Carried To War...

"The great armies, accumulated to provide security and preserve the peace, carried the nations to war by their own weight."

A. J. P. Taylor

Swatting Flies While Vultures Pick Your Bones

“They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

- Benjamin Franklin

Two tragedies occurred on September 11, 2001. The first was horrendous in nature that claimed the lives of thousands of Americans as it unfolded before our very eyes on the television screens of the world. Time after traumatic time we viewed the film of one of the tallest structures on the face of the earth crumble into a smoking mountain of rubble. A nation was in shock and the whole world mourned the innocent lives snuffed out at the hands of a few men that needed nothing more than box cutters to cause the greatest terrorist catastrophe in the history of mankind.

The second tragedy was more subtle as if it were a tremor following a major earthquake. The first tragedy is bad enough so that the second hardly seems like anything to be concerned about at all. However, I am afraid this time the aftershock is far worse than the quake itself.

While the first tragedy on that fateful day in early autumn claimed the lives of a few thousand unfortunate Americans, the second has claimed tens of millions. The terrorist achieved exactly what they set out to do. By killing only a few thousand citizens, along with themselves, they were able to send untold millions into such a panic that they have turned their backs on the very things this great country was founded and built upon. Lying buried beneath the tons of stone and steel that once was the World Trade Center, along with thousands of innocent Americans killed, are those precious American siblings — Liberty and Freedom.

The tragedy that we now face as a nation is the State’s manipulation of the effects of fear. Fear that causes people to act and think in ways they never would in its absence. Fear that turns brother against brother and allows politicians to rob citizens of their riches and freedom. Fear that causes citizens to willingly sacrifice their liberty before the great god Security, promised them by a government that seeks to enslave them. A government that uses fear as a deflection in the hopes that citizens will not notice the real terror that is produced by the parties that control its Houses. The State uses fear to keep you distracted swatting flies while the vultures pick your bones.

Now, I can hear the screams from the hawks already. They are screeching blatant lies such as, “You are un-American,” and, “You say, Aha! This proves that America is altogether evil.” Some will even go as far as Mr. Scott on our message board and accuse me of hating America. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it is my love for this country, and the liberty and freedom that are her foundation, that prompts me to write of the atrocities of the State. It is my affection for our beloved Constitution that commands me to call attention to the actions of unscrupulous politicians in their attempts to destroy its meaning. The flies of fear will not distract me while the vultures of CONgress pick my bones!

I have been castigated lately because I refuse to support Mr. Bush’s War on Terrorism. Because I disagree with the hawks, I have been told I am un-American, un-Libertarian, ignorant, a terrorist sympathizer, and that I lack compassion. So, I will ask you the same thing I asked Mr. Scott in our discussion forum, “What makes you think we can win a war against a phantom called Terror?” We have NEVER won one of these wars before, so why will this time be different? We have waged war on Poverty since the sixties, and people are still poor. We have engaged the evil enemy Ignorance since the seventies, and still our children cannot read. We have gallantly fought the demon Drugs for decades, and all we have done is fund terrorist organizations in other countries. And you expect us to believe that the US will stamp out terrorism? You are comforted by the effort; I am appalled at the lack of results. You believe the lie, and I speak the truth. These are our differences.

We are told the mission of the War on Terrorism is two fold. To capture or kill Osama bin Laden specifically; and, to generally rid the world of terrorists altogether. The first will be easier to accomplish than the second, because just like America’s other phantom wars the mission of ridding the world of terrorism is impossible to achieve. I don’t think even the staunchest war hawk really believes that we can possibly stamp out terrorism. The difference I have with them is they find comfort in the government’s effort while I remain suspicious of the State’s hidden agendas that practically everyone acknowledges. It should throw up some pretty big red flags when CONgress passes into law a bill that takes the Bill of Rights and feeds it to a paper shredder, without even reading the damn thing! Ron Paul says the bill wasn’t even printed for his colleagues and himself until AFTER the treasonous law was passed and ready for the president’s signature. It looks like CONgress is not immune to the fear themselves. Why else would you do something so foolish as to vote to enact a law that you had not read? This is what the vultures were doing, Mr. Scott, while you were busy swatting all those flies.

I know it is a hard truth to accept, especially for those of us that cherish America and the “grand experiment” handed down through every generation of a nation from her founders. It is the love for liberty and devotion to freedom that has perpetuated a way of life that before America was unknown to mankind. The only way that “way of life” will be passed on to the next generation, is if we stay ever vigilant to preserve its very nature.

Before she died in 1961, American newspaper columnist Dorothy Thompson wrote:

“When liberty is taken away by force it can be restored by force. When it is relinquished voluntarily by default it can never be recovered.”

This is what concerns me. This is why I remain skeptical and untrusting of the State at war. The most dangerous threat to our freedom is allowing the fear of the world to blind us to the terror we face at home. Stop swatting at the flies and pay closer attention to the vultures. Enough is enough!





Originally published in Liberty For All February 7, 2002.



R. Lee Wrights is a writer and political activist living in Texas. He is the co-founder and editor of the free speech online magazine Liberty For All. Contact Lee at rleewrights@gmail.com.

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Patriotism Versus Nationalism

Original article was published by R. Lee Wrights on Nov. 2nd, 2008 at Liberty For All...

“If a person is decent and a pro-government American patriot, he or she is not intelligent. If a person is intelligent and a pro-government American patriot, he or she is not decent. And if a person is decent and intelligent, he or she is not a pro-government American patriot.”

- William Blum, Killing Hope (1995)

After an article I wrote some time ago titled, “What’s Wrong with Patriotism,” it was brought to my attention, by the voluminous feedback I received, that people not only agreed with my thesis; but also, took the argument a step further. A distinction was made between patriotism and nationalism. They are very similar in nature but quite different as well. First of all being a patriot requires serious, analytical, rational thought. A nationalist, on the other hand, throws off the cloak of thought and wraps himself in a brightly-colored flag. He lets someone else do his thinking for him, always destined to be a follower of the leader du jour. A patriot will always question the “leader du jour” before he engages an enemy. A patriot does not charge blindly into battle without having become convinced that the cause for battle is a righteous, principled stand.

“Patriotism: a loyalty to the principals that ones nation [was] founded on. Nationalism: a loyalty to a particular government.”

-Chris Snyder, Cosby, Tennessee

I saw the following quote in a letter to the editor of a newspaper in a southwestern town:

“In time of war, patriots throw their politics aside and stand behind their leaders, because there can be only allegiance to their country….”

With this one simple statement the writer, who claims to be a patriot, gives carte blanche to whoever owns the government to act with impunity in a blatant display of nationalism. A true patriot would never make such a statement, much less write about it in her/his local newspaper. It is this very attitude that has allowed dictators to rise throughout history and massacre untold millions whether it has been in the name of the Fatherland, or the Motherland, or the Homeland. This false-patriotic philosophy dictates that in times of war it is the citizens’ duty to support their leaders regardless of how evil or pure their intentions may be. As the Little Rascals would say, “What a bunch of hooey!” I am sorry, but I just cannot accept that as a proper definition of patriotism. Blind allegiance is the mother of tyranny, not patriotism.

“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.”

- Albert Einstein

Is it not blind allegiance that has been the very cornerstone in the foundation of every militaristic dictatorship ever established throughout the annals of recorded history? Was not nationalism the philosophy that caused hundreds of thousands to march in goose-step behind an insane elected official who was killing millions behind the “patriot’s” backs? Do we really want hundreds of thousands of highly-trained and well-armed government employees that will follow the orders, without question, of every crackpot that manages to achieve high military or civilian rank? One of the greatest living patriots I know taught me long ago that a good patriot always reserves the right to question authority. Indeed, a true patriot insists on questioning authority. A nationalist, by contrast, willingly gives himself to the ruling elite and sacrifices his own soul upon the altar of the highly exalted State. How many young “patriots” have died fighting for “our freedom” in some far-away land where “our freedom” was never threatened in the first place? How many soldiers have nationalists killed by duping them into believing that they risk their lives in a patriotic cause?

“Naturally, the common people don’t want war, but after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag people along… All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country.”

- Hermann Goering

How unfortunate it is indeed that true patriots are reviled as enemies of the State by nationalists that will sacrifice all to preserve the glorious Father-, I mean, Homeland. It is a shame that patriotism has become too easily confused with nationalism; and yet, it happens in every war. At the very moment that patriots need to question their leaders the most, nationalist sweep to the front of the fray screaming for all good patriots to follow them in defense of the Homeland. Everything is “in defense of the Homeland” with these nationalists. One reason to go to war is just as good as any other as each will be recycled in political rhetoric that proclaims we are fighting for “our freedom” and preservation of the Homeland. The nationalist tries to exploit the natural patriotic fervor within the citizenry to create a ground swell of support for war, regardless of the reason. But we must learn to think as individual patriots, able to determine for ourselves the difference between a justifiable war of self-defense and a war of pillage void of principle or righteous cause.

Patriotism is too often mistaken for nationalism. Nationalism is a strong devotion to one’s country, and is well-represented by the tired phrase, ‘My country, right or wrong.’ Is it really a good idea to support one’s country when it is doing something wrong?

Such misguided nationalism also rears its head when talk of flag-burning is in the air. However, it seems to me that the values that a flag or nation stand for are more important than the flag or even the nation itself. True patriotism is about taking pride in our country when it does right, and helping to put it back on track when it is not upholding the very values that it stands for.

“Another misleading attitude is about ’supporting the troops.’ This is irrelevant. It’s not a matter of supporting the troops, because ‘the troops’ aren’t the ones who make the decision to go to war. If we really want to support the troops, we should not send them to risk their lives in useless and unnecessary wars, but only deploy them when we truly need military defense.”

- Michael A. Clem, Oklahoma

Michael gives us a splendid concise example of true patriotic thinking. However, the nationalist would say that their “cause du jour” is righteous and that anyone that did not support their country in time of war is certainly no patriot. The truth is, nothing is more patriotic than having the balls to stand up and say no to warmongers that only desire to expand an empire. These are times when true patriots call for “supporting our troops” by bringing them home to their families. The nationalist have done enough damage and it is time to put a stop to the senseless slaughter of America’s best and brightest. As a patriot myself, I know I would feel much safer if they were here at home, rather than thousands of miles away on the other side of the world.

As I wrote recently at Rational Review in an article entitled, “Support Our Troops?” we need to show some real support for these courageous men and women, who have already fought and won a war, by calling on Congress to pressure the White House to bring the troops home. I reiterate from the aforementioned article:

“Stop saying, ‘Support our troops’ and start demanding that President Bush, ‘Bring our troops home!’ They want to come home, their loved ones want them safely in the bosom of their families; so, show your support by calling on legislators to pressure the White House to ‘Bring our troops home.’ Start cranking out those new bumper stickers and resist the urge to embrace blind allegiance dressed in the splendid garb of patriotism.”

Blind allegiance is the tool of tyranny used by the nationalists who have staked a false claim to that precious pearl called Patriotism. Think. Be aware. Don’t let it happen to you.

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