In a discussion last evening with a reader of my work, a person who is obviously concerned with the direction in which our country is traveling said he was in basic agreement with my assessment of the problems we see in our country today but he took me to task for not offering viable solutions. I told him that I was in many cases reluctant to do so because I sense the great majority of people are unable to realistically look at solutions because they are hopefully addicted to the source of our problems and therefore will not consider the possibility of quitting “cold turkey.”

Over a decade ago I wrote an article titled “All Government is Evil” in which I pointed out issues that were totally contradictory to freedom, freely embraced and practiced by the Confederate States of America. This was especially difficult for me being a true believer in the right of the Southern states to nullify unconstitutional acts of the central government and should nullification fail, to secede. A very simple axiom is this: If you can’t say no to tyranny, you are not free.

Government is the very antithesis of freedom and liberty. Yet, most Americans find themselves hopelessly addicted to the source of tyranny somehow believing the solution to the problems created by government is: more government. Of course a large number will claim they are not addicted to government but are involved in the process of politics because they believe by their involvement somehow government will become more benign. Exactly when in history has that ever happened?

Next, consider those who vote with regularity believing they are participants in the “democratic process.” Voting provides government with the flavor of legitimacy it cannot attain through any other means. As Professor Butler Shaffer so succinctly stated,

“When we vote in an election, we are declaring, by our actions, our support for the process of some people ruling others by coercive means. Our motivations for such participation – even if they be openly expressed as a desire to bring state power to an end – do not mitigate the fact that our energies are being employed on behalf of the destructive principle that liberty and social order can best be fostered through the coercive machinery of the state.”

Most people find it impossible to come to grips with the fact their vote provides the person they voted against the power to do that with which they do not agree and thought they were voting against. Those of you who voted for the “R” candidates in 2014 believing a “conservative” congress would oppose Obamacare, illegal immigration and Planned Parenthood should have an inkling of what I state.

Now that I have slaughtered the sacred cow of voting, perhaps it is time to move on to the next subject of addiction posing as an honored tradition. Of course that would be: supporting the troops.

Simply stated, when our government seeks to enforce its will upon those in other countries who prefer to choose their own style of governance, it is highly unlikely the president, vice-president, 535 members of congress and the entire judicial system will personally “ruck up” and lead the charge. As the singing group Reckless Kelly stated in their song, American Blood:

“The brass ain’t fighting but they are sure as hell taking a stand” and “He (George W. Bush) sits at home with his feet on the desk, while the boys got theirs in the sand, a million miles away with American Blood on their hands.”

Ten years ago when my son returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, I wrote an article asking the people to please stop supporting my troop. In that article, I wrote the following:

“Only in a true Orwellian society could citizens send off poorly trained and equipped soldiers, serving in a politically correct military, led by a civilian leadership that has spent the majority of their adult lives in a revolving door between the military industrial complex and government service, and call the damn thing, “supporting the troops.”

If you support the troops as they go off to war, you, by default, support what they do in your name. Those in uniform who were pictured torturing other humans in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq had your support; the joystick operator who launched the missile from the drone that took out the wedding party in Yemen had your support; the crew of the C-130 gunship that destroyed the hospital and took the lives of 30 doctors and patients in the hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan did so in your name. You simply cannot send someone to commit a crime (undeclared, therefore unconstitutional war) and not be responsible for all those who are killed or maimed as a result.

When you support the troops you are also responsible for the troops who must spend the rest of their lives with the images of death and destruction in their memory. You are certainly responsible for the 22 each day who choose to take their own lives rather than live with those memories. What does it take to sink into your brain that something is terribly wrong when 25 veterans take their own lives for each one that dies in combat. Where could these lost souls be without your support? Perhaps living a productive life elsewhere with their families? Perhaps finding a cure for Cancer or discovering new technologies that would benefit mankind rather than donating their lives to the financial bottom line of those in the military/industrial/congressional complex. Think about this before you stand and cheer, say the pledge and send more “boots on the ground” to Syria or anyplace other than our unprotected, porous borders where they would truly be “defending our freedom.”

Because of the wonderful bipartisanship nature of our congress, supporting the troops and the waging of unconstitutional wars equates to supporting gay rights, welfare initiatives, gun control and abortion. In the deceitful world of politics as usual the warmongers on the right know that to gain the support required for the funding of their wars they must accommodate their progressive partners in congress by voting for programs the progressives (read socialists) embrace. The fact money must be conjured out of nothing for both agendas matters not one iota.

If we truly want to change things back to a more freedom based leadership it is absolutely mandatory we stop supporting our government’s wars on anything. Our war on poverty is an abject failure with more and more people coming to this country in order to get on the gravy train. The politicians see these people not as a drain on our economic system but as a potential voter. In 1965 the federal outlay to prevent poverty was 168 billion per year. That figure today is over 900 billion. Since 1965 our government has spent over 17 trillion dollars in its war on poverty. We currently spend almost 15,000 per “poor” person in this country per year. This represents a 900% increase since the beginning of the program. Kind of flies in the face of President Johnson’s prediction at the outset of this government sponsored “war.”

“We have declared unconditional war on poverty. Our objective is total victory. . . . I believe that thirty years from now Americans will look back upon these 1960s as the time of the great American Breakthrough . . . toward the victory of prosperity over poverty.” ~ LBJ, 1964

Then, of course, there is our much vaunted “war on drugs.” This government initiated and sponsored war costs the American people billions of dollars each year, the loss of freedoms as defined in our Bill of Rights, specifically but not limited to the 4th Amendment and tens of thousands of people imprisoned by the state for victim-less crimes. There are certainly entities that have the right to demand people in their sphere of influence not use certain substances, legal or illegal. This would include parents, employers, religious authorities and others. The employer that does not allow employees to work while intoxicated on alcohol or use tobacco products on the job has the same right to prohibit the use of any substance, legal or illegal that impairs the ability of that person to perform their compensated duty. The problem arises when the enforcement of such a policy devolves to a government entity. There is nothing in our Constitution, Bill of Rights or any religious or moral code that authorizes any government entity to assume that role in our lives.

The “war” on drugs has produced a criminal element in our society just as alcohol prohibition did in the 1920’s. This criminal element is directly responsible for thousands upon thousands of deaths in this country and others. This “war” has produced more crime than it will ever be able to contain.

The “war” on terror has been at it now for over 14 years and we have more terrorists than we have ever had accompanied by a tremendous loss of life and treasure. Is anyone beginning to detect a pattern here? The longer a war designed and prosecuted by government is allowed to continue, the end result is more of that which the war is fought to eliminate. Nowhere is there a better illustration than the government’s wars on poverty, drugs and terror.

How much different are those of us who have been declared “potential domestic terrorists” by our own government treated by the standing army called law enforcement and those who are citizens of countries which are occupied by our military? Take a few minutes and peruse this list of people who are currently in the sights of our government. If you have gotten this far in my Rant I’m sure you made the list.

Government’s wars are always designed to profit the few while the price is paid in blood and treasure by those who fight those wars and those who support it with a loss of liberty. Exactly how many wars do you think we would have if those who lie us into those wars were required to fight them?

The Coup d’etat is complete; Of all the candidates for president in 2016, there is not one who does not support all three of the government’s primary wars. The only thing that will change after the next election is the gender or skin pigmentation of our next tyrant. Massive debt, more people in prison, a more militarized law enforcement presence and accelerated acts of terrorism will continue as our totalitarian agenda marches on.

So—for those of you who like solutions—here is mine: if you expect to be free and have your posterity enjoy the fruits of freedom and liberty, it is imperative you stop immediately supporting the government and its unconstitutional wars on everything. You must “just say no” to the source of your addiction. You can do so by refusing to vote for any candidate, for any office, who supports welfare, (this includes open borders) and the wars on drugs and terror. To do so will require more courage than most people possess—so don’t hold your breath.

In Rightful Liberty…

Written by The Rebel Madman (Michael Gaddy)  and published on His blog ~ November 2015

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