Posted on 09/24/2001 3:10:00 AM PDT by Ada Coddington
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
Jeff Elkins is a freelance consultant and writer living in North Central Florida. His personal website is located at www.elkins.org.
Does the existence of a vocal opposition threaten the ability of the U.S. government to wage war successfully? There are many who would blame/praise the anti-war movement for the U.S. defeat in Viet Nam. Others, however, would say that such a conclusion is false. The leaders waged war and were defeated. Had the anti-war movement been suppressed, would America have been victorious in Viet Nam?
I don’t know the answer to the question. I can recognize arguments on both sides.
Certainly the anti-war movement did have influence over domestic politics. That is obvious.
Will extensive suppression of civil liberties lead to “victory” over our enemies?
The War On Terrorism (with Homeland Security) is in real danger of linking with the DEA and their War On Drugs to become the Partnership For A No-Knock America.
Demonstrably false.
Yeah, your right, I forgot that new incarnation for CZAZ. But I do remember this guy from his being spurned by libertarians and his subsequent anti-libertarian rhetoric. You can always tell them because they will always stretch whatever thread they are on to impossible lengths to attack freedom lovers. I'll have to try to remember who this guy was before.
It's one thing to snivel your way back in and quite another to use this attack on America as an excuse to begin to spew hate all over again.
Translation:
He is unemployed!
In the quotes I cited, demidog explicitly says he is in favor of abolishing laws against possessing child porn. To decriminalize possession is the same as establishing a the licitness of possessing it.
Lysander Spooner vehemently opposed slavery and Roscoe condemns him as a terrorist for it. Next he'll be condemning those who enlist in the US military so they can help fight the Taliban.
http://sun6.dms.state.fl.us/eog_new/eog/orders/2001/september/eo2001-261-09-07-01.html
Sure you have. The only other possible explanation is that you simply stopped posting under your previous name because of consistently being ignored. You are surely not a new member.
And if this nick gets banned, have no fear, your opinions are muted bye the solid middle which supports the war effort now, and thankfully at that.
Nice try at painting those who disagree with your moronic war mongering as people who don't support the effort to eradicate the swine who attacked our country.
It's Jim's business not mine, but the nick will get banned soon in my opinion. I'm guessing that Jim is too busy right now with all the stupid vanity posts he has to spike to fool with the idiotic screen names. But I won't be surprised if he gets around to it soon.
What a cowardly act.
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