I think that most people in this country, and across the globe for that matter, have this inner need to be part of a group; be it a community or a circle of people they call friends. After all, if you think about it, that is the basis upon which all civil societies are formed; people join together into groups, or bands of people to better defend themselves and their property. I also think that is where conformity comes into play; you don’t want to do or say anything that would ostracize you from your group and leave you defenseless against the big bad world all by your lonesome self.

Many things can cause people to seek out the friendship or companionship of others. They could simply abhor being alone and seek to be among others. They could band together with those who held common interests or needs. Or they simply could ban together with others for a common cause; such as what the 13 Colonies did when they formed a confederacy to fight for independence from their common enemy; The British.

The problem arises when those banding together begin to lose their individuality and start exhibiting Groupthink. I see that a lot in people, be it when they all wear the same style of clothes, speak using the same slang, or even in politics when they band together in support of a particular candidate; such as those who unquestioningly support Donald Trump – the Trumpettes as I like calling them.

Groupthink is defined as: a pattern of thought characterized by self-deception, forced manufacture of consent, and conformity to group values and ethics. It kind of sounds like political party allegiance, doesn’t it?

How many of you recall when Ron Paul was running for president and he was shunned by those calling themselves conservatives because his views did not align with the platform of the Republican Party? Yet if conservatism means an adherence to traditional values, then Ron Paul may have been the most conservative candidate America has seen in a very long time. But Doctor Paul did not play by the GOP handbook, he rocked the boat and preferred to put principle over party loyalty; therefore he was shunned by the party, and that was then parroted by most of those pledging loyalty to that party.

You see, the Democrats don’t have that problem; they don’t claim to be one thing but in reality be something entirely different. Their platform is that they believe the government should be an engine to bring about social justice and change, and that anything that accomplishes that in any respect falls in line with their party platform.

The Republicans, on the other hand, claim to be conservative yet they support measures that are anything but conservative; and when you call them on it they become very incensed and confrontational.

That being said, there is one thing that is true about both parties, when you ask the party faithful to provide historical and factual evidence to support their positions they usually cannot.

I do not mean to be insulting to family, or reopen any old wounds, but I have had this same argument with my brother over the constitutional justification for the National Park Service. When I asked him to provide the constitutional justification for it he came up with laws and ordinances that had been passed by government, but could not provide any justification from within the Constitution itself.

I’ve had similar arguments with other people over other issues. I had numerous arguments over the Affordable Care Act; or Obamacare. I’ve had numerous arguments with people over certain gun control laws that they have supported. I’ve had numerous arguments with people over the illegal invasion and occupation of other sovereign nations all in the name of the war on terror.

In every instance when I asked those I was arguing with to provide the Article and Clause within the Constitution that justified what they supported government doing, they could not do so. I’ve even had people say that the Constitution is old and outdated and should be abolished. You ought to see the look on their faces when I tell them that I agree; that the Constitution ought to be abolished. But then they get very upset when I add: But, if we abolish the Constitution we also abolish the government it established.

The mere mention that we even consider abolishing our government sends most people into a panic. For the life of me, I can’t understand why people feel this dependency upon a system of government; unless of course they have forgotten what it means to be an individual who is free of any master.

People have all sorts of opinions as to what purpose government should serve, but I wonder if they have ever bothered to look up the definition for the word opinion. The dictionary defines opinion as: a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

So, if these opinions are not necessarily fact based, upon what are they based? More often than not they are based upon emotions; how their opinions make them feel – which explains why they become so emotional when you question them, or threaten them with facts.

I don’t mean to pick on those who support President Trump, but I don’t think people would want to listen to examples from past presidents or past administrations; so I’ll stick to something relatively current. One of the things that drew so many of the GOP faithful to him was his promise to Drain the Swamp, or rid government of the so-called Deep State corruption that has plagued it for so long.

How many of you have ever heard the saying, “Actions speak louder than words”? I wish that were true, for if it were than those who voted for Trump based upon that promise might see the error in their ways and revoke their support for him.

Trump also promised to put Hillary in jail, yet she still walks the Earth a free woman; freer than you or I for that matter for most career politicians are above the laws they impose upon us peasants. But I begin to stray, so let’s get back to Trumps promise to Drain the Swamp.

How many of you Trumpettes are familiar with the name William Barr? You should be, he is your president’s choice for Attorney General of the United States. How much do you Trump supporters know about William Barr? I’m guessing not very much, for if you knew anything about Mr. Barr you would know that he’s about as deep as Deep State gets.

Aside from the fact that it was just a few days ago, does the date August 21st mean anything to any of you? How about if I add the year, 1992, does it ring a bell now? If it doesn’t, allow me to refresh your memory, August 21, 1992 was the day of the Ruby Ridge incident which saw the murder, (that’s right, I called it murder) of Sammy and Vikki Weaver by FBI agents acting under the authority of the United States government.

Both Sammy and Vikki Weaver were unarmed, but that didn’t stop the FBI from gunning them down in cold blood. Sammy was shot in the back, and Vikki through the head by FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi…remember that name.

The ROE, or Rules of Engagement, for the FBI were simple, “if you see em, shoot em.” This isn’t me making this up, that comes from testimony given during a Senate Committee investigation into the events at Ruby Ridge in 1995. Sniper Lon Horiuchi put a bullet through Vikki Weaver’s head while she was holding an infant child in her arms. I’m certain she posed an imminent threat to someone who was making a shot from 200 yards away. (And that was sarcasm in case you hadn’t noticed)

Horiuchi is/was nothing better than an assassin working for the United States government, and his targets were the Weaver family. Yet he was never held accountable for committing cold blooded murder that day. In fact, when civil charges were brought up against the FBI snipers involved in Ruby Ridge, a group of attorneys worked tirelessly to ensure that no charges stuck to them, saying “The sniper’s job in law enforcement requires split-second judgment that must depend exclusively on his/her federal training and policy … To subject the performance of that function to second-guessing in the context of a state criminal action is to severely undermine, if not cripple, the ability of future attorneys general to rely on such specialized units in moments of crisis such as hostage taking and terrorist acts.”

So a government sniper should be given immunity if they make an error and shoot an unarmed civilian? I bet if I had a concealed carry firearm on me and pulled it out during an active shooter scenario and I was to shoot an innocent bystander by mistake, I wouldn’t be shown such leniency, or have a bevy of high priced lawyers come to my defense. Oh, but Horiuchi works for the government, so he, can commit cold blooded murder and walk away a free man; just like all those agents responsible for Waco did, and the officers who gunned down La Voy Finicum did.

Oh, and by the way, one of the attorneys who worked so hard to protect Horiuchi from any consequences for his actions that day just happens to be William Barr; Trumps appointee for Attorney General.

But you see, that’s what happens when people base their opinions upon the rhetoric and campaign promises they hear rather than taking a long hard look at the facts the rhetoric obscures. Who, besides a few truth-seeking crazy people like me, is going to take the time to dig that deep for the truth? What’s sad is that once we uncover the truth and present it to people they reject it because to accept it would mean they would have to admit that they had been fooled by a charlatan. So people continue believing the lie, having opinions that, not only cannot be supported by fact, but are disproved by fact. Says a lot about the integrity of most people, doesn’t it?

And don’t you Democrats get up on your soapboxes and cheer me on for attacking Trump, I would have been far less merciful to anyone you elected; so sit your asses down and shut the hell up!

If it weren’t so sad/frightening, I’d almost have to laugh at those belonging to the Republican Party. They fight so hard against the policies of their enemies the Democrats, but then go to sleep over the abuses of power committed by those they elect.

Trump has proven to be far more of a threat to the 2nd Amendment than Obama ever was; and that is primarily because his supporters say nothing when he proposes new ways of restricting our right to keep and bear arms.

Take these Red Flag Laws you guys are deathly quiet about; had Obama proposed them you’d be calling for his impeachment, yet because your guy supports them you say that maybe we ought to consider toughening our stance on who can and who can’t own guns in America, and maybe these Red Flag Laws are what the country needs to prevent more mass shootings. It doesn’t matter that not only do they violate the 2nd Amendment, they violate the legal precepts of guilty until proven innocent and due process of law. But that don’t matter does it, El Cheetoh is working tirelessly to Make America Great Again, and whatever he supports, you support.

Can ya’ll say zombie for me? Are you people out of your cotton picking minds? If Child Protective Services can come into your home and take your kids away from you based upon speculation, false charges of abuse, and mere innuendo and suspicion, what’s to stop law enforcement from doing the same to people’s right to keep and bear arms? You crazy bastards really need to sit down with a bowl of Popcorn and watch the movie The Minority Report before you begin supporting measures designed to prevent crimes before they happen.

I could go on and on and on with examples of how BOTH sides of the political aisle are guilty of opposing things that, according to them, violate the Constitution and the rights of those they represent, while they go about abusing their power and authority, and violating the rights of those belonging to the ‘other’ side.

It’s Groupthink on a massive scale, and when that happens, individuality, critical thought, principles, and adherence to the concept of individual liberty go out the damned window. I’m sorry, but to me ya’ll remind me of a bunch of rats blindly scurrying to their death behind the Pied Piper; except ya’ll are following the swan song of false promises and campaign rhetoric – devoid of any individuality and critical thought – a bunch of fucking lemmings all scurrying blindly towards a cliff!

Ya’ll remind me of exactly the same type people Patrick Henry warned about way back in 1775 when he said, “…it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.”

But hey, that’s politics in America today, and if that’s the best we have to offer then maybe we deserve tyranny and oppression. So enjoy it while you can, maybe one day you’ll wake up and realize that folks like me were right; but I’m guessing that by the time that happens all the real patriots will be dead and buried.

As much as I despise George Washington for listening more to Alexander Hamilton than he did Thomas Jefferson, he still left us with a few gems to ponder over, and one of them is this, “However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”

Those who fought for America’s independence did not do so to ensure that their party got elected, they did so in order to free themselves from the oppressive and arbitrary control of a tyrannical government. That’s all they wanted, freedom; not benefits, safety, comfort, security, or free iPhones or wifi. That was the common Groupthink that led them to join together and defeat the mightiest army on the planet; and it will only be when the same principles they fought for become the common groupthink of the 21st century that we can ever truly hope to begin making America Great Again.

So wake up people, your country needs you…

September 27, 2019

~ The Author ~
Neal Ross, Student of history, politics, patriot and staunch supporter of the 2nd Amendment. Send all comments to: bonsai@syix.com.

If you liked Neal’s latest column, maybe you’ll like his latest booklet: The Civil War: (The Truth You Have Not Been Told). Life continues to expand for this prolific writer and guardian of TRUE American history.