside of our shores and all too often because of our policies. Not the least, the manner in which Bolshevik revolution was received and supported up to sometime after WWII -- when a Cold War became the preferable dogma.

To enumerate those who've suffered -- from Asia to the Mid East to the Balkans to South/Central America and more -- would never suffice for the die-hard denier. To reiterate the drug and human trafficking which flourished in tandem with our "allies"; the covert funding, training, supplying of weapons which killed others before being turned on us; to recount the human torture carried out by our "partners"; not to mention the human experiments and psychological operations conducted here within our own boundaries ... well, I perfectly well understand why so few of us want to retrospect and would prefer to genuflect to the flag and the holy offices it apparently represents.

Problem is, that's not only blasphemous but a might big assumption by this time. Yeah, I can see why long ago America appeared to be favored by God. Not sure that's the case anymore. The "shining city on a hill" is a nice appeal but the reality is that there has been a lot of dirty work as well. There is a heck of a lot of unrighteousness here with US, and it has spread tentacles throughout the world.

In simplistic terms, the 9-11 attacks have been characterized as a no-brainer: these guys hate us pure and simple because we're good, we're better, we're world-winners and they're nothing but trashy losers seduced by a religious view that ought to be stamped out. Well, it seems to me that there's a lot to question about that equation, and I'm certainly not pro-Islamic per se. Neither am I in favor of apocalypse (holy war-crusade) that threatens much of the earth's population today in order to magically produce some world order that has its roots in neo-mystical beliefs not all that dissimilar to Hitler's Third Reich. First of all, by this time, I'm not entirely sure the US is favored in this game -- and I do mean, GAME.

Do you understand how many terrorists have been created by the US and Britain (even Paris); harbored by them; funded by them; touted by them; protected by them. What about terrorists and murderers who have fled to Israel, which won't extradite them? Or the Jewish terrorists here in the US that somehow got off on technicalities. (And no, they aren't the *only* ones, but the point is that anti-terrorism has never been a serious goal -- just as the drug war has never been serious or most other "policy" that makes problems bigger than they were). So obviously the pap from D.C. is out of one side of the mouth ... again.

Are we on the verge of the Fourth Reich? Only time will tell. But in the meantime, let's please not Rush to judgment when we don't have all the facts.

Whoever planned and carried out the 9-11 undoubtedly deserves punishment. However, they are still puppets to global agendas. It's amazing how that gets lost in the anger on all sides. If you (generically speaking) aren't interested and willing to discover how we became the Great Satan, then there is a scripture to recall: woe to you. Hubris is always unbecoming, no matter what god it appeals to.

I do agree that loose lips sink ships and have no idea why anyone would post strategic information.

"Well, our nation is under attack by foreign powers. What do you suggest? Letting them bomb our cities at will? Murder our citizens by the thousands? Gonna turn the other cheek? Gonna negotiate with terrorists? Going to appease the cold-blooded murderers? Join the Peaceniks? Protest against your own country during wartime? Ally with Hanoi Jane? Dodge the draft? Run off to Candada? Collaborate with the enemy? Commit treason? We are at war and like the man said, you are either with US or with them. Which will it be? "

I had always thought of you as a fair man who stood back at a distance to analyze a situation and then come up with a thoughtful and reasoned response. For some reason there are many here who can not separate the Idea of Anti-war from the Idea of being Anti-Socialist. How does this help us win this war against these terrorists ? Sure we can throw away everything FR ever was in the war effort, but what does that do for the country ? In this day and age there is one thing for certain. Once you lose a freedom, or a right...You will not get it back. Not ever! The socialists are licking their lips at what they are going to get accomplished in the name of Protecting us from these terrorists. Few if any of those administrative attacks against our freedoms will make the slightest bit of difference to our safety. They will simply reduce our ability to defend ourselves from those who have no respect for a single word of our founding documents. They will kill the very opposition that FR used to represent.

Being an American military person is a great Honor. Not only do they defend their country, but they defend the greatest and best country to ever exist. They defend our Bill of Rights and our Constitution. With out those documents we never would have been anything special in the world. And without those who fought and gave their life for those documents then we would not even exist. The documents and the defenders go hand in hand. One without the other has little meaning. Surely both can exist together. Surely we should defend not only from invasion of foreign army's, but also from those that would invade the documents that make us great. I do not believe that the fight against socialism detracts from the activity's of our troops. I do not believe that anyone who is fighting socialism for the good of their country would not support our troops with even more of their hearts. I do not think that we have in our hearts what those in the 60's had in their hearts. They were the socialists that we now fight. May God not only protect our borders, but also the documents that made us great.

Why did you choose to reply to #445 (though your reply was unfortunately not well-reasoned but rather a pump for the bomb squad) rather than my #444? I don't have a problem with the oft-stated fact that this is a private site that belongs to you, so it's a prerogative as to what info is going to be promoted.

Yet I am confounded by the infernal works going on for so long, not only unnoticed but sometimes even applauded by some of the most honest folks around. How does this square with the real work being done in your name, here and abroad?

Speak for yourself, Jim. But I have become ashamed by what is done. Not only in government but also the "private sector" -- that which is usually a siamese twin to government and banking interests. It is a miracle that FR even exists. Frankly, I don't expect such miracles in the future.

Have you really thought about and weighed the costs in relation to where US is today? Does God approve of what has been done in your name and mine?

I empahsize again: this is a GAME and the world is at stake, IMO. When once we had favor, there is no guarantee anymore. Things change. And even if we (US) gain another temprary advantage through the arm of flesh, that is just another weight against US in the long run. I wish it were not so.

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