If America ever declines to the point that we’re a dictatorship — and I think it is still a matter of if, not when — it will come about mostly because of two classes of people: the ignorant and the cowardly.
The ignorant are those whose minds have been destroyed by government schools. After 12 years of learning to conform to the group, they can’t think independently. When the state raises a boogie man such as global warming before their eyes, they cannot judge the science. The ignorant respond, “Yes, save us from the boogie man! Control our lives if you must, but make us secure.”
The cowardly are those who should know better, but again, the urge to conform shuts them up. Another name for the cowardly is moderates. Their fear of “extremism” keeps Leviathan afloat.
(Interesting that both the ignorant and the cowardly lack the virtue of independence. Maybe Ayn Rand knew something when she made independence central to The Fountainhead. If the state can make people conform, then its job is done. It doesn’t have to prove anything, it just gives marching orders.)
I said dictatorship was a matter of if, not when — but Thomas Sowell reminds us how far toward a fascist dictatorship Obama has taken us in just under a year:
Just one year ago, would you have believed that an unelected government official, not even a Cabinet member confirmed by the Senate but simply one of the many “czars” appointed by the President, could arbitrarily cut the pay of executives in private businesses by 50 percent or 90 percent?
Did you think that another “czar” would be talking about restricting talk radio? That there would be plans afloat to subsidize newspapers– that is, to create a situation where some newspapers’ survival would depend on the government liking what they publish?
Did you imagine that anyone would even be talking about having a panel of so-called “experts” deciding who could and could not get life-saving medical treatments?
…
Does any of this sound like America?
How about a federal agency giving school children material to enlist them on the side of the president? Merely being assigned to sing his praises in class is apparently not enough.
How much of America would be left if the federal government continued on this path? President Obama has already floated the idea of a national police force, something we have done without for more than two centuries.
We already have local police forces all across the country and military forces for national defense, as well as the FBI for federal crimes and the National Guard for local emergencies. What would be the role of a national police force created by Barack Obama, with all its leaders appointed by him? It would seem more like the brown shirts of dictators than like anything American.
That’s just some 10 months of accomplishments. What will happen next year? What enormities will we endure the years after that?
The forces of statism and collectivism see that this is their moment. They act with energy and resolve. They’re not wusses; like the Bolsheviks, they understand the need to be bold.
We must remain informed and courageous. And above all, one must never be afraid to think for himself. The pressure to conform will grow. Obama’s campaigns against Rush Limbaugh and Fox News are all about ideological conformity.
The collectivists will punish nonconformists — first by mockery and intimidation, then financially, and finally by prison. They will make those who dare speak out against statism suffer.
As long as we have elements of free speech, the state will never achieve the ideological conformity they need. The defense of the right to speak is probably the most important battle of our time. That defense begins with the understanding that the right to speak for oneself is the right to think for oneself.
“The defense of the right to speak is probably the most important battle of our time. That defense begins with the understanding that the right to speak for oneself is the right to think for oneself.”
Oh, no, it is not “probably” the most important battle of our time. It clearly is the most important, because how else are we going to effectively battle Obamunism, especially with the growing number of ignoramuses and cowards? It all starts with free speech, otherwise how are you going to convey to others the injustice of the government when they come to take or shut down your property, your newspapers, your radio stations and, yes, your blogs. After that, all you’ll have left is your soap box and your front lawn. And those will be next to go.
“one of the many “czars†appointed by the President, could arbitrarily cut the pay of executives in private businesses by 50 percent or 90 percent?”
It seems to me that if the President of the US can decide to cut the pay of the employee of a business then the business is not ‘private’ by any stretch of the imagination.
It’s a governement corporation!
“The defense of the right to speak is probably the most important battle of our time. That defense begins with the understanding that the right to speak for oneself is the right to think for oneself.â€
Equally imporant in my opinion is the right to action. Aside from that I generally agree with what’s in this post
“The forces of statism and collectivism see that this is their moment. They act with energy and resolve. They’re not wusses; like the Bolsheviks, they understand the need to be bold.”
There is still a risk for them though. Dictators and tyrants often move too quickly and end up losing everything. Better for them to move slowly and gradually poison the culture until the spirit of the country dies. See, I don’t think the extent of upswelling of grassroots opposition to the socialist policies of the president we have seen would happen in other countries. Its possible that Obama might be exactly what the profreedom movement needs.
Steve