1984 in 2011

“This process of continuous alteration was applied not only to newspapers, but to books, periodicals, pamphlets, posters, leaflets, films, sound tracks, cartoons, photographs–to every kind of literature or documentation which might conceivably hold any political or ideological significance. Day by day and almost minute by minute the past was brought up to date…” 

George Orwell was as prophetic as anyone when he penned one of the greatest literary works in the history of man–1984. What is 1984? You should know; you LIVE in a quasi-1984 society. A society where Big Brother’s everywhere (or at the very least, has the technology in-place and the court precedents to spy on anyone, anywhere). A society in which you’re not to think, as a matter of fact, to think outside-the-box, to be libertarian, and to love liberty, these are seen as Thought-Crimes. You’re coming against the system and the system’s not happy about it.

I already know what you’re thinking: “Ryan, come on! Thing’s aren’t that bad… you’re exaggerating; you’re simply being a fear-monger!” Well let’s face facts together, shall we? The opening passage that I quoted from Orwell’s 1984 deals with how the federal government has control over the media, over print, over everything, and they employ citizens to constantly “update history,” and while updating history, they add facts that are essential to their power structure and delete facts that are detrimental. Is this happening today? Absolutely. What I want to do is simply show you a couple of ways that the federal government has “re-written” history today and how their “re-writing” of our history has a negative impact on our personal freedoms that the Constitution protects.

Why did we separate from Great Britain? We did so because our “natural rights” were being oppressed by a far-away monarch who cared little for the people. There were a great many reasons, however, that became  the impetus for our separation. The idea of quartering troops in some-one’s home was one of those reasons and so too was the illegally searching of a citizens home, without due process nor probable cause. These examples evoke an attitude that screams “your guilty until proven innocent” and the State is supreme. So when our founding fathers set-up our Constitutional republic, they put-in safeguards to ensure this wouldn’t happen again. The people are now the “Kings” and the system was never meant to be top-down, but bottom-up. But Big Brother has been using the schools systems to perpetuate a “re-written” history of our nation’s founding and what the “original intent” of the founders truly was. Don’t believe me? Brace yourself…

In Tom Wood’s book Nullification, he outlines brilliantly some of what James Madison wrote in the 41st Federalist addressing the issues of federal power vs. state autonomy. When Madison was dealing with the people’s concerns over the fear of an over-reaching federal arm that would rape and pillage the rights from the people, no different than the King of Britain, he ensures the citizenry that the Constitution had protections that would keep the feds away from everything that affected the states. These protections came in the form of enumerated powers. Madison writes “For what purpose could the enumeration of particulars be inserted, if these and all others were meant to be included in the preceding general power?” In other words, “Hey, we made a clear, concise list of what they were AUTHORIZED to do and EVERYTHING else goes to the states to decide… so chill out, my dudes!” However, Madison warns everyone in the 41st Federalist that the Constitution outlines “specific” duties that the feds are to have power over because:

“If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the general welfare, and are the sole and supreme judges of the general welfare, they may take the care of religion into their hands; they may appoint teachers in every state, county, and parish, and pay them out of the treasury; they may take into their own hands the education of children, establishing in like manner schools throughout the Union; they may assume the provision for the poor; they may undertake the regulation of all roads other than post-roads; in short, everything, from the highest object of state legislation down to the most minute object of police would be thrown under the power of Congress.” (Tom Woods, Nullification, pg. 23–emphasis mine)

Madison warns that when a federal government controls schools, it’s unconstitutional–and they do; when the federal government pays teachers out of the treasury, it’s unconstitutional–and they do; when the federal government has a say in religious matters, it’s unconstitutional–and they do… are you noticing a pattern? Why don’t more people feel angered by these blatant, deceitful power-grabs that the progressives in this nation have exercised for over a century? It’s simple–it starts with academia indoctrinating the students. This happens many, many times. Just as Big Brother in 1984 re-wrote history to benefit their agenda, so too does academia.

And just look at the daily headlines in the news, there’s a bevy of articles, everyday, that deal with the DHS and how they’re wanting us to give-up more “liberty” for “security”. I think Ben Franklin already told us what he thought about this idea, but I digress.

Whether it’s the TSA pat-downs, which violate the 4th Amendment, or the illegal warrant-less wire-tapping that the feds can-do via the lovely Patriot Act, which violates the 3rd Amendment… or the concept of state autonomy which the using of our national guard troops overseas tramples upon, or if it’s the federal mandate that forces every breathing US citizen to purchase health insurance, all of these are direct violations of the Constitution. Politicians who partake in these violations should be “booted” from office, but this will never happen until the people rise-up and remember that WE THE PEOPLE are the KINGS OF OUR SYSTEM–not Big Brother.

Big Brother’s here, but now WE’RE the ones SPYING on him! Keep your eyes open, and let freedom reign supreme!

cross-posted from the Indiana Tenth Amendment Center