Dear Grandchild:
What has happened since I have written this, the answers to my concerns should be obvious to you. But, here I am, your grandfather living in 2009, wondering why our Congress is trying to throw away our great Republic for the discredited system of socialism. It is becoming apparent to those of us that care, and who have an inkling of recent history, that there is, at this time, a cabal of people that are actively trying to overthrow our governmental system, our constitutional republic, for socialism, maybe even Marxism.
I guess to understand what is happening, we in this time, will have to revisit the wisdom given to us by my forefathers when they wrote the US Constitution.
People tend to think that socialism represents a new wave of intellectual thought. It was old hat in the 18th century. Communist societies had already failed all over the world, even in America; most notably in the Plymouth colony. These experiments were well documented and the failures were known to any who cared to study government. Socialism is not a system of freedom, but of compulsion. You cannot be a socialist and free. Socialism does not tolerate individual action. As a matter of fact individualism is the antithesis of socialism, for ideal socialism is pure “majority” rule that is dictated by committee. Everybody is supposedly the same in all facets, and the government that serves the masses is based on the premise of the “greatest good for the greatest number.” The individual is of no concern, everything is done for the benefit of the State. Our forefathers, who had been “property of the King” and of the state, were well acquainted with this kind of totalitarianism and wanted nothing to do with it. They were individuals and knew that their countrymen were, as they, unique beings. They also knew that the real power for the individual and mankind was to first encourage, then protect each person so that he or she could reach the full measure of his or her uniqueness. It was a weird concept … they identified it as Freedom. Each person peaceably doing what ever his mind and talents would let him do. Each person worshiping as they saw fit, traveling wherever they wished, working at what ever task they wished, associating with whomever they wished; in short doing anything that struck their fancy; it was in a word … Freedom. They had fought a war to rid themselves of tyranny and they adopted a form of government to prevent its reappearance.
But the forces of evil began to attack the Constitution at the very beginning, from its inception. Slowly at first, but with more and more intensity as the country neared the 20th Century. Probably, the best year ever for the totalitarianists, the Socialists, was 1913, the year when the 16th and 17th Amendments, the income tax and the direct election of the Senate, coupled with the creation of the Federal Reserve System, were all adopted. Since that time the power of the States have been slowly eroded, but for the totalitarians, even that tactic was too slow. It is now apparent us that people who wanted to destroy the US consciously decided the method to use was to destroy its infra-structure. Since about 1960, pressure groups like the “environmental movement” and the socialistic leaders of “organized labor” have continually, with the help of socialistic members of Congress, both Democrat and Republican, attacked the heart of our national interest and productivity. I have included a list of some of their attacks for your elucidation below:
- War … we made an armistice in Korea for fear of angering the Chinese. We won the Vietnamese war and signed a peace treaty in Paris, but Congress (Democrat controlled) failed to support our allies, the South Vietnamese, who were subsequently defeated.
- We have systematically shut down hundreds of mines for “environmental” reasons.
- We shut down lumber logging to “save the spotted owl” while the entire western forest is succumbing to bug infestation and, all the while, ignoring the fact that the forests were being replanted faster than cut.
- We are now attacking farming for “environmental” reasons by drying up irrigation projects in order to save “endangered fish.” One place affected, the great central valley of California, produces about 10% of all the food consumed in the US.
- We no longer smelt any substantial amount of metal (iron, aluminum, titanium, lead, zinc, silver, copper, etc), this in order to comply with “environmental and clean air” standards.
- We have no metal, so there are no more foundries, steel mills or metal fabricators.
- No metal works means that heavy manufacturing is disappearing.
- We banned DDT, the greatest scientific advance in controlling insect borne disease, because of the unproven assertion that it was killing eagles. (The inventor of DDT, when defending it, used to drink it publicly.)
- We are in an energy crisis because fire creates carbon dioxide which is supposedly causing (unproven) the Earth to warm. For environmental reasons, the Congress (mostly Democrats), has banned or is banning the exploration for the development of coal, oil or natural gas. This although there are proven reserves of 1000 years of coal, and 100’s of years of oil and gas available.
- Nuclear energy, although a limitless source of energy, can’t be used because the safety of its use has been negatively demagogued by environmentalists and near criminal inaction of Congress.
- The government spends trillions of dollars for “feel good” projects, and does it with borrowed money, often more than its annual revenues. It is probable that governmental revenues soon will not pay for the interest on the debt.
I could go on, for I am sure that there are many other examples of political meddling that could be cited, for in addition to environment zealots trying to prevent the utilization of the country’s wealth of natural resources, many other vectors inimical to the health of the country are at play.
Once that the producers in the nation were stymied, the scions of bureaucracy, manifested by those who believed in socialism, when given the reins of government, began to dictate policy by fiat instead of law. In the last year, the government has appropriated but not funded about a trillion and one half dollars for “dire” social emergencies, but has made no attempt provide the money, because it didn’t have the will to tax it from the populace. They just “borrowed” it. The government breached bankruptcy law, stealing General Motors and Chrysler from the secured bond holders and giving the companies to labor unions. The government has squandered billions in “give-aways” to taxpayers, mortgagees and to boondoggles like “cash for clunker” automobiles.
You can see clearly what happened, but we, at this time, can only guess of the outcome. It must be obvious to you that there was a conscious effort made to destroy America’s primary engine of wealth, its mining, lumbering, farming, processing, manufacturing and energy production, a cancer that was so insidious and incremental so as to be unobserved by most of us . You can also see that our “can do” will was ripped from us by obtuse laws, rules and regulations that killed our spirit and blunted our quest for a better life. As for us, we are just beginning to react. What many of us see is the distinct possibility o f national bankruptcy, of a coup d’ etat by the socialists … or worse. Of course if the outcome is different from what seems inevitable and the republic still lives for you in your time, it was because, beginning with a few of us, we convinced the multitudes to rise up and stop the insanity … to preserve human Freedom.
If only you could write me from your vantage and tell me what happened … too bad that letters to the future are one way … but maybe I wouldn’t want to know how bad we, here, screwed it up.
Your Grandfather