Backdoor Totalitarianism

to⋅tal⋅i⋅tar⋅i⋅an⋅ism -noun

1) absolute control by the state or a governing branch of a highly centralized institution

I have a good friend who is an officer with the BSO. Great guy with a great family. We went to his home for a visit a couple of years ago. I pulled my van into his driveway and stepped out to greet him. He was standing several yards back with one of his fellow officers. As I approached them, they gave me a stern look and pointed at my license plate. It was July 31st and my tags expired at the end of July. They joked that if I stayed overnight, I would have a ticket on my windshield in the morning. I promised that I would be gone before midnight so they proceeded to point out that my tires were under inflated, a very serious violation.

This was all good fun and we had a good laugh. Later that evening, after a couple of beers (maybe 3 or 4), my friend explained to me that there were so many laws on the books concerning traffic violations, vehicle safety and equipment maintenance that any person could be pulled over at any moment for any reason. My personal experience told me that he was correct. I don't blame my friend, he is just doing his job.

This conversation stayed with me for a long time. I began to look around and realize that almost every human endeavour is regulated in some form or another by a local, state or federal law. Whether you are driving your car, cutting down a tree in your yard, lighting a cigarette, popping the top on a beer, walking down the street, or just fishing in a lake......there is that little voice in the back of your head. That voice that says, "Am I breaking a law?", "Is this legal?", "Am I allowed to be here?".

When a government passes law after law, layer upon layer of regulation, they have in a democratic and legalistic process, taken control of your life. When there is a law for everything, I can guarantee you that at any moment you are in violation of some law, code or regulation. Try to compare this scenario to the tax code. We have all seen the biblical dimensions of the tax code in this country. We have heard the stories of 5 different IRS agents arriving at 5 different conclusions for the same tax return. I think it is safe to assume that every single citizen has violated some tax law somewhere in that tangled, incomprehensible book of regulations. Therefore, we are all criminals. By the same token, with the immeasurable number of laws on the books regulating our behavior, it's safe to assume that at any moment, somewhere, somehow, we have committed some crime.

Personally, I don't see any difference in our current situation to that of people living in tyranny. We are forced to get up every morning to work to support the State with an endless amount of taxes. We are allowed to move about only with the permission of the State and only if we follow their rules. We must live a government approved lifestyle or be punished or imprisoned. We must have a government approved personality or be arrested, fired from our job or worse, turned in by family or friends to be drugged into acceptability. In order to prosper, one must either fly under the radar or curry favor with the elite governing class. Otherwise, a friendly IRS agent will be calling or the government controlled media will destroy your name, honor and reputation.

Free men and women do not live like this. They do not "report" their income to a master. They do not ask permission from a master to cut down a tree on their property. They do not carry endless forms of identification simply to get into their car and drive, they do not ask a master permission to raise their children as they see fit. Free men and women drive the car of their choice, not the pre-selected, government approved vehicle forced upon them.

Many of you have grown comfortable in your cages. Some money in the bank, nice house, vacation every year. So what if you have to abide by the rules set forth by the nameless and the faceless, cradle to grave. Much like the pedigree dog living with the nice family, you have grown accustomed to sitting and rolling over on command as long as you are fed, groomed and can sleep in the Big House. Must I remind you again of what it means to trade your freedoms for material wealth? Go ahead and lick the hand that feeds you but don't ever forget what you have become.

In case you have forgotten let me remind you. The Declaration of Independence is the Emancipation Proclamation for all mankind. The Constitution is the legal contract guaranteeing that emancipation. You have but one duty as a citizen living under this great blanket of freedom paid for by men and women much stronger and wiser than ourselves. "Protect and defend the Constitution from enemies both foreign and domestic." When is the last time you have read either document? The Declaration of Independence is a simple but beautiful piece of art that was undeniably inspired by a higher power. It stated for the first time in known history that men and women are inherently free beings unconstrained by any power other than the Creator.

Consider for a moment that the institution of slavery has been with us since the beginning of civilization. From the Jews being enslaved by the Pharaoh to Africans being shipped into bondage all over the world in recent history . It has been acceptable throughout mankind's history for Oligarchs, Monarchs, Dictators, Pharaohs, Isms, etc. to enslave and control human beings at their discretion. This all changed in 1776. We are all enjoying the fruits of that incredible revolution but sadly have ceded freedom after freedom to an all too willing government.

It's not too late to stand up and do your duty. Our fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers paid with their lives. Are we too weak now to even raise a voice? Shame on the first generation of Americans to lay down the freedoms bought and paid for with blood, treasure and sacrifice. Shame on all of us.........................