7/6/2000
The View from Marrs by Jim Marrs challenges bureaucratic secrecy and the status quo. Big Media watch out!
Mel Gibson's latest film The Patriot arrived in theaters just in time for both July Fourth celebrations and for some Americans who believe that a little too much freedom is loose in the land.
On this 224th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a recent poll published by the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University indicated that many Americans are troubled by the concept of freedom of speech. Sixty-seven percent of those polled said public remarks deemed offensive to racial groups should be prohibited while 37 percent said they would support laws banning such speech. Fifty-three percent said any talk that might offend religious groups should be outlawed.
Thirty-one percent agreed with the idea that there should be prohibitions against any group desiring to hold a rally in support of a cause or issue that might offend others in the community.
While general support for First Amendment rights on the Internet increased to 74 percent, 58 percent said the government should be able to restrict Internet information, such a how to construct a bomb, even though the same information is available in books.
Fifty-one percent of those polled said the news media has too much freedom and a full 20 percent believe the government should be allowed to approve what newspapers publish. "When you think about the fact that one in five people feels that newspapers shouldn't be allowed to publish without governmental approval, you have to worry a little bit about that kind of phenomenon," commented Larry McGill, director of research for the center and the designer of the poll.
What this poll clearly points out is that there are ignoramuses galore in our society who have not the slightest concept of freedom or its cost and who would squander our heritage for the chance not to be bothered by ideas and information disturbing to their mindset.
Thankfully, it was not always this way. Back in 1776, 56 American colonists signed a document that set a course for independence and freedom. Their simple act of signing their name put each and every one at great personal risk.
First, consider the personal consequences of their act. All of those who signed the Declaration were men of means and education. They had it made in the simple agrarian society of the 18th century when many people could not read or write.
Just as in the Gibson film, many of the signers lost their lives, their loved ones and their fortunes in the cause of freedom. Nine lost their lives in the Revolution. Five died under torture by the British. A dozen had their homes burned and two lost sons serving in the Continental Army.
It is little noted in schools today, but these champions of freedom were not just fighting some foreign power. They were British subjects fighting against their own government. They were revolutionaries, branded as traitors not only by their government, but by a majority of their neighbors.
Remember that the one event that drove the colonists over the edge was when the British troops marched on Concord and Lexington to disarm the people. The locals knew that if they succeeded, there would be no hope to oppose European-based tyranny.
Now consider the overall consequences of their act. These men laid everything they had on the line to create a separate nation based on the self-evident truths that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
They further declared that "whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new Government. . ."
These leaders and the thousands of citizen soldiers who fought for this ideal did so at a time when a simple scratch or wound meant a 50-50 chance of death. Today, most Americans can't even bring themselves to leave their homes to vote in elections. And they want government to curtail speech that offends them.
It has been said that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. It is true. But in the past, many have felt this phrase meant to be on guard against some invasion by communists or some enemy nation.
Today, we must realize that same vigilance must be applied to the ignorant, selfish, and gullible people in our society who would restrict our freedom. And we should be especially vigilant that a national government which has shredded the Constitution in it's misplaced War on Drugs (Prohibition II) and already shown a disdain for the life of its citizens (at Ruby Ridge and Waco), should gain any further power.
Freedom is a bit like being pregnant. There's no middle ground. One is either pregnant or not, free or not. To ensure freedom for ourselves, we must ensure freedom for all.
Just as Mel Gibson's character in The Patriot found that by refusing to act in the present only led to worse problems in the future, we all must act in the cause of freedom now. We must be willing to assume some small sacrifices today, such as allowing free speech to everyone, no matter how distasteful, or finding out what your local and national politicians are really up to - voting them in or out. Generally, we should all give some time to the community, so that we will not have to fight a bloody revolution tomorrow.
The men who signed the Declaration of Independence gave us the building blocks for a great society. But the end result will be up to each and every one of us.
When asked what form of government the Continental Congress have devised, Benjamin Franklin replied, "A democratic republic, if you can keep it."
Will we keep it?
Never mind the picnics, parades and fireworks, that is the real issue for the first July 4 of the new Millennium.
If you would like to learn more about attacks on our freedom, be sure to read Jim's latest book, Rule by Secrecy: The Hidden History That Connects The Trilateral Commission, The Freemasons, and the Great Pyramids. It is now available in finer bookstores everywhere or check out JimMarrs.com. And don't miss his new e-book on the U. S. Army's top-secret remote viewing program titled PSI Spies or the most comprehensive book ever on UFOs, Alien Agenda.