An American Revolution?

Since October 2008 the American people have been fleeced of nearly 10 TRILLION dollars. This astronomical amount of money has gone to banks,and auto companies. When the economy and stock market first started falling apart in late October 2008, every chicken little on CNBC, CNN, FOX and in the Congress were calling on the federal government to bailout the banking and finance industry. We were told that if this did not happen, revolution, martial law, and a meltdown of our society would occur. Well...10 TRILLION dollars later, are we better off? NO! Hundreds of banks have went under, GM and Chrysler are bankrupt, and unemployment is rapidly rising. State governments, particularly here in California, are bankrupt and out of money. So what gives? Why are we worse off?

We are worse off because the money stolen from the American people was not intended to help people with their mortgages,or make credit easier. Instead the Federal Reserve has printed money with abandon and the banking corporations have seen us, the taxpayer, as their permenent piggy bank! This combination of business and government is creating a fascist state all wrapped up in the red, white and blue. If we don't disband the Federal Reserve, get our troops out of all the quagmires they are in around the globe, and toss out the whole corrupt bunch of politicians in Washington, DC,there will nothing left of America. America is teetering on the brink of revolution.

Think about the French Revolution. Why was it so violent? Why did it degenerate into massive violence? Well, first off the French monarchy was absolutist and corrupt. A massive royal bureaucracy and the powerful Catholic Church kept the people down through poverty, ignorance, and violence. When the revolution overthrew the king, and the bureaucracy, the pent up rage of the masses created a whirlwind of violence and destruction until the moderates took charge in 1795. Is America exempt from this? Are we similar to the French government? The answer is YES!

Our government is totally corrupt. The U.S. Congress is owned lock, stock and barrel by big business and banks. We, the American people mean very little to the politicians. These politicians are sowing the seeds of their own destruction. A new American revolution will make the French Revolution look like a child's birthday party. We are a mixture of ethnicities, races, religions, and socio-economic classes. This mixture is very volitile. If a revolution comes, one must be wary of a Lenin, Stalin, Mao, or Pol Pot coming to power instead of a Jefferson, Paine, or Madison.

American politicians need to wake up. Disembowel the Federal Reserve, bring the troops home, and restore constitutional government. Only then will America recover from this depression we are in, and maybe, just maybe, the politicians will save their skins.

A True Defense of Capitalism

In this essay I will lay out what I believe to be a true libertarian defense of capitalism. Many libertarians think they have a concept of economic liberty and capitalism, but they do not. Instead, they unwittingly defend the corporate/government complex, aristocracy. and government bureaucracy. Let's look at what capitalism is not.

Capitalism is not what we currently have in the USA. What we have is a form of fascism. Government and business in "partnership" with the government allowing private enterprise to exist,, but controlling it's use. This fascism is ruining America. Let me enlighten.

This fascism spawns all kinds of tyrannical laws: Anti-discrimination laws, environmental laws, eminent domain laws, zoning laws, bureaucratic "administrative" laws with no jury trial, health laws, "privacy" laws, etc. These laws are not promoting economic freedom, but are instead retarding it. They cause innumerable headaches for the people in business like lawsuits (governmental and private), compliance costs (passed on to consumers), requirements for insurance, and other bureaucratic regulations which help slow economic growth and success. This form of fascism has it 's roots in the Old World of Europe. It stems from the European ideal of man as a ward, or more appropriately, a serf of the state. Some libertarians don't recognize this and they defend what they believe to be capitalism from this perspective. Let us examine this.

Many libertarians will defend any attack on "Big Business", or corporations as anti-capitalism. They will also unwittingly defend such ancient despot isms as feudalism, strong central government, and aristocracy as parts of capitalism. Aristocracy, feudalism and powerful government are the antithesis of true capitalism. European aristocrats gained power, money and prestige through the rape, pillage and exploitation of their people. They were not entrepreneurs and fighters for free markets. They hated freedom and free markets. They were an arm of the state, or king. The nobility of Europe "earned" their money through serfdom, slavery, guilds, mercantilism, and other forms of anti-capitalism. Even though this has been thoroughly documented by great libertarians like Murray Rothbard. Here is a link to a great article by Rothbard on the American Revolutionhttp://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard121.html.Many libertarians still continue to defend the ideals of Edmund Burke: feudalism, state supported religion, and an elite governing a society. Why? Why would defenders of man's liberty reject true capitalism and freedom for this nonsense? I say because they are not really libertarians. They are either conservatives in libertarian clothing, or flat out fascists hiding their true desire for power and dominance under the cloak of libertarianism. I am particularly disturbed by such "anarcho-capitalists" like Hans Hermann Hoppe who seems to enjoy the concept of feudalism, and monarchy all the while claiming to be a market anarchist. Sounds a little strange, huh? Several months ago, on the great Strike the Root website, writer Douglas Herman called Edmund Burke an "anarchist". Huh? Has Mr. Herman ever read "Reflections on the Revolution in France"? A more pure defense of tradition,monarchy, aristocracy, mercantilism, and theocracy could not be written, Mr. Burke's previous more libertarian writings aside. Mr. Herman goes on to talk briefly about Burke's support for the American Revolution. Burke did support the Revolution, only as a defense of "English liberties" not as a natural right to liberty. Burke only defended the Revolution because he saw the English government violating English tradition, something Burke worshipped.

American libertarianism is the more radical wing of the wonderful tradition of Anglo-American libertarian theory. State supported religion, laws banning religious minorities from voting and holding office,quit rants, primogeniture and entail of estates,serfdom,slavery, etc are just a few of the ancient relics swept aside by the radicalism of the American Revolution. Now slavery took much longer due to it's entrenchment in the South, but it too fell away, albeit by war. Men like Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, James Madison, and other Jeffersonian Republicans attempted to keep the radical fire alive in the ensuing years after the Revolution. They only partially succeeded. We must be thankful for how far they have taken us, but we must press progress forward. That progress is best led by capitalism.

Capitalism made America Modern

It is capitalism and the freedom it creates that has made America a
mighty and advanced nation. Free trade between nations and individuals
is the corrosive acid that melts away feudalism and despotism. Capitalism allows for individuals to manage their own lives without harming others. This only works when government steps aside and allows people to be free. Modernity was a direct result of the American Revolution. The former colonists, freed from their mercantilist bondage of the British navigation acts, created the most explosive expansion of trade,commerce and business enterprise. The American standard of living, already higher than in most of the world, was raised tremendously. This new found liberty and freedom molded Americans into self reliant, open minded, and enterprising people. Was America perfect? No not at all. Slavery still existed in the South, and corporations were flexing their muscle in attempting to create a new American type of mercantilism. Since nothing is perfect, I do not wallow in immolating the American Revolution or the American Republic. The American Revolution and it results changed the world. The capitalism that was created made America the first modern nation.

World Enlightenment

Beginning in English Revolution of the 1640's through the American and French Revolutions of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the great march of progress has transformed the world. The revolutions in science and industry, combined with the powerful intellectual empiricism of the Enlightenment, has truly made the world a better place. The Enlightenment was like a corrosive acid burning a hole through ages of religious superstition, mysticism, and ignorance. We still have a long way to go, but with the rise of freethought,and Deism, we can hopefully complete what Thomas Paine originally wanted to do, enlighten the world. We still have a long way to go.

Currently, the three monotheistic religions of the world, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, still hold a powerful grip on the minds of the people of the world. In Islamic nations women are brutally oppressed, forbidden to vote or go to school, show their bodies, pick their own spouse, drive, drink alcohol or take drugs, have sex before marriage, and all enforced by a government dominated by imans, and monarchs.

In The United States, and other western nations, the tyranny is more subtle. Modern Christians demand prayer in schools, the banning of Darwin's Origin of the Species, bans on contraception and abortion, posting of the Ten Commandments in the courtrooms, blind support for Israel, using taxpayer dollars, etc. All of this is a revolt against modernity. The modern world, birthed in the Age of the Enlightenment, is still a threat to religious zealots of all stripes, and their control of societies and governments. Throughout history, religious leaders, and established churches have always been enemies of freedom. Thomas Jefferson put it best " In every country, and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty, always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses for the protection of his own." Revealed religious leaders of the seventeenth century through the present have consistently waged war on science, knowledge, and personal liberty.

Is it possible to free the people of the Earth from the tyranny of revealed religion? I believe it is. Sadly, the people of Islamic nations suffer the worst of religious tyranny, superstition, and intolerance. All believers in progress, liberty and the spirit of tolerance, should strive to provide knowledge and new ideas to the people of these nations. As a Deist and a libertarian, I believe it is imperative to start now if we are to free the world from oppression. I plan on being a Deist evangelist, so to speak. I would like to spread Deism through the works of Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, John Toland, and other great deists. Islamic nations need great works like Jefferson's writings,the Declaration of Independence, and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. To make this happen, the people of these nations must be educated to overthrow their horrible rulers and imans. The revolutionary power of the Internet will be needed for this. If we can liberate their minds, they too, can join in the modern world, and free their societies from revealed religion.

We also must start by working in our own country, the United States. Read Paine's the Age of Reason, John Toland's Christianity Not Mysterious, and the writings of other American Revolutionaries like Samuel Adams, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, etc. These courageous men, with the exception of Samuel Adams, were not Bible thumping Christians, but instead were rationalists and deists. The world can be enlightened. Look how far we've come since the first revolution in England in 1640, only 360 years ago.

I believe that we must saturate our society with Deist values. We must cease to be polite and afraid to offend people. Speak your mind! Don't hesitate to tell them the benefits of liberty and natural religion. Confront their superstition. Make them justify their irrationalism. Also, start a blog, a webzine or write letters to the editor of your local paper, and express your views. I also want to encourage readers to check out the World Union of Deists, of which I am a member, run by a courageous and tireless proponent of Deism, Robert Johnson. The WUD can be found at the link to the right of this article. Robert also wrote a book entitled: Deism-A Revolution in Religion, A Revolution in You. The book is sold on Robert's site and is a great introduction to Deism. You can also purchase it on Amazon.com.

Take a step in the direction of natural religion, Deism. Reject revealed religion and enlighten the world!

Deism and Enlightenment-To Save Humanity

Recently the American Religious Identification Survey(ARIS)showed that 12% of Americans identify themselves as believing in God, but not from one of the "revealed" religions. Deist Robert Johnson spells it out well in an article he wrote for Strike the Root. You can read his article here http://www.strike-the-root.com/91/johnson/johnson5.html. I would like to compliment his article with one of my own.

Deism, or Natural Religion, as it was once called, is an Enlightenment religion and philosophy of belief in a Divine Creator, but not the one of the "revealed" religions of Christianity, Islam or Judaism. Deism is a religion of reason and rationality. It shows men the way to God is not through ancient books and fables, but through using their own God given reason to attain truth. Deism, outside of a belief in a Divine Creator, has no dogmas, priesthood,or "holy" books to consult. Deism shows the way to God is through your senses and examing his wonderous creation. The Earth and all of it's animal and plant life are intricately organized, the solar system with it's heliocentric organization,and the vastness of the Universe all point to a Divine Architect. Some Deists believe in Pantheism, holding the view that the Universe itself is alive and sacred.

Deism is also a religion of liberty and rejects fear based religions like Christianity. Many of our Founders and other revolutionaries were Deists. Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams,and the great Thomas Paine were all either Deists, or Unitarians. All were for the most part, freethinkers. Most Deists believed in religious liberty, republicanism, freethought, and and the end of state sponsered religion. Most also believed in reforming society by abolishing slavery, monarchy, and establishing democratic republics. This threatened the status quo of monarchy, state churches, nobility, and domination by the wealthy classes. In both the American and French Revolutions, Deists took prominent roles. Thomas Paine participated in both revolutions.

I support the right of all people to believe in any God they wish or no God at all. Civil government should have absolutely nothing to do with religion. Religion is a personal private matter, and when wedded to government it becomes coercive, violent, and seeks to dominate and surpress all religions that are different. Fear based religions destroy liberty and indoctrinate their followers with passivity,deference to authority, and a slave mindset. That being said, I would encourage people to investigate Deism and see for yourself. Robert Johnson's website is by far the best I have found. It is one of the links on this page. Check it out and let's see if we can liberate mankind, mind, body and soul.

The American Revolution-The Most Radical

In this essay, I will reiterate a truth that I have written about previously. This truth is that the American Revolution was the most radical of the modern revolutions. Yes, forget the propaganda of the consensus school of American historians. Their interpretation is pure fiction. The American Revolution was a libertarian revolution, something statists historians have obscured from most people.

Murray Rothbard's "Conceived in Liberty" four volume set on the American Revolution exposes it's true radicalism. The American Revolution was one of three great revolutions in modern history. First the radical English Revolution of the 17th century, then the American Revolution and finally, the French Revolution. Rothbard points out that all three of these revolutions "blasted loose the Old Order" and paved the way for the "Industrial Revolution". All three in one way or another promoted "separation of church and state",private property,freedom of commerce, and promotion of human freedom

That being said, the American Revolution was by far the most radical of all three. Thomas Paine, the great libertarian, and defender of the both the American and French Revolutions, believed the American Revolution MORE radical than the French, and he actively participated in both in America and France

The American Revolution was born in the radicalism of the English Levellers of the English Revolution of the mid 17th century.Radicals like John Milton, James Harrington, Henry Marten, Richard Rumbold, and John Liliburne led the way for libertarian philosophy. Later, freethinkers like John Locke, John Toland, Matthew Tindal and other freethinkers and deists led the battle in Britain against state-sponsored religion, and led the fight for civil liberty. Conservative, these men were not. Defenders of reason, liberty, freedom of person, and conscience, they led the fight also against monarchy and oligarchy.

We must regain this radical tradition. This tradition led the way to modernity and the improvement of man's lives. Let's not let it die in modern America.

The Tyranny of Romans 13

As a follow up to last week's conversation with a religious statist, I am going to look at the reason such a person would give up his own reason and common sense and be so worshipful and obedient to tyrannical authorities. Although it will seem as if I am only picking on Christianity, that is not the case. All monotheistic religions tend toward authoritarianism. Islam, Judaism and Christianity all share the same God, whether Christians want to believe that or not. In a future essay, I will deal with the tyranny of Islam and it's injunction of obedience to government. These essays will not be politically correct.

Here is Romans 13 in it's entirety:

Let everyone obey the authorities that are over him, for there is no authority except from God and all authority that exists is established by God.

As a consequence, the man who opposes authority rebels against the ordinance of God; those who resist thus draw condemnation down upon themselves. Rulers cause no fear when a man does what is right but only when his conduct is evil. Do you wish to be free from the fear of authority? Do what is right and you will gain it's approval, for the ruler is God's servant to work for good. Only if you do wrong ought you to be afraid. It is not without purpose that the ruler carries the sword; he is God's servant, to inflict his avenging wrath upon the wrongdoer. You must obey then, not only to escape punishment but also for conscience sake. You pay taxes for the same reason, magistrates being God's ministers who devote themselves to his service with unremitting care. Pay each one his due: taxes to who taxes are due; toll to whom toll is due; respect and honor to everyone who deserves them.

This is the doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings, which kept millions enslaved until the American and French Revolutions broke the door for rebellion wide open. According to the Bible, the Founders and all who rebelled against the English king were not only traitors, but condemned to Hell! This is a doctrine of slavery. It places government, which has nothing to do with God, on a pedestal. If you really wanted to be strict about it, this must mean that the Russian Czars, Hitler, Napoleon, Lenin, Stalin, Pol Pot, etc, were appointed by God! What a contrived ideal. This ideal only serves the state and ruling elites! Reject this doctrine.

I am a Taoist. I follow the ideal that there is a cosmic mystery, but that God, is within you. God and evil are within you, real truth does not come from the outside, but from within. I do not say this to convert you to my belief system, I only say this to show you that not all religious beliefs are tyrannical and irrational. You must find your own truth. One truth, I think all human beings share deep down is a desire to be free and a love of liberty. Embrace this desire and make the world a better place.

Conversation with a Religious Statist

Recently, I had a conversation with a religious statist. We were talking about the current economic mess we were in. He, of course is a religious conservative, Republican, and believer in a "strong" government. He informed me that the reason we are in such bad shape is because Americans have "rejected" God. He further related that in retribution, God was placing evil men in power to govern us. Since I am a rationalist and a Deist, I of course, have a differing opinion. I related to him that I thought America needed a peaceful revolution and organized resistance to government taxes, and banking policies, that were destroying the livelihood of Americans and their children.

I pointed out that we were under no obligation to be slaves to our government, that they don't own us, and that each person has a natural, unalienable, right to his or her own life. He was in disagreement to say the least. He became somewhat angry, calling me an "anarchist". He told me that government "rulers" and "authorities" are appointed by God,biblical verse Romans 13, to rule over mankind. Alas, this is the slave mentality of the Divine Right of Kings. He also said that although he "doesn't like taxes", As Jesus instructed we must render unto Caesar what is his. He also related that "rebellion" against government is a rebellion against God himself!

This, my friends, is the slave mind of the religious believer. Taxation is a form of slavery. Governments are not appointed by God, but run by men and used to acquire more and more power unto themselves. When I told him this, he abruptly left me and ended the conversation. What offended him the most was when I asked him about the American Revolutionaries revolting against the British king. He said that the American Revolution was a "Christian" upheaval. Well,it wasn't,and you can't have it both ways. Rebellion is rebellion, and according to his Bible, the Founders and all who participated in the Revolution were rebelling against God and were condemned to Hell for all eternity. This is pure nonsense, but it is what we are up against today in America.

Irrationality, fear, and passive obedience are what are inculcated by traditional religious belief. This unholy trinity has caused many Americans to be soft, fearful and unwilling to defend their liberty. As a tolerant individualist, I believe one can believe whatever one wishes to, no matter how irrational I think it may be. That being said, recognize that if America is turned into a dictatorship during the current crisis, these religious zealots will be the governments' biggest supporters...in the name of God.