Not Going to Take It Anymore

FreeRepublic ^ | 4/01/02 | Ben A. Conservative

[B. A. Conservative]

How many times have you heard this statement? Have you used this phrase yourself? Is FreeRepublic just a support group (form of group therapy) for burned-out or recovering conservatives much like the function served by AA for alcoholics?

I have a list of questions to which I don't have the answers, but believe that these are questions that deserve answers. If you have asked yourself more than a few of these questions or even entertained the thoughts that these questions express, then I am inviting you to participate in an exchange of ideas. I hope that enough Freepers will provide their thoughts in order that we can use your answers to end and reverse the damage that is being done to our country and our way of life by Democrats and other liberals.

I intend to provide the complete list as part of this post. I am going to post each question one at a time for its own thread. Each posting of a question will be several days apart to allow time for those willing to participate. I hope that anyone willing to participate will hold their replies to specific questions until each question is asked as a topic of its own with the first question to be posted on Thursday. I am hoping that you will use replies to this post as a means of attracting Freepers whom you know might have an interest in this discussion and the direction in which it goes. Here is the List:

1. Is the United States broken?
2. If it is broken, can it be fixed?
3. If it can be fixed, how long will it take?
4. Who will fix it?
5. Will there be opposition to fixing it?
6. Can the opposition be defeated within a reasonable period of time?
7. How long is reasonable?
8. How realistic are your expectations about whether it can be fixed?
9. How realistic are your expectations with regard to time?
10. If it can't be fixed, have you considered other solutions regarding your disappointment with the present state of affairs in the United States?
11. Could other countries offer the freedom you seek?
12. Are there other existing countries that offer more freedom than what is currently offered in the United States?
13. If one state were to secede and offer a Constitutional Republic like the one we had, would you consider living there?
14. How would the United States respond to one state's elective and voluntary peaceable declaration of its own independence from the United States?
15. Would the United States be willing to use military action including the killing of peaceful secessionists?
16. If a Boris Yeltsin took a stand in the state capitol, would the United States send in the tanks and kill him and/or his compatriots?
17. If the United States were actually willing to use force to surpress a state's secession, would you still want to live in the United States?
18. Would that be the final straw proving to any "doubting Thomas"es that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States are now empty meaningless words that no longer have validity as ideas?
19. Would this be the proof to some that the United States is now no different from any other form of tyranny?
20. If one state successfully and peaceably seceded, would others follow?
21. Would we see groups of states organizing as regional republics competeing for citizens by offering more freedom than their neighboring nation/states?
22. Could our freedoms and liberties be restored more certainly and more quickly by forcing governments to compete with one another in an effort to please its citizens and/or prospective citizens?
23. Does the United States have a monopoly on government?
24. Is the military superiority that the United States possesses over the rest of the world sufficient reason for its citizens to sacrifice their freedoms in the interests of security?
25. Could the military strength and superiority of the United States be obtained through the equivalent of a North American Nato?
26. How can we restore our freedoms without secession?

    I suspect most Freepers share my frustrations, but have not let their thinking run as far afield as I have let mine. Quite frankly, I am not at all happy with my answers to these questions. And while this may prove to be a fool's errand, I assure you it is not intended as an April Fools. As is so common on this site, feel free to Freep This Poll.

[Noumenon]

War is coming. It is best to abandon our illusions and prepare for it. We're past the point of debate. We cannot and will not be able to vote or talk our way out of it. It is not a matter of if, it is merely a matter of when. 09/11 altered the timetable somewhat, and it did have the beneficial effect on some folks akin to that of a bucket of ice water in the face. But it didn't take long for the rats and the vermin to crawl back out from under their rocks, agendas and intent intact.

War is coming. Some may prefer to remain passive until the conflict reaches them. Others may prefer a more proactive approach, especially with respect to certain anti-American, anti-Constitutional apparatchiks, i.e., the politicians who believe that they rule with impunity.

War is coming. The Republic will be restored on the graves of traitors, patriots and innocents alike. Perhaps we'll learn something this time around.

[Lurker]

War's already here.

It's just that day to day lowgrade kind of a thing. One things for sure though, it's going to get a lot uglier.

Regards,

L

[Jim Noble]

Isn't the awkward stage quote from Claire Wolfe?

[the-ironically-named-proverbs2]

"Most folks aren't looking for freedom, that would mean others are doing things they don't like. They just want a tyranny to their liking."

no replies to that statement? I think you hit it out of the park.

[SuperLuminal]

"War is coming. It is best to abandon our illusions and prepare for it. We're past the point of debate"

Amen! Thanks for getting to the real issue: Where is the question on the list relating to "preparations"?

Of course, with your having peeled back the layers of feel-good crap to get at the core of the issue, the dramatic PC change in the FR landscape over the past couple of years will now dictate the deletion of this thread.

[Noumenon]

"Most folks aren't looking for freedom, that would mean others are doing things they don't like. They just want a tyranny to their liking."

That's eminently quotable - may I quote you for attribution? That's more truth than some people - most people - want to hear. That's also why we're going to be fighting in open warfare before too much longer.

[Noumenon]

God forbid that anyone spoil the party, eh? Don't mind that elephant there in the living room....

[Noumenon]

It's just that day to day lowgrade kind of a thing. One things for sure though, it's going to get a lot uglier.

Folks have no idea. Few of us have learned anything from history. Maybe this time...

[Tuor]

To be honest, I was devastated by the sentiments expressed by an overwhelming number of people post-9/11. I couldn't believe these were the same people who earlier were preaching against a coercive State and claimed to be promoters of Liberty.

I felt (and feel) exactly the same way. I concluded, sadly, that the only difference between them and the liberals they railed against was the ends, not the means. It showed to me what a truly tiny portion of the population really cares or believes in the idea of the power of the individual and the right of the individual to be free.

We are not free, and we are becoming less free as time passes. Our freedom is an illusion, kept in place both externally, by the government/media, and internally by the small prosperity of the masses making them reluctant to rock the boat.

I suppose the main reason I stay here is that it is a good source for news that is hard to get otherwise. It's sort of like being able to watch the Titanic go down without having to actually be on board.

Tuor

[Dakotabound]

Is FreeRepublic just a support group (form of group therapy) for burned-out or recovering conservatives much like the function served by AA for alcoholics?

1. We admitted that we were powerless over politics, and that our country had become unmanageable.

2. We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us and the US to sanity.

3. We became willing to turn our lives, our nation, and our will over to the care of God as we understood him.

Sounds about right...many of us are taking inventory as we speak...

[Wolfie]

Quote away, attributed or not. It needs to be said more often, not that it will sink in with the people most in need of understanding it, but what the heck.

[aomagrat]

America has become a nation of sheep, tended by wolves. As long as the wolves only take one sheep at a time, the herd remains content. As long as the herd has their TV and government cheese, it will not care if the wolves take a sheep every now and then. By the time the herd realizes the danger, it will already be at the slaughterhouse.

[B.O. Plenty]

It's Time to Part Company

[timm22]

War is coming. The Republic will be restored on the graves of traitors, patriots and innocents alike. Perhaps we'll learn something this time around.

Perhaps, but does it have to be that way?

In previous centuries, probably so. But let's look at the two great victories for tyranny in the previous century: The New Deal, and the cultural revolution of the 1960's.

In neither case did the opponents of liberty have to resort to open warfare (at least on a large scale). Instead, they used political and social means to attack freedom. Yet they were still incredibly successful in radically altering the character and direction of America.

Instead of thinking about guerrila war and insurrection, maybe we should study those two movements and use elements from them in our counter-offensive.

[Action-America]

"Most folks aren't looking for freedom, that would mean others are doing things they don't like. They just want a tyranny to their liking."

Bang!

Dead on target!

That is one of the most profound statements that I have ever read on this forum.  It applies to many who call themselves conservative, as well.

 

[deadrock]

The US is beyond hope. A revolution of the likes not see before is the only remedy.

[B4Ranch]

The majority of those who call themselves conservatives wouldn't recognize one if they tripped over him/her. Self responsibility in 100% of your life is too frightening for them to even consider.

[apochromat]

... the Industrial Age is coming to an end ... in favor of a borderless Information Society

This is the siren song to some form of global communism. I'm not putting it down, just being candid.

[Destructor]

Destructor will go out kickin'! My gear is packed, and my powder is dry.

[JohnGalt]

I disagree, but you are most likely a paleo-Conservative and thus we should disagree. Paleo-cons just have trouble determining when the Old Right ended, when it ended with the settling of the frontier. The new frontier is unlimited bandwidth and while it is not as romantic as the Wild West, it cannot be controlled by Washington DC or any other centralized 'government.'