Posted on 09/24/2001 4:24:58 PM PDT by Rebeckie
Unfree Republic
by Jeff Elkins
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.
September 24, 2001
Yes, there are civil liberty concerns. Yes, some posters have gone over the line. However, let's not take Free Republic for more than it is. No one here is in a position of responsibility to order carpet bombings of women and children in refugee columns.
There will be innocent deaths in Afghanistan. No doubt about it. This is war. We did not start it. They did. Maybe you should email the Taliban government about their decision to harbor a man like Mr. Bin Laden. They are the ones ultimately bringing misfortune to their people, not Mr. Bush or Mr. Blair. Had they shown some concern for their country, they would've kicked Mr. Bin Laden out.
Carpet bombing women and children in Afghanistan will prevent this? National ID cards will prevent this? The new "Homeland Defense" nazi will prevent this? Just what are you saying here?
It is my recommendation to look at every angle with suspicion. This is something I learned during the Klinton Administration. What is America's current foreign policy and how does it differ from Clinton's foreign policy. I believe you'll find the differences staggeringly minute.
Regards,
Callahan
Your bud,
Darheel
"ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US."
"ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US."
As we are all very painfully aware, Osama bin Laden and his terrorist organization has made a career of killing innocent civilians all around the globe. And now his murdering cutthroats have infiltrated our society and have only one goal in mind. Kill as many of us as they can and bring the USA to its knees if possible. And they will use every manner of weapon and opportunity to do exactly that.
Now is not the time for appeasement. It is now time to kill or be killed and I believe that is what President Bush and his advisors have in mind. And I believe they intend to take the fight to the enemy. Let the blood flow on their soil and let it be their blood. It is time to destroy bin Laden and his entire terrorist network and wipe them and the governments who support them off the face of the Earth forever. It was not us who started this war, but, if God is willing, it will be us who ends it.
If you would drop your hatred of all things government for two seconds you wouldn't ask such a question.
We are now at day 13 after the attack and how many hundreds of cruise missiles have we fired? How many buildings have we blown up? How many planes have we shot down? You are so ate up with your BLIND hatred of the government you are incapable of seeing the truth of the situation.
"The new "Homeland Defense" nazi..." Man, you seriously need to get over yourself.
Whoa! I've had the news on all week and I haven't seen mention of this! When did we start? Not soon enough, imo, but then I guess we had to give them time to denounce Bin Laden if they were so willing.
As to "Homeland Defense" nazi. You figure that out too. Check Ridge's history and get back to me. See also the "government agency that wouldn't go away" while you are searching. Picture a Democrat Administration nominating a "homeland" czar.....
You getting the point?
Hey, Harry you think maybe the government faked that WTC bombing deal like they did the moon landing? Birchers can't be too careful.
This is exactly what I'm talking about here, Harry. You call people who post carpet bombing posts, and then go ahead and call Gov. Ridge a nazi. Thereby associating him with the greatest mass murders of the last century.
And yet you complain about other people's posts. Maybe you should let go of your hatred of the government for just one moment, and look objectively at your posts, versus theirs. I see no difference.
I understand you're operating under emotion, but you should immediately retract your characterization of Gov. Ridge as a nazi.
Unless they have a lot of free time on their hands at the Department of Defense, I don't think the people calling for the "total destruction of Afganistan" here on FR are making that call. Indeed, they are simply voicing their opinions; you were just defending that right not long ago.
As for your being an employee of the Department of Defense, I seriously doubt that...yet somehow you still know that we're preparing to carpet bomb women and children half way around the world. BS! You have no idea what the President is getting ready to do. You might even wish to save some of your outrage for the innocent people killed in New York 9/11...that terrorists came half way around the world to "deliberately" kill.
"Will we? Well, the order hasn't been given just yet but Congress gave Junior full authority to blow anyobody he wants to hell and back. You figure it out."
What's this Junior crap? Oh yes, the old BS that he and Gore are the two wings of the same bird, etc. Notice, the PRESIDENT hasn't blown anyone up yet.
"As to "Homeland Defense" nazi. You figure that out too. Check Ridge's history and get back to me."
And Governor Ridge became a member of the nazi party when? "You getting the point?"
Yes, I am getting the point. You are ate up with hatreds that you are completely incapable of putting aside long enough to defend your nation from a "real" enemy.
No one knows just what exactly the new cabinet post of Homeland Security means , nor what it will do. We DO know that if the CIA and our intelligence capabilities hadn't been strangled for so many years, this attack might have somehow been averted . Yes, spying is a " dirty " business, but being murdered by terrorists curtails freedom more than any government does.
Oh, and this is NOT a time when Franklin's little phrase is applicable.
If I might add, the article is seeking to draw a comparison between President Bush and Woodrow Wilson. Wilson was a failure and a bigot. He ushered in an Era in which the Confederacy was romanticized, rather than despised by many Northern whites. Under his auspices, the KKK not only flourished, but also spread rapidly throughout the North and South. Wilson was also a "Progressive," which meant he favored a powerful, centralized government, run by "experts." After he involved us in World War I, Wilson was responsible for the Federal seizure of large parts of the economy, including the railroads, as well as a virtual total suspension of civil rights. People were imprisoned for any public dissent about the war. This might have been excusable in a perverse sense if Wilson had known what he was doing in the war itself, but he didn't. His incompetence in dealing with the aftermath of World War I resulted in the rejection of his ideas even at home.
Let me just say this - George W. Bush is NOT Woodrow Wilson!
As always, you are one of my favorate FReepers.
I prefer the term "Interior Minister" for the job, as opposed to the "homeland defense" term which is ackward. "Interior Minister" sounds very Soviet. Kristinn had a good point, the Gov didnt do its job the 1st time, so make a new program on top of everything else.
Im for more security, but what will this new position do???
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