America was a beacon to the world because we tied down our federal government with the chains of the Constitution, limiting government power and thus giving power and freedom to the people.
But we clearly DIDN'T GO FAR ENOUGH, because . . . well, just look around. We still have "Liberty" stamped on some of our coinage but we are no longer the Land of the Free. The embers of coercive State Power embedded in the Constitution grew into the firestorm of tyranny we now live under.
THAT is why the Ring of Power must be DESTROYED instead of "tamed" or "limited" or "used for good" -- the Power to initiate coercion against innocents isn't something that CAN be tamed or "made better" any more than rape (common in war) or murder or theft -- typical crimes used and/or enabled by government -- can be tamed or "made better".
Initiating coercion is a crime (literally, in most jurisdictions) and building an entire society around a group authorized to initiate coercion is NOT the path to freedom or anything else good.
FREEDOM!
If the Great Awakening doesn't lead us on a path to a truly CIVIL SOCIETY -- a society WITHOUT enforced slavery to a coercive government -- we will have failed.
America's founding was a wake-up call to the entire world, but again . . . it stopped short of what was truly needed. That MUST change, else the problem of growing corruption and tyranny will persist. Yes, it will be starting (again) at a smaller level, but . . . so does every forest fire.
For a mind-expanding look at how a world WITHOUT slavery to a coercive group calling itself "government" could function, and the benefits thereof, consider classic The Market for Liberty by Morris and Linda Tannehill (free download; also available at Amazon).
America was a beacon to the world because we tied down our federal government with the chains of the Constitution, limiting government power and thus giving power and freedom to the people.
But we clearly DIDN'T GO FAR ENOUGH, because . . . well, just look around. We still have "Liberty" stamped on some of our coinage but we are no longer the Land of the Free. The embers of coercive State Power embedded in the Constitution grew into the firestorm of tyranny we now live under.
THAT is why the Ring of Power must be DESTROYED instead of "tamed" or "limited" or "used for good" -- the Power to initiate coercion against innocents isn't something that CAN be tamed or "made better" any more than rape (common in war) or murder or theft -- typical crimes used and/or enabled by government -- can be tamed or "made better".
Initiating coercion is a crime (literally, in most jurisdictions) and building an entire society around a group authorized to initiate coercion is NOT the path to freedom or anything else good.
FREEDOM!
If the Great Awakening doesn't lead us on a path to a truly CIVIL SOCIETY -- a society WITHOUT enforced slavery to a coercive government -- we will have failed.
America's founding was a wake-up call to the entire world, but again . . . it stopped short of what was truly needed. That MUST change, else the problem of growing corruption and tyranny will persist. Yes, it will be starting (again) at a smaller level, but . . . so does every forest fire.
For a mind-expanding look at how a world WITHOUT slavery to a coercive group calling itself "government" could function, and the benefits thereof, consider classic The Market for Liberty by Morris and Linda Tannehill (free download; also available at Amazon).
...wonderful addendum, nicely stated and framed...