In 1960 the U.S. national debt was $286 billion; today it is about eight trillion dollars. Most Americans think little to nothing of this situation: an obscene national debt, virtually constant annual budget deficits, and continual devaluation of the dollar via inflation of the money supply. The results are inflation of prices every year [in 1961 a pair of Levi's jeans sold for $3.95], creating a hidden "tax"---separate from all the other taxes---that is paid by all of us and will be paid by all who follow us in life. What happened to our country?
There are many reasons for the mess in which we find ourselves, and none are more important than this: in 1913 Congress passed the unconstitutional Fed Reserve Act. It changed the Constitution without an Amendment. In effect, Congress turned over its Constitutional duty to regulate the value of our money to a group of private corporations. [Lewis v. the U.S., #80-5905, 9th Circuit Court, June 24, 1982, "...we conclude that the Federal Reserve (Banks) are not Federal instrumentalities, but are independent and privately owned corporations..."]
Why? One can speculate (based upon all that has happened since 1913) that the answer is no more complicated than this: it was done because of greed and corruption. A group of bankers wanted control of our money system in order to make more money, and so they convinced Congressmen---those who weren't on Christmas vacation at the time---to abrogate the Constitution, shirk their duty to "coin money and regulate the value thereof", and trust the banking industry. The result has been the almost complete destruction of our money.
The present-day dollar is worth four cents compared to the 1913 dollar. Inflation is accepted as "normal". Sooner or later, our continually devalued dollar is bound to collapse. That's probably when the Corporatocracy will introduce the "Amero", the all too soon-to-be currency of the North American Union.
There was a time in this country when people knew that government, as Jefferson stated, is the enemy of the People. That's the reason our Founders placed strict limitations on the central government. Again, according to Jefferson, we must bind the government with the chains of the Constitution so that the government does not become a legitimized version of a criminal. Various Founding Fathers warned that people in power are not to be trusted, and that government is but a necessary evil. What happened to our country?
One can speculate that as we became more prosperous (in general), we also became less vigilant and more apathetic in regard to government. During and after the Great Depression---brought on by the manipulations of the Fed Reserve System (to which they admitted recently)---most people began to see our government as the Great Nanny. Soon people expected the government to be the provide-all entity in our country. During and after WW II the government grew exponentially in size and power. The "Secret Government", as noted by Bill Moyers, became bolder and bolder. It wasn't long before our government was overthrowing democratically elected government leaders---e.g., in Iran, Chile, Guatemala, etc.---and lying to the American public, as well as the rest of the world. Our government became a behemoth...out of control.
We the People were not only less vigilant and more apathetic, but were feeling helpless as well. Even as government abuses became public, we felt there was little to nothing that could be done to correct the situation. Many recognized that it really didn't matter who was elected to high office, and so we lost interest in politics and didn't bother to vote. In 2004, King George was elected with only 26% of the eligible voters in the country---74% voted for Kerry or third party candidates, or didn't vote at all. With the Corporatocracy virtually running the country, it is completely understandable why about 50% of eligible voters do not vote.
It is probable that when the Corporatocracy brings about the defeat of Ron Paul's candidacy for President, lovers of our Constitutional Republic (which is long gone, but MUST be restored) will finally wake up to the fact that the answer to our many problems is NOT to be found in the ballot box. Only massive, wide-scale civil disobedience will be the beginning of the restoration of the Republic. In the meantime, we should BOYCOTT the Corporatocracy on a small scale whenever possible.
[EXAMPLE--- As this piece is being written there is an ongoing, national effort to boycott ONE oil company...the largest, Exxon-Mobil. Do not buy your gasoline at an Exxon station. If enough people follow through, see how fast they lower their prices; after all, something is better than nothing when it comes to company revenues. Then see how fast the other companies lower their prices in order to compete. It can be done, if only enough people follow through.]
We must reclaim our status as individual sovereigns, and we must re-recognize that such status carries responsibility. Admittedly, there are some things for which government is necessary--- national defense, an unbiased court system, regulation of interstate commerce, etc. But government is NOT our Nanny; we must take care of ourselves, our families, and our neighbors whenever possible. We must hold the central government to the strict limitations of the Constitution. If we don't, we deserve what we get.
