5 disturbing facts that prove America is no longer the land of the free
- by The Lord Humungus
- 10 years ago
- 9 comments
The myth of American exceptionalism has made many of our fellow citizens blind to the true state of current affairs, but the sad reality of our country’s current situation is that we no longer can honestly claim to be a free country. The fact that there are worse countries out there is a not a laurel that patriots should be content to rest on, and it should never be accepted as an excuse for our government’s willful curtailing of freedoms.
And that notion isn’t even as true as it once was. In fact, out of 180 countries ranked on the World Press Freedom Index1, the United States comes it at a pathetic 46th place2.
Listed are 5 troubling facts that show exactly how far America has declined in it’s protection of personal liberty:
1. THE FIRST AMENDMENT IS BEING LIMITED TO APPROVED ‘ZONES’
It’s unclear exactly when this travesty first surfaced, but it has become a regular occurrence for militarized police3 forces to erect totally unconstitutional ‘first amendment zones’. Backed by their monopoly on legal violence, the government attempts to claim that it can set aside a small area of its choosing, and limit protests of various issues to these zones. Arresting, or threatening to arrest, those who disobey.
These illegal limitations on the first amendment have so far been utilized in over a dozen states. College campuses are especially susceptible to these gross miscarriages of justice, with as many as 1 of 6 top colleges and universities utilizing therm to censor free speech4.
The FSZ (free speech zone) has even showed up in the embattled town on Ferguson, MO. Ferguson police have been so blatant in their arrest of individuals who refuse to follow the illegal limitations (78 arrested so far)5, that Amnesty International has sent a team of 10 observers to the city – the first time they have ever been deployed in the US5.
2. GOVERNMENT CONTROLS WHAT YOU EAT
No only is the government cracking down on what comes OUT of your mouth with the free speech zones, but they are also attempting to control what you put IN your mouth. The limitations on soft drink size in NYC are a well-known example of this, but law enforcement entities across the country have also resorted to military-style raids to shut down raw milk farms and dispensaries8.
Under the guise of protecting us from the ‘risks’ of raw milk ingestion, our overlords have made it illegal in many areas to sell raw milk for the purpose of human consumption, and it is highly regulated9.
What happened to “my body, my choice”?. If you aren’t free to decide what you do with your own body, and what foods you put into it, are you really free? To ask the question is to answer it.
3. YOUR CHILDREN CAN BE TAKEN AWAY BASED ON NOTHING BUT SUSPICION
In Grand Junction Colorado, an infant was stolen from its parents when the father admitted to smoking marijuana10. Not after being convicted doing anything illegal, but simply stating that he had done it.
All of this is ostensibly done in the name of ‘child safety’, which makes their criminal actions even more disgusting: In a tragically ironic turn of events, the child was murdered by the foster custodian after being taken away from its real parents for ‘safety’.
Apparently this horrible practice occurs even in areas where it may be legal to use marijuana10!
What do you call people who let their children be taken from them against their will, for the ‘crime’ of owning their own bodies? You certainly don’t call them free.
4. LIVING OFF THE GRID IS BECOMING ILLEGAL
In some parts of the country local governments have declared that it is illegal to live without purchasing services from utility companies.
Most notably Cape Coral Florida, where resident Robin Sedonis was found ‘guilty’ of not being hooked up to an approved water supply6.
Police are using wildly inappropriate levels of force to intimidate those who would attempt to live outside their system7. Swat team raids that place lives in danger are being irresponsibly utilized to crack down on ‘crimes’ that usually result in no more than a simple citation.
No longer are residents of this country free to engage (or not) in voluntary exchanges of goods and services on their own terms. Such is the hubris of our increasingly totalitarian government; they claim the right to literally being force people to enter into contracts against their will, under threat of violence, simply for being born here.
5. YOU HAVE TO PAY TO LEAVE
If you share the above facts with your fellow subjects citizens, a certain percentage will say something along the lines of “Well, if you don’t like this country why don’t you just leave and go live somewhere else.”
Well that is easier said than done, as it turns out, as the privilege of renouncing your citizenship (something you were given whether you wanted it nor not) will cost you around $2300.0011.
If you are born in this country (which is not a choice) and you decide as soon as you are legally able that you want to leave, you have to pay the government for the privilege of being allowed to leave.
Of course you could always just leave, but then you better keep paying your US taxes if you ever want to come back or visit your family: the US is one of only two countries in the world that tax it’s citizens based on their worldwide income12.
This is of course assuming you would even be able to physically leave – You could find yourself on a no-fly list, which until very recently were mostly secret with no apparent appeal process13.
Sadly a majority of Americans will shake their heads in disapproval, but ultimately dismiss all the above because it doesn’t directly affect them on a day to day basis. They don’t seem to mind being in a cage as long as it is a fairly large cage, and they don’t ever feel like going outside it. But remember – Things can change on a moment’s notice, and once you are inside the cage you don’t get to decide how big it is.
CITATIONS:
1. http://rsf.org/index2014/en-index2014.php
2. http://rt.com/news/world-press-freedom-index-662/
4. http://rt.com/usa/first-amendment-us-law-colleges-029/
http://www.thefire.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Free-speech-zone-infographic-pdf.pdf
5. http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/aclu-first-amendment-suspended-ferguson
9. http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/raw_milk_map.htm
http://www.realrawmilkfacts.com/raw-milk-regulations
10. http://thefreethoughtproject.com/baby-parents-father-admitted-using-marijuana-murdered-foster-care/
11. http://news.yahoo.com/renouncing-u-s–citizenship-is-about-to-get-a-lot-more-expensive-150405883.html
12. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/05/18/tax-history-why-u-s-pursues-citizens-overseas/
The Lord Humungus rules the wasteland
Great Stuff! First time in a while that I have seen so many citations in an article. Way to do your research.
Good article.
I would suggest changing to a different font. Using one that is all uppercase block letters is rather hard to read. It is also considered shouting on the internet.
Cheers
We may not be the land of the free. But anyone with any American history background can recall that the American citizen’s life has been full of struggle. whether it be by law or social norm, I am still proud to be an American, but the people who make such legislations as pointed out by Humungus are not true Americans.
American Exceptionalism is not a myth. The american people have proven to be exceptional over and over again throughout the years. The problem is that we haven’t had exceptional americans in Washington DC for years. And now, we have far too many citizens that aren’t american and we have and are paying the price for that. And by American, I mean in spirit. Immigrants made this country what it is, but the difference is that those immigrants came here to LIVE as an AMERICAN and now they come here to change America. Huge difference.
It is sad the things we can no longer do freely went these rights what our soldiers fight for hopefully once Obama is gone we can work on resurrecting this country from our billions of dollars he has put us in debt, if you ask me screw the laws ill go off the grid when and where I want what’s wrong with that it’s either live free or go down trying to do so.
Just so you know the lady in florida that was convicted of illegally living off the grid was using city water that she had rerouted around the meter or something like that. Plus the page you used as a source cited frigging al jazeera of america as its source. So consider the source when you are writing your fantastical fantasy articles next time. Just because you repeat a lie often enough doesnt make it the truth.
If you think something I wrote or linked to is false, then provide evidence, don’t just attempt to disqualify by implying that linking to Al Jazeera makes everything on the page incorrect. Based on my research she didn’t reroute anything, she wasn’t using any city water and didn’t even have running water turned on at the house. She was using rainwater but continued to use her house’s drains and toilets to dispose of it, so they said she should have to pay for wastewater fees, as it appears she was on sewer and not a septic system.
sorry wrong story with the rerouting of the pluming… that was a story about a marijuana grower I was reading. This lady however lived in a city and refused to comply with the city’s regulations that said you had to be hooked up to the municipal water supply if your house was within 200 ft of it. Plus her solar panels werent approved by the city either which was another fine she refused to pay. Basically shes living in a town and trying to live like shes in the country. If she doesnt like living in the town she should move out to the country. Not ignore the codes that everyone else has to live by because she doesnt like them. Im all for living off the grid but you cant ignore the law.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazeera_controversies_and_criticism
One other disturbing fact you could have used instead of this woman would have been the NFA rules. Sure you can own an SBR or suppressor but you have to let the federal government know when youre going to be taking it out of state. You cant let anyone else have access to it when youre not there either or they instantly become a felon. An AR15 without a stock and a barrel under 12″ is a pistol but a glock 17 with a forward vertical grip is an NFA item called an AOW or “any other weapon”. So I can go out and buy a pistol that shoots the same bullet as an AR15 rifle, has a 9 or 10″ barrel that you can hold onto, an now they have arm braces that function exactly like a stock but you can put your arm through it and it can be shouldered just like a stock and its still considered a pistol… but if I put a vertical grip on my 9mm handgun its suddenly so much more deadly and I can face a fine of $10,000 and 10 years in federal prison.