The 1970s showed the once-invincible comic book super-heroes to be losers, in attitude and sales. Watergate had disillusioned the super-patriot Captain America with a storyline implying Nixon was the head of a terrorist group. The Captain trashes his outfit and becomes Nomad, The Man without a Country. My 11-year-old mind thought this was ridiculous, as Cap was originally a Depression-era 98-pound weakling until given a Super Soldier serum to bulk up and fight Nazis. It was unlikely that one of the “Greatest Generation” would bail on his country so readily. Even then I realized that this development merely mirrored a hippie writer’s attitude more than staying true to a character’s origins. 

Super-heroes became bleaker and even homicidal in the 1980s. The Punisher, a murderous vigilante, has become a top Marvel character. The Dark Knight Returns, a re-imagining of Batman, introduced an elderly caped crusader fighting the corrupt U.S. government represented by a stoogish Superman. Watchmen was set in a dystopic alternate reality where Nixon is still president and the super-group is made up of, among other miscreants, a rapist and mass murderer. It was a transmutation of established super-heroes from the 60s with Steve Ditko’s Objectivist hero The Question recast as the psychotic Rorschach. 

Ironically, while super-heroes have become leaders in the Hollywood box office, these films don’t help comics’ diminishing sales. In the 1940s, if a comic didn’t sell over a million copies it was cancelled. By the 80s, the cut-off point was 100,000 copies. Now companies are extremely happy selling 10,000 copies. The only time sales increase is when the publishers appeal to diehard collectors by releasing a title with multiple variant covers, and they gotta have ‘em all, or a new first issue of a popular character. Comic sales are at an all-time low and basically kept alive as merchandise-generators for film and other products. Time-Warner recently moved DC Comics from their publishing stable to the film division. Disney has bought Marvel Comics and it wasn’t for the stellar sales of their publications. 

One reason comic sales in general have dropped is because it is a one-genre medium (though there’s still Archie!). It’s as if the movie industry only made westerns and not comedies, science fiction, romance or other types of films. The industry has also ghettoized itself with the advent of the direct sales system. As sales withered on the newsstand (along with newsstands themselves), comic stores popped up with a new distribution paradigm. Copies that weren’t sold on the newsstand were sent back to the distributor for credit. With direct sales the books are non-returnable. They sell a lot less but they’re guaranteed sales. At first a supplement to newsstand distribution, like subscriptions, they are now the main source of revenue. 

Lower print runs have been blamed on the usual suspects; television, video games and the Internet. In fact publishers are marketing to the hard-core fanboy, an increasingly shrinking demographic. Stan Lee had introduced on-going storylines and continuity throughout his books. Earlier stories rarely continued and various super-heroes almost never interacted. Anyone could pick up a comic and read a self-contained story with a beginning and end. Now Stan’s continuity has mutated into ridiculous proportions with plot lines crossing over multiple issues and titles. The casual reader cannot pick up a singular issue and enjoy it, let alone understand it. One has to know the convoluted backgrounds of hundreds of characters or it won’t make any sense. There are obviously more people who might want to read comics than just comic geeks, but they can’t begin to unravel the catechism of modern super-heroes. Still more can’t find comics outside of comic book specialty shops and may not dare enter a place festooned with images of veiny, muscled goons lugging weapons and dripping blood. 

Super hero movies are popular for the same reason comics used to be attractive. They take you to a world of stunning visuals, exciting situations and heroic characters… unfortunately, the films are now beginning to fall in the same trap as comics. The most recent Batman and Spider-Man films featured the characters as darker, borderline evil, individuals and Marvel plans to introduce continuity to their movies. They will release new films with Captain America, Thor, Ant Man and others and then mush them all together with Iron Man and Hulk in an Avengers film. People who may have missed an earlier episode may not bother to see a later one where you’re expected to know all the characters’ baggage. 

Most disappointing in the superhero film trend was Superman Returns. The quintessential American super-hero becomes a metrosexual who ditches his baby mama Lois Lane for an outer space road trip to find himself and it tanked at the box office. The film pointedly refers to him fighting for truth and justice, but it’s not cool to mention the American way. Even the fabled Justice League of America is now termed the Justice League in a nod to one-worldness. 

It’s nearly impossible to find a comic that doesn’t star an angst-ridden anti-hero. The end of exceptional American super-heroes is here.

–

The event was comprised of three panel sessions and a luncheon keynote speech. The goal of the conference was to look at specific events that led to the fall of the wall, the people responsible, the impact of that historic event, and the legacy of the man who led the charge to end the Cold War, Ronald Reagan. There were two sessions that stood out at this event.  The first was the keynote speech by former Secretary of State for Ronald Reagan, George P Shultz.  His speech shed light into the unique leadership Ronald Reagan provided that we fail to find in our elected officials today.  Shultz delivered a rare look into the mindset of the Soviets at the time, and the determination and constancy of purpose that Reagan possessed.  He spoke of how Reagan approached the use of force with a subtle pot shot at the Obama administration. 

Although he didn’t mention Obama by name, he spoke of the time when the U.S. invaded Grenada.  Reagan sought counsel from his military leaders on the invasion strategy.  His Generals asked for a specific number of troops to successfully invade and rescue the 250 Americans being held hostage. Reagan responded by saying, “Take that number and double it, there will be less casualties on both sides.” Shultz went on to say, “Today the General on the ground in Afghanistan requested 40,000 more troops from the President, and the President responded with ‘I’ll get back to you on that.’ That would be unconscionable in a Reagan White House,” concluded Shultz — to long applause from the roughly 500 in attendances.

Shultz spoke of Reagan as a man of humility who believed, “One man can accomplish great things as long as he doesn’t care who gets the credit.” Everyone who spoke during this event agreed Reagan was never comfortable with the credit he was given for ending the Cold War because so many people were part of the solution.  It was clear the humility of Reagan had a lasting effect on all who worked with him and it was also very clear that humility was something we are not seeing in the current President. 

Former White House speechwriter for Reagan and drafter of the famous “Tear down this Wall” speech, Peter Robinson, commenting on the personality of Reagan said, “Reagan would have said, ’No thank you, I don’t deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.’” Robinson also spoke of the harsh resistance Reagan received from bureaucrats throughout the government about the line in his Berlin Wall speech: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Reagan asked all of his advisors their thoughts about removing the line from the speech and they all agreed it should be removed.  Reagan responded by saying, “I’m the President and it’s my decision, right? The line stay’s in.” He reflected that Reagan delivering that line was a special time in many Soviet occupied countries.

Mart Laar, former Prime Minster for Estonia, mentioned that Reagan’s principles helped him construct a system in Estonia with privatization and a flat tax that led to a strong economy for his citizens. Laar said, “I have a picture of Reagan in my office. When panelist Steve Forbes was asked if there was an unfinished legacy after the fall of the wall, Forbes replied: “Yes, we don’t have a picture of Reagan in OUR President’s office.”

Throughout this event there was one consistent message, a message that left me more concerned about the direction of our country than ever.  Czech President Vaclav Kalus expressed concern with our current administration and its policies saying the U.S.A. is becoming a Marxist country. Mart Laar screamed to the crowd, “Remember, people, YOU WON THE COLD WAR!”   Poland’s head economist warned us that there is truly no freedom without capitalism. These comments made me realize that former communist countries, their leaders and people know far more about Marxism and communism than we ever will.  They know the smell, the taste and the effects of tyranny. They are more familiar with freedom and liberty because it’s fresh in their mind. In fact, these leaders sounded more like our Founders than our current leaders do and want to see a strong America comprised of people from all nations that stands for liberty and freedom and not big government controlling industries and taking over private companies.

During the event I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with many of these world leaders and dignitaries. People like Nancy Regan, Ed Meese (United States Attorney General, 1985-1988); Richard Allen (National Security Advisor, 1981-1982), John Lehman (Secretary of the Navy, 1981-1987), Lord Charles Powell (Foreign Advisor to Margaret Thatcher, 1983-1990) and Czech President Klaus.

Why is it that our media doesn’t speak to these leaders and reveal their thoughts on the present direction of our country?  Could it be that they think it would confirm the Tea Party protesters’ concerns?  I think so.  Whatever the case, during this 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and end of the Cold War, we need to turn to those who understand how to defeat tyranny and recognize who in our government is advancing that tyranny.

We need to find leaders that think like Reagan, the man who said, “Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.” America has an enemy in the White House and many more in Congress.  It’s time we demand. “MR.OBAMA, TEAR DOWN YOUR WALL.”

 The correct answer is: Abso-freaking-lutely! Have you ever spent time with French, Irish or Eastern Block folk? The prejudice is often laughably absurd.

Before you go and point the finger, let me state that I am completely aware of the irony in that previous statement (lumping everyone into one category while labeling them “prejudice”). However, since we’re dealing with the mythical “racist redneck” generalization that is frequently tossed at Americans, I’m going to speak of Europe as a whole simply to save time.

Yesterday at my hotel lobby, there were two Russian girls. Upon picking up their car from the valet (who was a black man) they kept asking him if he were the famous Jamie Foxx. Strike that, they TOLD him that he was Jamie Foxx and promptly demanded his picture and autograph.

… The man looked nothing like Jamie Foxx. Floyd Mayweather maybe, but Jamie Foxx he was not. However, to these two Russian babes… The dude was Jamie Foxx.

Now I know what you’re thinking; “Well Steven, that’s just a prejudice bred from ignorance, not one spawned from hatred like that of Americans.” Granted, seeing as there are very few European countries that are as statistically diverse as the United States, you may have a point.

I would encourage you, however, to spend time in Eastern Europe and spend some time with the locals. Notice the segregation, the generally accepted stereotypes and of course, the rampant neo-nazi gangs. Then, saunter on down to the U.K. and observe entire portions of cities that have segregated themselves into entirely Muslim subdivisons. Notice the tension from pure-blooded European nationals and the incredible animosity that divides them.

See, when you follow the “multi-culturalism” philosophy, you unavoidably end up isolating each group of people. When there’s no “melting pot,” there’s no common bond between brethren of different races. It’s a “you’ve your gig going, and I’ve got mine” kind of mentality. That’s no way to live.

Of course, that’s not to say that the U.S.A is without its faults (as Sean Penn will, of course, tell you). From both a historical and pragmatic standpoint, however, Europe is inherently a more racist place. So next time a snooty European calls you a racist, be sure to tell him:

I am rubber, you are glue. What you say bounces off me and sticks to you.

… And then punch him in the racist face.

We are proud! We are united! We are loyal! We are kind and giving! We are decent! We are diverse! We are always seeking to improve ourselves and lift others! We are always the first ones to show up in time of need-anywhere in the world! We are the most powerful country in the world-but we are not bullies! We are family! We are friends and neighbors!  We are Americans and we are without a doubt the best example of a free people the world has ever seen-period.

We are ready to let our voices be heard-loud and clear! We are going to show up whenever and wherever we are called to defend ourselves. We are going to defend all patriotic Americans against slander and libel, in and out of court with both our presence and our pocketbooks. We are going to show up in unprecedented numbers and vote out the garbage, both left and right, that claim to represent us but prove otherwise-time and time again. We are energized, organized, determined and willing to stand up against the lies, intimidation, corruption, media manipulation and government fraud that is and has been perpetrated against us for too long now. We are especially ready to fight and stop any and all efforts that are currently being taken to separate us from our constitutional rights!

We Americans must not stop this forward movement to regain our place in the light. We have come out of the shadows and we have made our presence known. We must stay united and we must remain vigilant and strong. We have been decent to a fault, we have been patient and giving to the extreme and apparently, that is not enough? We have turned the other cheek over and over and over again and-enough is enough! Far too many have mistaken our kindness for weakness and have wrongly chosen to try and take advantage of that. With the help of self-loathing apologetic traitors, sham artists, race baiting profiteers, nefarious and/or cowardly elected representatives, the excessively rich (yet constantly angry) simple minded liberal elite and the well intentioned but unfortunately misinformed and naive-those that have designs on our way of life and our country have made strides. There is an open and concerted movement in this country to replace our constitution with another ideology and anyone who is awake knows this to be a fact-no matter how they spin it! They have made a mistake! Those loyal millions that are voting for entitlements-who have none the less been screwed-are not the majority and the radicals were/are a little too eager to get the job done. This may have worked to some degree in the past and maybe it will work somewhere else, but it cannot and will not work here!

We are like no other country in the world-we are as free as a people/country can be and ultimately-we choose our destiny! We are determined to stop this tearing away of the individual and the growth of big government and return our country to our founding fathers vision and keep it that way-no matter what, who, when, why or how anyone or anything tries to change that! Remember what we Americans are made of!  This nation is by birth fiercely independent and willing to stand up and do whatever it takes to preserve this way of life for our children and future generations. Despite lies turned rumors to the contrary, we are the most diverse nation the world has ever seen and never more so then today. For good reason this is the country the rest of the world turns to and all of us hard working, decent, caring, patriotic and common sense Americans are coming together the way it was meant to be-it works! The radicals and their minions didn’t count on us banding together-not this soon and desperately continue, with the help of the lame stream media, to act as if things are going precisely as planned-it is not!  Do not be fooled-the word is out! More Americans hear the call, open their eyes and join our/their cause everyday. Our elected representatives seem to be a little slow and better get a backbone-soon! They would be wise to listen and to stand up with us or we will find others who will. For our part-don’t forget the radical/liberal/progressive left made it this far and they will not go or give up easily-we must not let our guard down. For those who do not understand what I am talking about and get their information from one source, keep in mind that we conservatives have nothing to hide. We always have links to liberal sites and feature their columns on our own sites-they never do that! Why would that be? What are they hiding? Why are they afraid to feature our “lies” on their sites? Would it not be in their best interest to do so? Get curious and notice what does and doesn’t get on the local and mainstream news-you’d be amazed!

Whatever the color of our skin, whether we are religious or not, rich or poor, old or young-we are united against all those who would come between us, our families, our constitutional rights and our God given freedoms The call to stand up and be counted has been answered and everyday, our numbers swell and the more the radicals push-the faster and stronger we respond!

That violence is always blamed on those protesters by Ahamadinejad and other hardliners, as well as FARS and other state-run mouthpieces, all of whom are doing their damndest to demonize the Green protesters as enemies of the state, foreign agents, even domestic terrorists. Glad we don’t have that kind of stuff in America, huh? Ya, as if! What country are YOU living in?

What, in essence, are the Basiji? Are they not an ideologically and violently overzealous arm of the fascist Iranian thugocracy? Well, if terrorizing innocent citizens over ideology with full political backing is the key issue here, then what do you call the three menacing baton-swinging racist epithet-spewing New Black Panther Party poll watchers in Philadelphia, paid in full by Democrats, who uttered such overzealous statements as “you will soon be ruled by the black man, cracker”?

And what do you call the government that applied pressure from the highest levels to compel trial-eager career lawyers at DOJ who prepared the case for months to drop the charges, even with default convictions for violating the 1965 Civil Rights Act? Unheard of at Justice! Is that not whitewashing and enabling violence and intimidation at the highest levels? Just as no doubt happens with violent basijis every day in Iran? A free pass to be the best Brownshirts they can be?

Those racist thugs have been already been cleared to work the polls again in Philly next year! And perhaps town hall meetings on ObamaCare much sooner, given the President’s call to “get in our faces and hit back twice as hard!” NBPP poll watcher thug-in-chief and crakkka-killer wannabe Jerry Jackson is even an elected member of Philadelphia’s 14th Ward Democratic Committee, and has a COLORED ONLY sign outside his house. And we protesters are the ones “acting stupidly”?

Feeling Green yet, America? No? Okay, let’s mosey on over to St. Louis. Hey lookey there! Well whattaya know! Looks like some American Basijis in SEIU shirts and jackets just called a black conservative a nigger for selling Don’t Tread On Me flags, punched him in the face, and kicked him when he was down. I’d call that ideologically and violently overzealous. And it’s not just in St. Louis.

My Fellow Americans All, there is a dark and growing danger here. Let me lay it all out for you. In the past, when any administration’s bill or policy went as far south as ObamaCare (as Hillary’s own health care initiative went bad in 1993), even the most loyal Congressmen and women cut and ran, no matter how popular the president, if the answer to the question “Will this cost me my cushy job?” was in the affirmative. Yet even Hillary, who could not be more dedicated to the cause of socialized medicine, eventually dropped one of the major hot potatoes of her husband’s presidency.

By stark contrast, the reaction from today’s Left-leaning liberal Democrats in Congress, the White House and their Lefty lapdog media has not been to analyze the issues at hand, or to ask tough questions as to why Obama’s polls and support for ObamaCare are tanking, but an overwhelming, sweeping, indiscriminate and now-violent backlash against the American people as swastika-waving mobs of teabagging birthers and corporate lobbyist-paid right-wing Nazi extremists.

Sound familiar? Accusations of said mob rule at town halls by Congressional reps like Pelosi, Schumer and Durbin now abound. The packing of town halls with Democrat plants, now topped off with the unleashing of SEIU thugs on noisy yet peaceful non-violent protesters, followed by reports of violence at town hall meetings nationwide. Wasn’t a problem until SEIU showed up. Why is that?

This is no way to run a democracy, people. And it’s no way to run a “mainstream” press either. They’re all supposed to be OUR watchdogs looking out for OUR interests, not going to war with us or covering up real crimes! Nationwide days-long coverage for Dr. Skippy Gates over a hoax cry of racism, but not a newsflash for the racially slurred and beaten Kenneth Gladney? Need more? How about Keith Olbermann comparing ObamaCare protesters to Hamas and Hezbollah, and SEIU’s brand new “teabaggers” video blaming the protesters for the violence they themselves are causing?

You can see where this is all going, people. I see south. Way south. And the best way we can show our opposition to this violent and propagandistic assault on freedom of assembly, speech and expression is to show up at future town hall meetings in large peaceful numbers, just like Gandhi but as firm as Patton. Beat the SEIU and ACORN plants to the Potemkin town halls early. And always, ALWAYS bring your videocams! This goes way beyond ObamaCare now. This goes to the heart of who we are as a free people to express ourselves.

I guess that eternal vigilance being the price of liberty thing wasn’t far off the mark. In closing, I would strongly advise the Obama administration, the SEIU, liberal Democrats in Congress and their media lapdogs like Olbermann and Matthews that campaigning against, demonizing and scrapping violently with large swaths of innocent ordinary American citizens can come to no good end. Historically speaking. Lastly, Mister President, even Peggy Noonan thinks “You Are Terrifying Us.”

Send any concerns of your own to flag@whitehouse.gov. Looks fishy to me! The website, I mean

“It’s a liberal, socialist film. It’s about poor people in Africa and America,” McAleer says. “We’re not interested in insulting anyone or winning political points,” McAleer continues. “I don’t care about your politics and I’m not going to demonize you.”

But what McAleer and McElhinney won’t stand for is watching people suffer while serious, glaring misinformation guides public policy.

That happened during the misinformation campaign surrounding the use of DDT years ago to stop the spread of malaria, they say, and it could happen soon if the U.S. adopts cap and trade legislation which will hamper industry – and curtail American prosperity.

The film sprung in part from their last film, “Mine Your Own Business.“ The documentary slammed environmentalists for holding back progress in impoverished communities.

McAleer recalls working as a liberal journalist assigned to cover “an evil capitalist mining company” for the Financial Times.

When he arrived on the scene, “I discovered everything the environmentalists were saying was exaggerated or untrue,” he says, adding the locals wanted the new mines to improve their standard of living.

“Mining gives jobs to some of the most impoverished people in the world,” he adds.

While touring to promote “Mine Your Own Business,” the filmmakers were implored to investigate DDT, the insecticide which could have prevented millions of Africans from getting Malaria had it not been unfairly assaulted by environmentalists the world over.

That lead to their interest in the fractious global warming debate.

“Co2 is the new DDT. They‘re demonizing it the same way,” McAleer says.

“Not Evil Just Wrong” doesn’t just feature experts who agree with the filmmakers’ views. Some sequences include those who fear the earth is warming at an alarming rate.

–

“Climate people always believe journalists are on their side … they assume the journalist will not ask difficult questions,” McAleer says.

McElhinney says when they challenged some of the environmentalists featured in the film, “…they take it very badly. It’s unfamiliar territory to them.”

“Not Evil Just Wrong” is set to debut Oct. 18, a date they hope will become the largest ever simultaneous film premiere. Consumers can buy DVDs of the film beforehand in the hopes they’ll wait to hit the play button until 8 p.m. EST Oct. 18 to take part in the historical attempt.

The DVD screenings will be accompanied by theatrical screenings across the U.S., and those who see the film can Twitter, Facebook, e-mail or Skype questions to a panel gathered at a D.C. screening of the film after it debuts.

The filmmakers have shown their movie to a limited number of audiences already. McElhinney says audiences are shocked by the information in the film, particularly the British court case which ruled much of Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” was either misleading or outright wrong. The court debunked key information in the film, like the claim that sea waters would rise 20 feet in the near future.

Major media outlets couldn’t be bothered to report on that truth, McElhinney says.

“That’s a story worth reporting, and it‘s worth asking Al Gore about,” she says.

McElhinney compares global warming activists to undergraduates = well intentioned souls trafficking in dangerous material.

“They’re hopped up on testosterone and good intentions with little knowledge to back it up,” she says.

We used to be a strong, quiet nation, a big sleeping lion. It wasn’t wise to poke us with a stick and arouse our wrath. Now we seem to be becoming more and more like a fat neutered bull with dull horns with no will to do anything other than chew cud and remember the good old days when we were the hero of that joke about the old bull and the young bull up on the hill checking out the hot cows in the pasture. Hmm… Do they make Viagra for bulls nowadays? I do believe our collective heroic independence and valor needs a shot in the libido.

I have done a bit of traveling in my day and I cannot for the life of me figure out what is so damn great about the European socialist way of thinking. And why are Europeans so damn smug about it? How does abdicating power over personal freedoms and all responsibility for one’s own (and one’s family) well-being to a faceless, unconcerned, and thoroughly inept government bureaucracy lead to smuggery? I mean, isn’t that really the least courageous thing you can possibly do? Aren’t we all taught from a very early age how to take care of ourselves? We learn to wipe ourselves. We learn to tie our shoes. We learn to avoid our taxes as best we can. Hopefully in that order. So when did the great thinkers of the world decide that someone else could do all these things better than we can? I know, I know, we can trace it back to the time when it really worked well.

Uh, when was that exactly?

After hearing Sotomayor fumble the question as to whether the right to protect one’s self is as basic as breathing, I think I have a better idea of what the problem is. ARROGANCE! With a capital “Arrr.” That’s pirate lingo for “Testify!” Absolute, all encompassing arrogance teamed with that illiterate sense of entitlement you can only gain by being a person of the left. What a dangerous combination. Don’t we all laugh at the stupid rednecks on America’s Funniest Home Videos who throw rocks at hornets’ nests. And isn’t it always humorous when they precede this absolute idiocy with, “Hey watch this, yuck yuck.” Well I get the exact same feeling every time I hear Barack Obama is ramming through another ill-advised, oops, scratch that. I meant to say ramming a “totally unadvised or reviewed in any way” bill through Congress. Every time he says, “We must do this now.” just think. “Hey watch this, yuck, yuck.”

The most unfortunate part of all of this is that they’re woefully underestimating their own superiority and intelligence. Reality and common sense have never come close to their sphere of influence. If they were the most brilliant thinkers in the world and had a way to make everything all butterflies and rainbows, that would be neat. We could sing songs together and dance in fields of Lillie’s safe from rising oceans — thanks to Obama’s godlike hand calming the angry waters and cooling the earth. We would have plenty of food, there would be no poor, sick, or aged and infirm. We would all have great houses with ocean views. We would be on a constant vacation full of excitement and adventure. We would have the Internet and unlimited cable channels piped directly into our brains. All defecation would cease, our urine would actually become lemonade, and our farts would smell of wildflowers (although theirs already do, of course). All the Taliban and communists would go into the teddy bear business and give free hugs to all the infidels. And finally every other well intentioned, yet completely misguided liberal social program would not have been monumental failures.

Wow, that was some great Peyote I just had. Okay, I’m a little woozy after my spirit walk, but I’m alright –I’m part Cherokee, so I can handle it. My wolf spirit-guide told me I need to move away because this country is going down the tubes. But I told him a thing or three. Wolfie, I says, this is my country. Then I says, stop licking yourself, it’s unseemly. This is the country for everyone searching for freedom from tyranny. All we ask of them is that they pull their own weight. It makes it easier for us all if we’re all pulling the wagon together. E Pluribus Unum, baby!

I’m not one of those wussy Hollywood types who cry and bitch and moan about leaving if we elect a President with backbone. Although, I sure wish those who do would keep their word for once. Nope, I’m staying right here and fighting for what this country is all about. Self-reliance and responsibility. I will do my best to take care of me and mine. Then I will do my best to help those near me. Throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at Palestine or any other far away country that hates us is sheer stupidity. Put the oxygen mask on yourself and then you can help others. We can’t throw money we don’t have at things that won’t do any good for anyone. Let’s focus on getting our cojones back and fight “the power,” fight “The Man,” because “The Man” is truly tying to keep you down, regardless of your race, color, or creed.

So don’t get lulled into the idea that a few hundred ignorant narcissists in a faraway land called Washington D.C. have your best interest at heart. They do not. Regardless of party affiliation, I say sack ‘em all and start over. Stand up! Join us! Be strong and take responsibility for you and yours. Remember what this country promises: equality of opportunity, not outcome. A chance. A shot at the brass ring. The last and best shot this planet has to offer. If we squander it, we only have ourselves to blame.

I’m just sayin…

Of course, Americans were never completely free, which is expressly why freedom was so long sustained on these shores. Our founders knew what freedom is: The natural, God-created state of man, completely unrestrained by the conventions of other men. They also knew that such pure freedom was never practically experienced, and that if it was, it could never be sustained, because it would naturally and instantly consume itself as the powerful and strong exercise of their will without restraint upon the weak. Pure freedom replaces itself with tyranny, rapidly and violently in a shockingly Darwinian fashion. From the chaos of pure freedom rise despots and kings.

So what our Founders concluded, through study, meditation, and debate, was that for freedom to last and to perpetuate itself, the natural freedom each man is born to must actually be restrained in one, and only one, regard – sort of a Golden Rule of Freedom: The free man must give up his freedom to encroach upon the freedom of other free men.

With that one, minimalistic restraint universally applied, the sum total of the rest of man’s innate freedom would be preserved and man would thrive as never before on the stage of human history. There would be no kings, no despots, no powerful devouring the freedom of others. There would be no restraints on the human potential for invention or self-improvement, and no requirements of either. There would be leaders, sure. People who’s natural talents and aptitudes, which they would be free to nurture and grow in anyway they desired so long as they did not rob other men of the same right, would place them in positions of authority, but that authority would be incredibly limited because the government of free men would, unlike all other governments in history, be controlled by the free men themselves. It would, therefore, be restrained in its power to encroach upon the freedoms of its citizens, just as they were restrained from encroaching upon one another.

The very small exceptions, and in fact the only reason for free men to have government at all, were concluded to be defense (some power had to exist, after all, to enforce the simple mandate of not intruding on the freedom of others) and the “common good,” which did not mean collectivism, but was rather narrowly defined as being the tools necessary for free people to go about the process of being free. Beyond that mandate, government would be forbidden to practice, because to exceed those restraints would by default restrain the freedoms that birthed such a government in the first place. If the government has the right to force people to conform to its will in any areas other than the preservation of freedom, then it is automatically the enemy of freedom. More simply, a government who is not specifically and entirely committed to the preservation of freedom is the very destroyer of freedom.

Of course, if you ask the average American if they are free, they will give a resounding, “Yes!” But look around you. Does the government of the United States concern itself chiefly and exclusively with the preservation of your freedom? Or does it, like all governments everywhere, exist to regulate your freedoms, therefore rendering you un-free, after all? Can a free government tax your income? Moreover, can it tax you more and more the more progress you make in pursuing your freedom? Doesn’t that make freedom a commodity to be purchased, not a right from God? For over one hundred years there was no income tax in this country. Now, some are taxed in excess of 40% just on their income.

What about property? One of the simplest expressions of freedom is the right to own land, but do you own anything in this country? Ownership means you don’t owe anyone anything for what is yours. You possess it outright; you are master of it. But what if you have to pay a “property tax” on it each year to the government? If you have to pay someone each year, a debt that can never, ever, be retired, with the penalty for not paying being that they can take your possession away from you, then who actually owns it, you or them? Aren’t you merely renting it from the true owner, the government? You don’t own your house or your land in this country anymore. Don’t believe it? Miss a payment. The true owner has men with guns and briefcases standing by to rob you of everything you think is yours. In the twenties, men paid the mob for protection from… the mob. Today, you pay Uncle Sam for the same kind of protection.

Oh, but we think we’re free. Why? Because we say that we are. In fact, at the end of he day, most people believe that freedom is primarily our ability to speak out against our government, and to be sure, freedom of speech is a uniquely American right. But at the end of the day, all of our words of protest are merely that, words, if the government already has the power over every other aspect of our lives. In fact, they love for us to talk, because it keeps us distracted from the real losses we endure daily to a ruling elite that our founders would have taken up arms against years ago.

Read the Declaration of Independence sometime. The Revolution was fought over far less. The rulers, which is what they now are, passing laws that rob and regulate men without even bothering to read them first, take and take while we talk and talk and congratulate ourselves on how clever and free we are for it. They take your money to pay off their donors, to enforce their will on others, and to prevent consequences of those who freely tried and freely failed at something because, after all, if someone loses, they may not vote to keep the despots in power. They can force you to behave in the ways they deem appropriate, use the light bulbs they want you to use, watch digital televisions instead of analog ones. They oblige you to buy them favor with foreign powers, many of whom it is their job to defend you from. Now they are even in the process of creating a National Healthcare Law which will make the government responsible for your well-being. Of course, in doing so, it will also make them responsible for everything you do that effects your well being.

Is it cheaper to treat cancer, or use your power to pass law to criminalize smoking or car exhaust? Is it easier to treat obesity, or to use your legal power to regulate what people eat and drink, and when? Is it easier to conceive a cure for consequences, or to prevent behaviors that lead to consequences? And if there are too many doctors in one place, and not enough in another, do you want the market inspiring one to move, or the government with it’s guns and fines telling a man where and when he may work?

Ask yourself, are you free if the government can tell you what to eat, what to drive, how much to exercise, what job to do and where and when, and that owns your land and takes half of your income to fund whatever present and future encroachment into your life and liberty it deems worthy?

Of course, there are those who will call this hyperbole, or worse yet, the rantings of a reactionary. They will tell you this is still the freest country in the world, and they may be right. But our Founders never measured their freedom by the freedoms of others. If they did, there would never have been a revolution because the British were already more free than most anyone on earth. It wasn’t the Middle Ages. The King was bound by writs of law, there was a parliament and courts. Men could gripe about the government in any pub in London with virtual immunity, much less thousands of miles away in Boston or New York. In many ways, the English in the seventeen hundreds were more free than Americans in the twenty-first century. At least they could get on a boat and come here to own a nice plot of land and do as they pleased.

The point is, being more free than some others wasn’t enough for Washington or Jefferson, Adams or Franklin. They would be content with nothing less than a revolutionary expression of the total, natural rights of man. They signed their names, struggled and fought to see freedom on this soil be more than a comparative measurement or a cathartic twig of a word to bite down on while our true freedom is amputated from us.

American freedom is more than a word, and it is more than what we are being left with as this runaway government monster devours what men bled and died to give us. So reactionary it may be, but hyperbole it is not. We are not free, and looking in the mirror telling ourselves we are does nothing to change the fact. To hell with the perpetual chant of freedom that deafens us while they steal what is ours in the night. We must stop being content with the expression, and demand again the right. We must stand up to this despotic, bureaucratic, tyrannous monster and take back the substance of the thing while there is still time or else this great experiment is lost already, and freedom really is nothing more than a word. A word that means YOU ARE NOT FREE.