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What I Have Learned From The Twentieth Century
The Virgo Examiner reposted on Free Republic ^ | 1999 | MIKE VANDERBOEGH

Posted on 02/25/2002 5:06:28 PM PST by harpseal

The John Doe Times "Sic Semper Rodentia"

(With Thanks to Schoolmasters Josef Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Mao Tse-Tung and Pol Pot for the Teaching.)

As an amateur historian of this sad century whose time is almost up, I would like to reflect upon six lessons I have learned in my studies. Folks who wish to live free and prosperous in the next century would do well to understand the failures of the last.

Lesson No. 1: If a bureaucrat, or a soldier sent by a bureaucrat, comes to knock down your door and take you someplace you don't want to go because of who you are or what you think-- kill him. If you can, kill the politician who sent them. You will likely die anyway, and you will be saving someone else the same fate. For it is a universal truth that the intended victims always far outnumber the tyrant's executioners. Any nation which practices this lesson will quickly run out of executioners and tyrants, or they will run out of it.

Lesson No. 2: If a bureaucrat, or a soldier sent by a bureaucrat, comes to knock down your door and confiscate your firearms-- kill him. The disarmament of law-abiding citizens is the required precursor to genocide.

Lesson No. 3: If a bureaucrat tells you that he must know if you have a firearm so he can put your name on a list for the common good, or wants to issue you an identity card so that you may be more easily identified-- tell him to go to hell. Registration of people and firearms is the required precursor to the tyranny which permits genocide. Bureaucrats cannot send soldiers to doors that aren't on their list.

Lesson No. 4: Believe actions, not words. Tyrants are consummate liars. Just because a tyrant is "democratically elected" doesn't mean that he believes in democracy. Reference Adolf Hitler, 1932. And just because a would-be tyrant mouths words of reverence to law and justice, or takes a solemn oath to uphold a constitution, doesn't mean he believes such concepts apply to him. Reference Bill Clinton, among others. The language of the lie is just another tool of killers. A sign saying "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work Makes You Free) posted above an execution camp gate doesn't mean that anybody gets out of there alive, and a room labeled "Showers" doesn't necessarily make you clean. Bill Clinton notwithstanding, the meaning of "is" is plain when such perverted language gets you killed. While all tyrants are liars, it is true that not all political liars are would-be tyrants-- but they bear close watching. And keep your rifle handy.

Lesson No. 5: Our constitutional republic as crafted by the Founders is the worst form of government in the world, except when compared to all the others. Capitalism, as well, is a terrible way to run an economy, except when compared to all other economic systems. Unrestrained democracy is best expressed as three wolves and a sheep sitting down to vote on what to have for dinner. The horrors of collectivism in all its forms-- socialism, communism, national socialism, fascism-- have been demonstrated beyond dispute by considerable wasteful trial and bloody error. Leaders such as Bill Clinton who view the Constitution as inconvenient and ignorable are harbingers of tyranny.

Lesson No. 6: While nations do not always get the leaders they deserve, they always get the leaders they tolerate. And anyone who tells you that "It Can't Happen Here" is whistling past the graveyard of history. There is no "house rule" that bars tyranny coming to America. History is replete with republics whose people grew complacent and descended into imperial butchery and chaos. Dictators count on the assistance of people who are complacent, fearful, envious, lazy and corrupt. While there is no "Collective guilt" to the crimes of a regime (all such crimes being committed by specific criminal individuals), there is certainly "collective responsibility"-- especially for those who watch the criminals at work without objecting or interfering. A French journalist of the last century wrote: "I must speak out for I will not be an accomplice." Evil tyrants require, indeed they depend upon, willing and unwilling accomplices-- good people who would never think of harming a soul themselves. Lenin called such people "useful idiots". DeTocqueville observed that "America is great because America is good. When America ceases to be good, she will cease to be great." As related in the Old Testament, God judged nations based upon the immorality and criminality of their leaders. Entire peoples were scourged because of their failure to remove corrupt leaders. As we move from the Twentieth Century into the Twenty-First, we should take care to remember the ancient story of Sodom and Gomorrah. If we wish to avoid the butchery of the Twentieth Century and the righteous judgment of the God of our antiquity, we would do well to keep our Bibles, our Constitution and our firearms close at hand.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: banglist
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An old thread which can be traced back to the original thread originally posted on Free Republic by noumenon. Claire Wolfe once described the situation and I paraphrase: It is too late to work within the system and really expect change but not yet time to shoot the bastards. Well the clock has ticked a whole lot since this was written and things have gotten on the whole a lot worse. It seems at this point the President is fighting a holding action against a Media and Senate cabal that seek to implemet every bad policy of the Twentieth Century into the Twewnty First. Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it. IMHO it was tragic enough the first time.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

1 posted on 02/25/2002 5:06:28 PM PST by harpseal
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To: Noumenon
I thought this would be a good day to bring this back.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

2 posted on 02/25/2002 5:07:33 PM PST by harpseal
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To: harpseal
We aren't out of the woods yet.
3 posted on 02/25/2002 5:11:25 PM PST by tet68
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To: harpseal
Thanks. A great reminder.
I send an article to like-minded friends every week.
This is my pick for this week.
4 posted on 02/25/2002 5:18:15 PM PST by sistergoldenhair
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To: tet68
Out if the woods? I tell you it is just getting worse each day. The putrescent filth that wishes to destroy the last vestigages of our Constitution are more concerned with disarming Americans then going after those whose wet dream is to kill Americans. In terms of being out of the woods it is sorta like the peace that was about reign on January 15, 1968 in the cityies of RVN.

Stay well - stay safe - stay armed - yorktown

5 posted on 02/25/2002 5:24:09 PM PST by harpseal
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To: sistergoldenhair
Thank you. There is a very small chance we can avert the disaster that is barrelling down on us like an out of contol frieght train coming down the mountain but I for one would not want to bet that it does not happen at least nothing I value to much. there is an ancient Gaelic tradition that the ravens gather before a battle because they know a feast is coming. Well the ravens have gathered over our nation now. We are beset from without by Al Qaeda and other militant Islamic jihadists. From within we face Daschile and his minions in the Senate all the while having people like Henry Waxman trying their best to bring on a civil war within this nation.

A litany of all the abuses against Free Speach, Freedom of Religion, the rights of parents, the right to private property, the right to be left alone by government, and the hope of changing government would take days just to list.

The only reason they have yet to abrogate the Third Amendment is they want to be certain there can be no resistance when you are told who will be sleeping with you tonight and how you shall provide for their relaxation. Of course given the differnet orientaions of many Liberals who gets selected to provide the relaxation for the soldiers of political correctness and who gets to serve the refeshments is an open question.

Your home your family and all you hold sacred is nothing to their demand for ever more power. the Nazis added modern efficiency to the equation of tyranny and the Soviets added an atheistic religion to it. The modern american Liberals have added the glitz of television and pop culture but the underlying corruption is still the same.

The spark will be struck. i do not know where and then the years 1861 to 1865 will seem but a breif interlude of organized struggled compared to the mayhem that will ensue. Some speak of secession of the red zone from the blue zone but such is not possible. The blue zone will not allow it. They demand the souls of all who are in their power. It is not enough to abide by the hate speech code one must actively support it and proseltyze for it. How dare anyone put their children's welfare and education in literature and science before their socialization to the liberal ethos.

The rules above were written in far too much blood to ever forget.

Pleae excuse my rant but I am angry at the incredible waste I see not far off.

I see McCain - Fiengold / Shays - Meehan about to become statutary law. This will remove one of the great safety valves of our society the ability to band together to effect political change.

I see an attempt to get a national firearms registry as a supposed security measure when all it does is make us more at risk.

I see liberals demanding more stupid gun laws whose only possible rationale is to impose tyranny.

I see the fraud in the sciences being used to make public policy.

I see fraud in historical research being used to deny the reality of what our Constitution means.

I see children taken from their natural parents who love them and being given to pederasts. I see the Fourth amendment routinely ignored. the Fifth Amendment is ignored. I could go on. Iapologise for the rant but a part of me does not wish to see what I saw in Vietnam here in the USA.

Stay well - Stay safe - stay armed - yorktown

6 posted on 02/25/2002 5:58:52 PM PST by harpseal
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To: Bang_list
Bang.

There are many worthwhile comments on the previous threads found by following the sources.

Stay well - stay safe - stay armed - yorktown

7 posted on 02/25/2002 6:19:03 PM PST by harpseal
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To: harpseal
Please excuse my rant but I am angry at the incredible waste I see not far off.
Stay well - Stay safe - stay armed - yorktown

Keep the faith.
We shall meet in Yorktown.
I know it.

8 posted on 02/25/2002 6:26:57 PM PST by sistergoldenhair
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To: harpseal
Great piece. Thanks for posting it.
9 posted on 02/25/2002 6:26:59 PM PST by Tauzero
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To: harpseal
TTFTH bumps.
10 posted on 02/25/2002 6:32:24 PM PST by Eagle Eye
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To: Eagle Eye; harpseal
"TTFTH"

I hope it's not time yet. We still can win at the ballot box if we work at it. When clinton started his first term, the people started voting out the dems in record numbers. When the OK bombing took place that was the end of it. The voters started to look for an evil right wing conspiracy.

We have to get rid of the dem party and all of them. A conservative dem still aids his party so we have to vote all of them from office. We also have to get the RINO's out of office. A good example of that is making sure that California gets a good conservative for governor and not that anti-gun creep.

11 posted on 02/25/2002 7:12:02 PM PST by Shooter 2.5
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To: Shooter 2.5
The criminal penaties attached to the CFR bill may take away the ballot box as an option.

Stay well - stay safe - stay armed - Yorktown

12 posted on 02/25/2002 7:27:55 PM PST by harpseal
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To: harpseal
I never thought that the First Amendment would go first at the hands of the dems. We really should be thanking them because we just found out that it never was about guns. It had to do with destroying the Bill of Rights.
13 posted on 02/25/2002 7:50:01 PM PST by Shooter 2.5
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To: Shooter 2.5
I never thought that the First Amendment would go first at the hands of the dems. We really should be thanking them because we just found out that it never was about guns. It had to do with destroying the Bill of Rights.

We defenders of the Bill of Rights have always warned that attacks on the 2nd amendment would lead to attacks on the 1st amendment. With the recent campaign finance reform bill, a massive attack on the 1st amendment has taken place. It happened a lot faster that I thought it would, and it proves just how corrupt (and treasonous) most of our elected officials are.

The very fact that such an attack on the 1st amendment would be attempted (let alone passed by Congress) speaks volumes about the depth of the quagmire we are in, and the rocky path ahead.

14 posted on 02/25/2002 8:29:03 PM PST by Mulder
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To: Shooter 2.5
We still can win at the ballot box if we work at it.

Perhaps. In 1980 and 1994, the American people had the truth presented to them and responded favorably. The question is: "can it happen again?".

The traitors have been hard at work (through the educational system and immigration policy) to ensure that the socialists will prevail in the future. Even the Republicans aren't really opposing them on these two fronts.

The "domestic enemies of the Constitution" are hoping that the next time that "we the people" wake up (like in 1980 or 1994) that we are simply outvoted by the recent immigrants and indoctrinated public school graduates.

Also, in order to win at the ballot box, we need to have a candidate who is willing to speak the truth (like Reagan in 1980 or Gingrich in 1994, but to a MUCH larger extent). Bush has failed in this regard. He is not addressing the assault on our Freedoms, nor is he trying to restore our Freedoms and return the government to its Constitutional limits. He is (at best) simply holding the line against the assault. He'll be on the ballot in 2004, which means that 2008 is the earliest that we'll have a chance of nominating a candidate who will work to preserve our Freedom. I don't know if the Bill of Rights will hold up for that long given the current rate of attack on it.

Another point to consider is where will these candidates come from? Very few Republicans (Ron Paul is one, for example) are addressing the issues that need to be dealt with. None of the GOP "leaders" are, which means that it will take an outsider, like Reagan, to fix the system.

This works good in theory, but both parties have now rigged the system (by having early primaries) such that victory by an "outsider" is very difficult. The CFR bill will make it nearly impossible.

My only desire (with regards to the "ballot box") is to have an election where the lines are clearly drawn. The totalitarians on one side, the defenders of Freedom on the other. Slavery vs Freedom. Security vs Liberty. Evil vs Good. If we win, that would settle things for the next 50 years. If we lose, that would indicate quite clearly what actions we would need to take to achieve our Freedom. Either way, we would prevail.

The "powers that be" do not want to see such an election to occur since they would lose, regardless of the outcome. So they continue to chip away at our Freedoms, while we keep hoping to resolve things at the ballot box.

15 posted on 02/25/2002 8:54:44 PM PST by Mulder
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To: harpseal
Duty Honor Country

There's yet beauty to life....

16 posted on 02/25/2002 9:28:20 PM PST by onedoug
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To: harpseal
Morning bump
17 posted on 02/26/2002 4:21:19 AM PST by SauronOfMordor
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To: Shooter 2.5
There is no respect for the Constitution and the Republic by those elected to uphold it. Those seeking office (E. Dole, etc) have not shown themselves any better.

It is amazing how quickly a group of unruly children will settle down and behave if one or two of them are spanked for their misbehavior.

18 posted on 02/26/2002 4:22:33 AM PST by Eagle Eye
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To: Mulder; Eagle Eye
" Bush has failed in this regard. He is not addressing the assault on our Freedoms, nor is he trying to restore our Freedoms and return the government to its Constitutional limits."

Agreed. He should veto any bill that threatens freedom and when he does that he should explain why he did it to the people. The only problem is the left wing owns the media. Unless Bush is willing to get on all the networks to explain why he vetoed all of those bills, the message won't reach the people.

19 posted on 02/26/2002 6:00:06 AM PST by Shooter 2.5
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To: harpseal
Dry Powder Bump.

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! --Patrick Henry

20 posted on 02/26/2002 6:10:38 AM PST by WALLACE212
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