The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over the government. ~ FDR
Perhaps it takes the loss of a freedom we can see, the freedom of movement, to see the subtle loss of the little freedoms we can’t see.
After 45 to 60 days of being locked up in our homes and apartments, all across America, Americans grow restless. Protests are rising around many state capitols and major cities. Large groups are hitting the beaches as the weather warms up, in defiance of government mandates. Some businesses are opening up in spite of the lockdown.
People are starting to question government policies and executive orders that seem to defy science, logic and common sense. Informative articles and videos are popping up on the Internet and Youtube, exposing government lies and misinformation.
Millions of Americans are beginning to ask government, “are you telling us the truth.” Why does a “one size fits all policy not comport with the data?” Why is government letting people out of jail to save them from the virus but putting people in jail that defy the quarantine? Why are some lockdown executive orders so over the top, draconian and arbitrary? Why does the ruling class think they don’t have to obey their own mandates and are free to do whatever they want, like the Mayors of New York and Chicago, or New York’s Governor Cuomo’s brother?
Why do some states and cities open up for business and yet other states and cities continue the lockdown? Do governors and mayors really have the legal power to issue lockdown executive orders in violation of our constitutional rights? Where in the Constitution does it say that Public Health and Safety override the God-given, natural rights of Americans?
Then there is the threat of contact tracing where it is determined (by the state) that you had contact with a person who tested positive for Coronavirus. They, the state, can force you to stay at home for 14 days where you can’t go out for any reason, or they can drag you out of your home and force you to live in some building of their choice to see if YOU test positive. California is currently training 20,000 contact tracers to do just that. The State of Washington is going to use the National Guard for this purpose. What part of the Constitution gives government this power? Or did government just suddenly suspend the Constitution?
On top of that, several states have set up websites so that a nosy person can snitch (rat) on his or her neighbor, or a business, that dares to violate the lockdown order.
But the real question is, with all that is happening to them now, why haven’t Americans been asking these questions of government for the last 100 years while government has systematically and with malice afore thought, stripped us of our most basic rights, along with robbing the money in our bank accounts.
Landowners and their constitutional property rights have been destroyed since the late 1960’s when radical environmentalism raised its ugly head with the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act (1969) and the other environmental acts that followed shortly thereafter. Landowners objected but city folk could care less about what happens to the rights of landowners, even if all of their food is grown by those same rural landowners. And there are more city folk than there are rural landowners, so their majority rules. Whatever the city folk want, they get.
Due to incessant propaganda by government, academia and the news media, city folk fell in love with all this environmental insanity, no matter how much it cost, or whose rights were trampled. This urban majority now believe in the fraud of Climate Change and the Green New Deal that have been sold to them by men who wish to put all humans in environmental chains.
All American citizens have been forced to pay higher and higher taxes to fund government’s massive build up of social programs since FDR’s New Deal and President Johnson’s “Great Society.” If taxes wouldn’t cover the bill, the government just borrowed or printed the money by the trillions, (like it is doing now in response to the virus) to be paid back by future generations ….. if ever! Why weren’t Americans asking questions or protesting then as the annual deficit and national debt sky rocketed in the last 50 years to pay for those social and environmental programs, a national debt that now approaches $30 Trillion, after the virus stimulus packages.
Where were Americans when FDR decided to explode the government bureaucracy and attempted to pack the Supreme Court in order to get his way?
Why did the people not question the removal of the gold standard and the confiscation of all coin and bullion gold held by Americans? (FDR’s Executive Order 6102) Now our money is fiat money, backed by nothing except the good faith and credit of America. We question the good faith and credit worthiness of America.
Why did the people not object when FDR implemented his “New Deal” that made America a more socialist nation?
Why do Americans not know that the money they deposit in federal banks can be confiscated by the government at any time they wish?
Did FDR really mean what he said in the opening quote? Not likely! What he really believed in was a powerful, central government and a subservient, compliant population. That is exactly what we have now! FDR got his wish.
Where were the Americans that allowed the Democrats to nationalize their health care system under Obama Care? Millions of Americans lost their doctors and their health insurance. Even worse, their costs for health care jumped by orders of magnitude. The government (Obama) blatantly lied to us repeatedly about how we could keep our doctor and our health plans and our costs would go down.
Where were the national protests (peaceful or violent) in every big city in America over this take over of our health care? The protests were token at best when it should have prompted an immediate call for the resignation of those responsible, including Obama and the Democrats that passed Obama Care, without a single Republican vote. What did we get, docile compliance like good little boys and girls that bow to their masters? What should we have gotten instead, REVOULTION!
Where is the outrage over the government’s mishandling of illegal immigration and the 22 million or more illegal aliens that are taking your jobs and your money, with thousands more coming across the border every day. Government has shown that it cares more about the alleged rights of illegal aliens than they do about the rights of legal Americans. (See: “How Easily We Allow Government to Suspend Our Rights”
What we describe here is just the tip of the ice berg of executive orders, laws, rules, regulations and government negligence that have chipped away at our freedoms for over 100 years, with most Americans being none the wiser, or even caring just so long as the entertainment was good and the alcohol and drugs flowed like water.
Now, when their freedom of movement is being curtailed by government under quarantine orders for the Coronavirus, they start to say, “Hey! What’s going on here? What happened to my individual rights?” We say they are way too late. “Where have they been for the last 100 years while government eroded their freedoms behind their backs, a little bit at a time so the people wouldn’t notice.”
How is it that a Dallas business woman can be thrown in jail for opening up her business in violation of a lockdown order that may have no force of law under our Constitution? In contrast, why is it that government is allowing thousands of convicted and even many violent felons to go free while this business woman is sent to jail because she wouldn’t prostrate herself (bow down) before the judge. Fortunately, the injustice inflicted upon her by this out-of-control, power-hungry Texas judge was overturned and she was let out of jail and became a hero of the common man.
All of a sudden, the people can’t go to the beach or the parks, can’t hike in the mountains, take their canoe out on the lake, can’t open up their businesses, can’t go to church or sports functions, are fired from their jobs by the tens of millions and forced to stay idle in their homes where child and spousal abuse, alcoholism and drug abuse, along with domestic crimes, are on the rise.
Tens of millions of Americans can’t pay their mortgages, rent, or utility bills and are struggling to keep food on the table. Suddenly, they come to the conclusion that their freedoms are being taken away by government. Again, where have they been for the last 100 plus years? (See: “The Extreme Pain Of Government Mandated Quarantine“)
Yes, we recognize that the Coronavirus is a threat to human health. Yes, government had to take some action to protect the population from the virus, based on the scientific evidence they had at the time. Yes, government had to balance the threat of the virus against the disastrous effects of a complete national shut down. But much of the evidence was missing and the actions government took to save us from the virus, were way over the top and heavy handed. It has been so over the top that the people now no longer trust their government ….. that is if they ever did. Government has repeatedly lied to us.
But let’s stop and analyze the situation for a moment. On the flip side of this coin, could this lockdown for the virus be a blessing in disguise? Will the people on a large scale now become more aware that their government does not have their best or constitutional interests at heart and are in fact using the virus to increase their power over the masses and repeal more of the people’s individual rights? We can only hope that this is a wake up call of momentous proportions and government’s power is reduced to its constitutional limits.
Isn’t it about time to come aboard the USS Rebellion?
© 2020 Ron Ewart – All Rights Reserved
~ The Author ~
Ron Ewart, a nationally known author and speaker on freedom and property issues and author of his weekly column, “In Defense of Rural America“, is the President of the The National Association of Rural Landowners (NARLO), a non-profit corporation headquartered in Washington State and dedicated to restoring, maintaining and defending property rights for urban and rural landowners. Mr. Ewart can be reached for comment at info@narlo.org.
Mr. Ewart has been a continuing contributor to the Kettle Moraine family of publications since May of 2007.