The Freedom Racket

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free."

--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

A few days ago, the US celebrated its 236^th Independence Day.  With all the clichés about freedom and democracy which are the standard fare on this day, it is perhaps time to reflect upon where this country stands, where it is going, and on this thing called freedom.

When one checks the Democracy Index, it is clear that for all its lofty rhetoric and self-congratulatory dribble, the US ranks below its self-assumed status of the “greatest democracy in the world.”

An honest look at the history of the US since its founding shows very clearly that real freedom and democracy have been quite elusive for the average American.

This notion of American exceptionalism, home of the free, and great democracy are more hyperbole and propaganda rather than fact.

In my last essay, I stated that the US was founded by thieves and opportunists. Those thieves and opportunists by the end of the 18^th century became more refined and affluent, but the old colonialist thieving itch was still there.

The wealthiest of the colonial elite, such as Washington, Jefferson, Adams, etc., decided to take the wealth of the continent for themselves. Then they embarked on the business of revolution which, with foreign help, and the exploitation of the common rabble’s anger, fears and prejudices, ended in victory. 

Immediately following the revolution, the so-called founding fathers moved quickly to centralize government and decision-making in the hands of the wealthy land-owning elite.  Unrest and rebellion followed, and crackdowns by the enlightened new American government against the very people whom it was supposed to “free.”

The American Revolution was perhaps one of the greatest cons which the wealthy elites have perpetrated over the common man (who did the heavy lifting for them). This abusive tradition continues to this day.

Let’s now digress and talk about this idea of freedom. 

National governments, politicians and the media, which act as their propaganda mouthpieces, always try to shove a pre-defined and propagandized definition of freedom into peoples’ minds. But what is freedom really? 

To me, freedom is best defined as being able to think and act without hindrance of any kind. When true freedom reigns, people are allowed to do what they want, when they want it, without having to answer to anyone. 

How many of you, according to the definition of freedom written above, can truly say that you are free?

Not many, Im sure.

For those of you who may scoff at my definition of freedom as being cynical, anti-American or stupid, I have a simple request which will help you see my point.

Don’t pay taxes.

Then you will see how “free” you really are. I guarantee that you will quickly see very clear limits on your freedom.

If not paying taxes isn’t your thing, then go past the speed limit on the road by, say, 30 miles while passing a police car.The limit on you "freedom" will be quickly realized.

My point is that there is no such thing as a free society. At best, there are only societies with limited privileges, granted by the ruling elite to the people below them.

Just one law, regulation or statute voids any society’s freedom. A central authority of any kind also voids real freedom, since it co-opts the decision-making powers of the nation, and holds other subordinate to itself and its laws. Elections are not an expression of freedom, since real freedom does not require authority.

Freedom is what people have given up to have an orderly society. Real freedom is disorder and chaos. Real freedom has much more in common with anarchy than democracy.

In reality, the US is as free as Soviet Russia was, and as communist China or any other country is for that matter.  In all these places everyone was/is left alone as long as they stayed quiet and did not rock the boat. But as soon as anyone stuck their head out and started to challenge the system and the powers-that-be, they found themselves in a prison cell, gulag, re-education center and were accused of terrorism and subversion. The way in which the authorities dealt with the Occupy Wall St. protests is a good example of this reality.

Today, the United States plays the leading role in denying others the right to make their own decisions. The global reach of the US, spurred by economic exploitation, continues on interfering in other nations internal affairs, manipulates their political processes, and wreaks havoc on their economies. Any nation which is not keen on adopting a US-style economy is seen as a threat and is punished with sanctions, embargoes blockades and military threats. 

Governments which are populist and go against US economic and political interests are overthrown and replaced with pro-US puppets which more often than not are brutal and oppressive. On US orders these collaborationist governments ruthlessly deal with any opposition they encounter, especially if the opposition voices support for any economic policies which do not put US corporate interests first.

Iran and Syria are two of the latest victims of this treatment. By refusing to surrender their national interest for Washington’s, they have been subject to violent psy-ops and economic strangulation. These countries have been sanctioned, their economies choked, their populations terrorized by western proxy death squads. The desires of these nations’ people do not matter to the US. 

How can the US talk of freedom and self-determination when it engages in acts of violence and oppression which take away the rights and self-determiantion of others? When has the US ever asked the Iranian or Syrian public what they really want? The US has reached the heights of arrogance and condescension by thinking it knows better what people living in other countries want.

America’s desire to spread freedom and democracy and protect “human rights” is just a sham. Its true aim is to expand markets for the products and services of its corporate overlords, by any means necessary.

The reason why there is no serious mass movement or rebellion against US government and corporate excesses is because the powers-that-be a long time ago figured how to control people by getting them addicted to breads, circuses and materialism. They also made sure that the bottom 99% will never have economic self-determination by deliberately undercutting their wages, even as productivity has gone up hundreds of percent. 

One of the main ways this is done is by paying people just enough to be able to pay the mortgage and the bills. At the same time, people are enticed to buy more and more by using credit. This turns people into perpetual debt slaves. With credit cheap and easy to get, employers are able to pay their workers below the minimum, with credit cards making up the shortfall. This is a criminal fleecing of the public.

The elites have figured out how to keep the bare minimum of people minimally content in order to prevent any serious challenge to their power. Some may protest, but most people have been so trapped by the system of private debt and government carrots that they will not dare say anything even when they know that something is very wrong, for fear of losing their livelihood.

Freedom is more than just being allowed to vote, or speak your mind or practice any faith. In reality, the US, as well as any other nation, will try to limit the free-will of its citizens as much as possible. It is the only way the elites who control the levers of power can realize their interests which more often than not go against the interests of the majority of people below then.

It is at this point that propaganda and national myths come into play. The US society is the most brilliant example of how propaganda, brainwashing and national myth can corrupt peoples’ psyche. This extreme propaganda and conditioning of the American mind to think of itself as the best even when it commits the worst has caused a serious crisis of pathological dishonesty in American society, to the point where the lies are accepted as truth by the very people who make up those lies.

Many of these sick and degenerate individuals then get elected to the highest positions in the land and start bombing and invading countries, loot the nation and manipulate public opinion to see the most criminal and hypocritical behavior as right and good. 

This results in self-destructive behavior where people put their lives and their best interests in jeopardy in order to serve the aims of their manipulators in authority.

The most flagrant example is that many people, whether they realize it or not, have accepted the premise that capitalism is the only choice for society, and for the good of capitalism, and in order to save capitalism, they have to accept and live with the financial fraud which the capitalist system foists upon them.  Even though they may not like it, they see this as the only answer, because the alternative is socialism or chaos, or some other unknown “worse” which remains undefined, perhaps to create even more fear and doubt in peoples’ minds.

This fear and doubt prevents people from demanding real change in the system, which is what the ruling elites count on. This attitude can clearly be seen by the lack of any kind of effective mass movement or action by the majority of people in the face of some of the worst abuses by the financial industry and their government allies.

How utterly pathetic and unimaginative is it to think that capitalism is the only, and the best economic system that was ever devised, and that there is no alternative. Look at human ingenuity. If people can teach themselves to fly, go into space and create a machine that does billions of mathematical calculations per second, they can surely devise an economic system better than capitalism. This is totally possible if the desire and the will is there.

The evil twin of this servile behavior was seen right after 9/11. People were so eager to be kept “safe” from terrorism that they were willing to give up their rights and privileges.

Many times, the governing elites will also try to co-opt any force which goes against them, but which cannot be simply repressed due to overwhelming popular support. Too many promising individuals fall prey to this tactic. The rule of thumb is this: if any individual, no matter how progressive and reform-minded, and “against the system” they may seem, hitch themselves to any mainstream political party, then that person is a fraud.

Out of this morass of brainwashed and paranoid citizenry emerge individuals with loud mouths, who not only have been corrupted by the system, but act as operatives for it. They embrace their servility and intellectual and moral bondage to the elites and their system, and openly agitate for them. They also accuse and condemn anyone who dares to challenge their demented notions as enemies and haters of the nation. The worst offenders are the Limbaughs, O’Relly’s, Becks, Savages and Malkins of our day.

These types of individuals and groups, whether they are ignorant flag-waving hicks in the country side, or billionaire bankers in some mansion, act as protectors of these bad policies and this rotten neo-liberal system. They decry and repress those who try to challenge them with the facts. By doing so, these misled individuals are preventing justice from being done. Their anti-social and criminal behavior is jeopardizing the future of the world and takes everyone back in time to the 19^th and early 20^th centuries as far as social, economic and political progress is concerned.

Freedom cannot be granted by any government or political body, because such a freedom is a contradiction. Natural freedom is something which everyone actually has from birth, and this is then taken away from you by authority! Most of the time people give up this freedom in return for societal order and its comforts.  So in the end it comes down to what people want: freedom or order. These two things are NOT one and the same. By embracing one, you have to give up the other. There is no middle ground here, no matter how hard you try to find one.

There is no freedom in today’s societies as long as one is alive. The only freedom that you can look forward to is the freedom of the grave.

"The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater." 

 – Frank Zappa