"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." ~ H.L. Mencken
The New Feudalism
“What is changing is the regulatory environment and people's attitudes towards its enforcement. Partially as a result of a bad economy, people are more willing to put up with a level of authoritarianism that would have disturbed them years ago.”
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It's rather humorous that these two articles are one atop the other on the list.
The Giffords Shooting Changes Nothing
Original article
“To be blunt, what the MSM is desperately searching for is another Timothy McVeigh, and another massive body count. In order to defuse the fast growing Liberty Movement, its image would have to be tarnished beyond recognition and its participants shamed into silence.”
The New Feudalism
Original article
“What is changing is the regulatory environment and people's attitudes towards its enforcement. Partially as a result of a bad economy, people are more willing to put up with a level of authoritarianism that would have disturbed them years ago.”
So, which is it, do we have a the fast growing Liberty Movement, or are people...more willing to put up with a level of authoritarianism that would have disturbed them years ago?
Larry and Andy Wachowski evidently think it is the latter.
"You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inert, so hopelessly dependent on the system that they will fight to protect it." ~ The Matrix (1999)
In my opinion, it is both. I do think that the liberty movement is fast growing, but everything is relative. Although there are more people these days who have begun to see the corrupt and destructive nature of government, unfortunately, people who are willing to tolerate greater levels of authoritarianism are still very much in the majority.
Thank you for your reply, Melinda L. Secor.
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“Come, Vijay,” Captain Naik said, leading me into his study, “I’ll show you something interesting.”
He opened a cupboard, pulled out a strange-looking contraption and laid it on the table.
I looked at it, confused but curious.
The peculiar apparatus consisted of a hollowed-out coconut attached to a solid iron chain, about two feet long, with a large metal stake at the other end.
“You know what this is?” he asked.
“No,” I answered.
“I got this in Penang when I was cadet, almost thirty years ago,” Captain Naik said, picking up the coconut in his left hand, holding the chain in his right.
He looked at me and explained: “This is a monkey trap. The hollowed-out coconut is filled with some cooked rice through this small hole, chained to the stake which is driven firmly into the ground.
Look at this hole. It’s just big enough so that the monkey’s hand to go in, but too small for his fist filled with rice to come out.
The monkey reaches in, grabs the rice and is suddenly trapped. Because his greed won’t allow him to let go of the rice and extricate his hand, the monkey remains trapped, a victim of his greed, until he is captured.
The monkey cannot see that freedom without the rice is more valuable than capture with it.
That’s what happens to most of us. Probably it’s the story of your life too. Think about it."[1]
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[1] My thanks to Vikram Karve for this version of the monkey trap.