“It is natural
for man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut
our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that
siren till she transforms us into beasts…For my part, whatever
anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth,
to know the worst, and to provide for it.”
~ Patrick Henry
It was a 3
AM wakeup in late September. The threat of an early frost had necessitated
that the last 1000 acres of corn be harvested quickly to avoid the
potential loss of what remained of the 2010 harvest.
Cresting the
Cascade Mountain range of central Washington, beginning my decent
into the Yakima valley, I noticed that it was just minutes before
sunrise. The crystal clear dark blue sky promised a warm day, but
was also the cause of nights that were getting colder. The truck
thermometer read 28 degrees however, that was to be expected at
4000 feet on top of a mountain. I remember wondering if it had gotten
cold enough to frost further east. In almost the same instant, I
noticed what seemed to be small drops of my engine oil on the door
window.
Having driven
the road literally thousands of times, over the years, I knew there
was a turn-out less then a quarter mile ahead where the truck with
its dual trailers could safely be pulled off the road and a search
for the cause of the oil droplets could be made.
Exiting the
cab I was greeted with the unmistakable smell of engine oil which
had unceremoniously left its assigned place in the engine, made
obvious by the myriad of miniature puddles of oil forming under
the truck. The rogue oil now coated the driver side fender well;
the underside of the hood, the driver side running boards, and in
a final act of rebellion was flowing off the left fuel tank quickly
threatening to combine into a rather larger extended puddle on the
side of the road.
Lifting the
hood to expose the 475 horsepower, Caterpillar C15 engine, I noticed
that my partner, who had stopped a short distance from me, was approaching
the driver side door. "Wow, it looks terminal to me."
"Yeah,
something is really wrong," I answered.
Gerald with
his usual dry wit didn't understate the obvious: "Well, at
least that CAT® engine decided to bleed out on a nice day. It
won't be too bad a wait for the shop mechanics. Only two and a half;
maybe five hours and you should be on the road again. Sure looks
like it's been raining oil, doesn't it?"
I wasn't amused
and my expression must have shown my annoyance because Gerald then
turned serious. "Let's see what we got here before we call
the shop."
As we both
approached the driver side steering tire Gerald started looking
at the oil filter and rear of the engine while I began inspecting
the lines and the front of the engine. It was only a matter of seconds
when I realized that the whole problem was due to the oil filler
cap which was no longer in the filler tube but hanging from its
retaining chain.
When that filler
cap had left its assigned position the laws of pressure (expansion)
had instantly come into play. High pressure always flows to a low
pressure. The high pressures that are generated in an engine of
this size (or any engine for that matter) are useful as long as
the system remains closed.
In my case
that meant the release of pressure took one gallon of engine oil
with it; all in a matter of a few minutes.
I mention this
not because it is anything extraordinary but because it is how prudent
people respond countless times a day to a potentially serious crisis.
When something doesn't look, feel, or sound correct we judiciously
stop and find out where the problem resides. We do this to avoid
loss of production, to evade suffering a financial catastrophe or
for countless other reasons.
While many
will "play it safe" in their daily lives it is equally
obvious that the same attention to detail is lacking and many times
nonexistent when it comes to national events and policies. Especially
when those policies and events are transforming America into an
economically impotent third-world police state, which is far more
dangerous then a great many of the daily crises individuals face.
Why the lack
of concern or attention to these events is so common among a people
has been discussed by many authors. Rarely, however, has the problem
been expressed as succinctly as by Wolf DeVoon in his 1999 article
"De-Facto
Anarchy."
"Government…,"
Mr. DeVoon observes, "does not exist of necessity, but rather
by virtue of a tragic, almost comical combination of klutzy,
opportunistic terrorism against sitting ducks whom it
pretends to shelter, plus our childish phobia of responsibility,
praying to be exempted from the hard reality of life on life’s terms."
(Emphasis Mr. DeVoon's)
For an excellent
clarification of the above statement read Gary North's article "TSA:
Thou Shalt Acquiesce."
For years the
warnings have gone out from a plethora of writers and speakers throughout
the political spectrum. So for a moment let's consider the general
admonitions that have systematically been ignored by the collective
and have now come to nearly full maturity in our verging third-world
police state.
In no particular
order:
- A
continuing effort on the part of the central government to
deny people the right of private ownership of firearms by direct
and nefarious
means. - A state-controlled
media which supports and amplifies the central government's fear
and distrust of its citizenry while championing the government's
programs of unwarranted surveillance and acts of state sponsored
terrorism. This is coupled with the attempted suppression
of any dissenting media. - The illegal
shifting of power from elected legislative bodies to unelected
judges allowing the national government to negate any
law it doesn't approve of. - A two-tiered
legal system whereby privileges
are extended to select groups and those of elite standing,
exempting them
from general regulations, or laws. - Treaties
which seek to remove the power of elected officials to rule locally
while subjecting
the population to "laws" originating from international
bodies. - The national
government's use of established bureaucracies (Federal and State)
to deny business licenses, to harass,
close down or financially destroy those who seek to supply
goods and services that are considered outside accepted government
policy or contrary to the wishes of large competing industries.
An example of this is the war which state and federal agencies
are waging against whole milk, natural
foods, illegal drugs and alternative medicine. - Spreading
criminal
activity among local
and federal LEA departments. "The law," notes Paul
Craig Roberts, "has ceased to be a shield to protect
the rights of the innocent and has instead become a weapon in
the hands of the state." - An ongoing
destruction
of America's industrial base, a perpetual housing
crisis and government-sanctioned
fraud by the banking system. - Unwarranted
raids of legal businesses and into peoples homes under the
pretence of the war on terrorism and protecting the public's welfare.
This includes the direct physical assault of citizens, with the
accompanying humiliation, during a "pat-down" under
the pretense of keeping the nation secure. A corollary being the
random demanding that legal citizens produce proper documentation.
The guise for such action was recently expressed by TSA's union
director of membership and organization, Sharon
Pinnock. "Our concern is that the public not confuse
the people implementing the policies with the people who developed
the policies." (We
are just following orders?) Hmmmm! - The national
government's declared "right" to murder
US citizens on the slimmest of excuses. In the article sited,
Paul Craig Roberts points out that "(t)he argument by the
Justice Department (is) that the executive branch has unreviewable
authority to kill Americans, whom the executive branch has unilaterally,
without presenting evidence, determined to pose a threat…" - The enduring
militarization
of state and local police forces. Former President Clinton
justifies this breach in the civility of common law with his speech
of April 16, 2010 entitled "The
tragedy of Oklahoma City 15 years later and the lessons for today."
- Training
of military units to be used on American soil against American
citizens ostensibly in response to social unrest, but in reality
to defend those deemed essential to continuance of the "government."
(Are death
squads in our near future?) - The unwillingness
or inability to control national borders. Phil Williams writing
for the Strategic
Studies Institute; United States Army War College in publication
867; page 27, dated June 2008 correctly observers: "The inability
of states to control their borders and the global flows –
of people, money, weapons, drugs, etc. – that cross these
borders into their national territories is both a manifestation
of the decline of the state and a major contributor
to the strengthening and acceleration of this tendency."
(Emphasis mine) - A
national
decaying infrastructure which includes
the suburbia
of major cities becoming the new slums. - A
very real potential for a food
crises that will have a direct violent
effect on American's lives. - A
national debt and monetary
crises that threatens to destroy
the economic machine of both the US and
the world.
Many
will look at this list then nod in the affirmative that yes, indeed,
these are the causes of our misery. Sadly that is where they will
stop with their inquiry never realizing that these events are symptoms
of a far greater social disease.
Consider
that the list above is the natural result of social actions and
public apathy, which are identifiable in an historical context.
Consider also that that history is readily identifiable as government
programs which seek to satisfy the following public desires, chief
among which are:
- I
have a right to a good-paying job. - I
have a right to own a business and sell my products free from
"unfair" competition. - I
have the right to own a home - I
have a right to medical care and the opportunity to achieve
and enjoy good health. - I
have a right to a good education. - I
have a right to be economically protected in old age, during
a sickness, after an accident, and when unemployed. - I have the
right to be protected from all harm.
If this partial
list of newly enumerated "rights" seems vaguely familiar
it was taken from FDR's,
1944, purposed "Second Bill of Rights." It is no coincidence
that FDR's ideas of American's "rights" have their roots
in the socialist "positive rights" which the Europeans
have enshrined in their social compacts and are the root of Europe's
economic problem today.
These so-called
"positive rights" are the very antithesis to self-reliance,
independence, and individual success. When implemented in a social
program, "positive rights" demand, by government edict,
that the productive in a society supply the needs of others.
This is analogous
to running an engine with a displaced oil filler cap; sooner or
later there won't be enough engine oil to lubricate the system.
At that point you are faced with massive engine failure. This is
the condition America and a good part of western civilization finds
itself in today.
The social
unrest which is occurring and will soon morph into horrific, if
not murderous, chaos among nations is not theory, it is natural
and predictable, based on irrefutable economic laws and history.
Economic laws which are grounded in reality just as natural law
assures us high pressure will always flow to low pressure.
Patrick
Henry was correct: "We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful
truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms
us into beasts…" Western civilization faces the bestiality
of its actions today.
It
will be a painfully hard lesson to learn; it very well could cost
millions of lives, but if history repeats itself mankind will again
turn away from their foolish lust of being coddled and pampered;
once again embracing the principles of success through self-reliance
which comes with freedom.
If not, the
quagmire of self destruction in which societies have placed themselves
will run its course until nothing of the former civilization is
left, but a rotting shell of its former self. This is another natural
law which will not be denied.
December
9, 2010
Tim
Case [send him mail]
is a 30-year student of the ancient histories who agrees with the
first-century stoic Epictetus on this one point: u201COnly the educated
are free.u201D
