The Republic for which it stands

Our founding fathers gave us a Republic, not a Democracy.

I was probably about 17 the first time I picked up a copy of George Orwell's book, 1984. I'm thinking this was 1969 and just before I real Tolkien's trilogy the first time. We were coming out of the turbulent 1960's and I was a young man close to graduating high school with no plan for my future. All that was about to change with the Vietnam War on my horizon, but I didn't know that. I learned of the horror of war about this time when I found a copy of "Johnny got his gun". About 10 years ago, I reread it and Fahrenheit 451.

I have this predilection to read everything concerning a subject until I fully understand it. For instance, about 20 years ago I became interested in black history. 19 books later, I pushed back from the library table, sated. Unfortunately, like food for the stomach, I consume this knowledge and it fades, so once again I find I need to go back and reread some material. This is what is happening now with the book "1984". Now somewhere over the years, I also saw the movie and have heard reference to this book many times. Now it comes to me that many of the folks who claim knowledge of it have only seen the movie.

If they would have read the book, they would be shaking in their boots over the current climate in the United States social political scene. Donald Trumps systematic dismantling of the oligarchic democracy would be impossible in Orwell's dystopian society. Heck, it might just be impossible in ours. Our government has ceased to be a republic and we proles don't even know it - or care. As long as we get our government bread and circuses, we are happy to be blissfully ignorant of how a select few dictate what we accept as the norm.

Our government has directly adopted Orwell's War is Peace philosophy and each new President, regardless of said position carries it forward. The United States is the most predatory country on earth. In the name of freedom, we walk all over countries traditions and culture and ruin them. To get an idea of how many troops we have in foreign countries "protecting them", our military in Europe spends close to a million dollars a day on alcohol and food alone. War means money and by golly, we are good at it. The USA spends more on "defense" than the next 7 countries put together. We have 200,000 troops stationed in 177 countries, yet we can't stop drugs from flooding into our own land.

Orwell coined the term Newspeak. While there are many interpretations of what exactly this is, suffice it to say almost everything we read and hear as news has been massaged to get across someone's interpretation. Gone are Chet and David and Walter. What we have now are a group of giddy news teams or angry late night "comedians" telling us the real dirt. When only 20% of the adult world will read a newspaper and 62% get all their "news" from Facebook, we have set ourselves up to run off the nearest cliff.

A man at work one day got defensive and all but yelled "I don't discuss politics with friends!" I looked at the fellow and I swear the thought that ran through my mind was, "Well then, who do you discuss them with - enemies?" Anyone who challenges you to define what you believe, is your friend. Don't get mad or defensive, get educated. If you belly up to The View to get the news, then god bless you, but I wouldn't recommend that line. I watch the athletes taking a knee at professional sports venues and I wonder how much history do they know or care about. I watch angry people incited by who knows who, stage protests, yet when reporters ask them to define their grievances, they are so vague that a 5th grader would walk away confused.

As in 1984, we are erasing history until many people cannot explain major events. Ask about the Spanish flu of 1918 that killed 20-50 million people worldwide and they stare back at you with hollow eyes. Don't even ask them about World War One... or Two or the Civil War. They think Vietnam was WWII in size and scope and their line of reference is Saving Private Ryan. At the end of the movie, many couldn't tell which war it was.

It's time to drain the swamp. Boot out the old guard and bring in the new who remember what a Republic is. Our democratic oligarchy is killing our freedoms. We must vote out the established cancerous system. Privileged "representatives" on both sides of our government are screaming foul because they see their thrones threatened. Their only concern is staying in office. It doesn't matter who is in the White House as long as they can conduct business as usual and that business has nothing to do with you or me.

Freedom of speech? There is no freedom of speech, because of newspeak, political correctness trumps it. You literally cannot say anything that could possibly be offensive to one of 500 splinter groups or you are a monster. A monster and a pervert and a racist. People literally want to kill you or have you locked up. Back in the day, folks would just avoid you and mark you as someone undesirable, but they sure didn't try to stuff a sock down your throat. No. There is no first Amendment freedom of speech right. It's gone.

Time to vote. Time to drain the swamp.

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