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.
Let's use it!
You may not be seeing them because Jim is pulling them as soon as they are posted and many have hit the abuse key and reported them. There are a lot that would love to play war here and compare rumors - of course we all would. It is just not worth the price to do it. All of us have to help in this battle however we can. Surely you don't think I find it fun to mention such things. I've been highly disappointed in what I've seen from our posters before Jim ruled on what could be discussed. I would have thought no one would even have to mention such a thing on this site.
For the Lew Rockwell type critics: The other underlying fact is that FR is open to the general public with all the views and opinions that entails...good and bad, right or wrong. You folks should try reading the disclaimer at the bottom of the page.
????
THAT WAS the founders intent. There was a prohibition against any "standing army". Read the Constitution before you start spouting nonsense from it.
Abundy, I think that this should be restated as: "the stated purpose of this forum is to roll back any Clinton-government - and roll forward everything Bush-government wants"
It's a pro-more-government website now. Ya gotta keep up!
The President is, by the Constitution, the Commander in Chief. But you say that we were not supposed to have a standing army (or military for that matter). Then, how could he be Commander in Chief of a non-existent military? He is the Commander in peacetime, too, you know?
But to be short, because we have much larger fish to fry at this moment, do not make assumptions about me or anyone else that you cannot back up with proof. The Constitution provides for the common defense, and that's what's happening.
End of story.
One of the few constitutionally mandated functions of the federal government is national defense. America is under attack. It is the duty and obligation of the federal government to prosecute this war to win and ultimately protect us from these foreign attacks.
Do you go to your friends houses and spout your mouth off and expect to be welcome? If you don't like this place, you're free to go.
But I have two questions for you. If these are the ships you mean, was there a United States of America fully functioning at the time, and, did we have a Constitution?
I was being sarcastic...
I don't think the founders intended us to buy F-16 individually to protect our selves... A national defense is one of the few constitutional functions of the federal government.
By calling up the citizen militia (all adult men who own a weapon) the President is the commander of those armed forces. Question answered. Constitutionally.
Mr. Elkins, of course, is right on target. As a long-time poster on FreeRepublic, I'm shocked by the pro-totalitarian sentiments being expressed on this forum. Bush's new Department of Homeland Security should scare the hell out of all of us. If Clinton had proposed the same monstrosity, he'd be catching hell right now.
It's time to forget about party labels and party politics. All of us need to stand tall and oppose the new phone-tapping and Internet-surveillance schemes being hatched by this administration. Our true enemies lie within our borders. Osama bin Laden and his minions need to be dealt with, but in the long run they are not the most dangerous threat to our freedom. The Orwellian police-state measures now being proposed by this administration are far more dangerous to our liberties.
We cannot let this administration use its self-proclaimed "war on terrorism" as an excuse to declare war on our constitution. It is our solemn duty as freedom-loving Americans to do everything within our power to oppose the creation of a soviet-style police apparatus -- regardless of which political party is in power.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.