This is a perfect example of a country where the state has become eveerything. Government now intrudes into evey aspect of our lives whether its constitutional or not. And it intrudes in a very jackbooted way.
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You are quite correct. When the SCOTUS upheld ACA, the transition of the United States from an authoritarian to a totalitarian state became formal, express and complete. Most people do no understand the meaning of totalitarian. They have some muddled idea of ‘totally evil’ or ‘as bad as it can get’. Those notions are wrong. A totalitarian state is one which asserts its right to govern the totality of human existence. It rejects natural law and embraces ‘positive law’.
Today, right now, both the United States and the EU are totalitarian. Are they as malicious and oppressive as they could possibly be? No. But they retain those options should they choose as a matter of law. Both parties have contributed mightily to suppression of individual liberty.
This is what the West now is. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totalitarian_democracy
Bleating about liberty and freedom in our system is simply cheerleading and whistling past the concertina wire. Fear, sloth and incompetence are the only checks on government oppression, and the lingering effect of the Second Amendment.
“Both parties have contributed mightily to suppression of individual liberty”
You have touched on the key to the problem. Both parties have betrayed the American public in order to secure their own place at the table.
It took a lot of republican votes to pass the following:
1. The Patriot Act
2. The NDAA
3. The National Service Act
4. The Food Safety Act
All of the above were giant govt power grabs. Added together they have effectively done an end run around the constitution and nullified most of our freedoms.
The only thing standing between total us and total submission to the govt are guns. If they had our guns we would be totally screwed. They plan to take them so mentally prepare yourself as to what you will do about it.