A Revolution in Liberty

[Conan71]

I think gaspar is just too focused on President Obama as the catalyst.

This "new" trend for Liberty is not new at all. It is just another cycle. This is just coming back around again. I believe that these thoughts and movements are like fashion and if you wait long enough, they will again be popular.

I see it happening in the environmental movement. We have real passion for celebrating Earth day about every ten years and it lasts for a couple of years and then fizzles. I see it in simple things like knitting, which is suddenly huge with celebrities doing it. TV shows used to be all about rural America (Green Acres, Beverly Hillbillies, Mayberry RFD) and now include Duck Dynasty, Swamp People and Honey BooBoo. These are all cycled and have little to do with one single starting point or person.

If anything, the catalyst for people talking about liberty is probably more focused on what local police forces or airport security workers are doing. The NSA has been scary for much longer than Obama has been President. Blame them, not the President.

But, there is usually some sort of catalyst for changes in that cycle.  Many idealistic young Americans believed this utopian fairy tale of Obama.  No more Constitutional over-reaching, every last citizen would have quality healthcare.  Every citizen was going to have a great paying job, no worrying where that next mortgage payment or car payment would come from. 

-Big evil corporations would pay for past misdeeds and greed and all sorts of jobs would be created because of Obama coming down hard on them.  The reality is, big corporations are more profitable than ever with fewer workers.

-Big insurance would be brought to it's knees and everyone would have free or "affordable" healthcare.  The reality is, big insurance had a seat at the table and they are the big winner in the ACA.

-No more worrying about possible spying from our own government via the Patriot Act.  Well, we know now how that has worked out between the IRS and NSA.

There are millions of people who hoped his promises of prosperity and reigned in power would shine on them who haven't found that prosperity after five years.

People are coming to the realization that behind all the wonderful speeches and promises Obama is every bit as corrupt as previous leaders and seems to have even less respect for the Constitutional limits on his powers.  If he doesn't get his way, he rules by executive order. 

I honestly think people are starting to see his actions as totalitarian and that he views himself as some sort of monarch, not a leader. 

[Townsend]

I honestly think people are starting to see his actions as totalitarian and that he views himself as some sort of monarch, not a leader. 

You think people haven't said that about most or all of the Presidents at some time?

That's not some new thing being said about Obama just recently.  The Tea Party's been saying it since they first started their "I'm not a witch" campaigns.

[Conan71]

You think people haven't said that about most or all of the Presidents at some time?

That's not some new thing being said about Obama just recently.  The Tea Party's been saying it since they first started their "I'm not a witch" campaigns.

But there's been no shift within the Tea Party in their view of the president.  The shift is happening elsewhere, that is what is significant.

Bush's actions or inactions was one thing that helped swing voters to Obama.  Now that Obama has had five years to show what he is really made of, the pendulum starts to swing the other way for people who are less committed to a fixed ideology like the Teahadists you mention.

Perhaps the Repiglican Party will realize their social platforms are out-dated and realize liberty is more important than trying to restrict who can and can't be married.  Or maybe realize what a complete waste of money a war on marijuana is.  It's interesting, the older I get the more I realize very few in the GOP would know fiscal conservatism or personal liberties if either smacked them in the face.

[Townsend]

But there's been no shift within the Tea Party in their view of the president.  

I was using the tea party as an extreme example.

[RecycleMichael]

This "new" trend for Liberty is not new at all.

http://www.learnliberty.org/videos/liberty-movements-american-history/

[Gaspar]

We all see things through our own filters, and the liberty movement has been around for quite a while.  RM posts a video from one of my all time favorite sites. 

The big difference is in current perception.  More people are willing to accept, discuss, and understand how Obama, NSA, IRS, Debt, Minimum wage, extended unemployment, and expansion of government power diminishes liberty.

We have to give thanks to Obama for bringing all of these things together, and doing so in a way that the public can truly see why it unwise to place trust in any politician or government.

[AquaMan]

That is a giggle. You're good for that.

Too bad you have no sense of real history or you might note all of those were instigated and flourished for decades before your flowering or Obama's. Some from the very beginning of our country. But no, it all coalesces around Obama. The nexus of all problems is found in Obama. Therefore, the solution to all problems is understanding and embracing all that is Obama so that we may fight the Obama from within and wash it from our souls. And of course anyone who doesn't understand that is a deluded, socialist, Obama defender. There is no middle ground or room for equivocation. Thus spaketh the voice from the gas.

At what point does our liberty vanish? If Obama, the evil unions and the skeechy Dems can't do it now, then who and when? Tell us so that we may live in the beauty of your intelligence and prosper under real liberty.

[Hoss]

That is a giggle. You're good for that.

Too bad you have no sense of real history or you might note all of those were instigated and flourished for decades before your flowering or Obama's. Some from the very beginning of our country. But no, it all coalesces around Obama. The nexus of all problems is found in Obama. Therefore, the solution to all problems is understanding and embracing all that is Obama so that we may fight the Obama from within and wash it from our souls. And of course anyone who doesn't understand that is a deluded, socialist, Obama defender. There is no middle ground or room for equivocation. Thus spaketh the voice from the gas.

At what point does our liberty vanish? If Obama, the evil unions and the skeechy Dems can't do it now, then who and when? Tell us so that we may live in the beauty of your intelligence and prosper under real liberty.

Damn, soda burns coming out the nose....

[Gaspar]

That is a giggle. You're good for that.

Too bad you have no sense of real history or you might note all of those were instigated and flourished for decades before your flowering or Obama's. Some from the very beginning of our country. But no, it all coalesces around Obama. The nexus of all problems is found in Obama. Therefore, the solution to all problems is understanding and embracing all that is Obama so that we may fight the Obama from within and wash it from our souls. And of course anyone who doesn't understand that is a deluded, socialist, Obama defender. There is no middle ground or room for equivocation. Thus spaketh the voice from the gas.

At what point does our liberty vanish? If Obama, the evil unions and the skeechy Dems can't do it now, then who and when? Tell us so that we may live in the beauty of your intelligence and prosper under real liberty.

That was good. I needed that.

[AquaMan]

You're a smart, creative guy with a good education, humorous and apparently possess some humility.

[Conan71]

That is a giggle. You're good for that.

Too bad you have no sense of real history or you might note all of those were instigated and flourished for decades before your flowering or Obama's Bush's. Some from the very beginning of our country. But no, it all coalesces around Obama Bush. The nexus of all problems is found in Obama Bush. Therefore, the solution to all problems is understanding and embracing all that is Obama Bush so that we may fight the Obama Bush from within and wash it from our souls. And of course anyone who doesn't understand that is a deluded, socialist Neo-con, Obama Bush defender. There is no middle ground or room for equivocation. Thus spaketh the voice from the gas left.

At what point does our liberty vanish? If Obama Bush, the evil unions (insert here: Banksters, Teabaggers, RWRE)  and the skeechy Dems Rethugs can't do it now, then who and when? Tell us so that we may live in the beauty of your intelligence and prosper under real liberty.

Sound familiar?

[AquaMan]

Not to me. At least not around these parts.

[guido911]

Yep, here comes the stalker.  Guess Gweed has a sad because he doesn't have real friends.

[Hoss]

Thanks for proving my point.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[nathanm]

The big difference is in current perception.  More people are willing to accept, discuss, and understand how Obama, NSA, IRS, Debt, Minimum wage, extended unemployment, and expansion of government power diminishes liberty.

Well, if you throw out Obama, the IRS, and the debt, yes, young people are becoming more willing to accept and discuss those topics in a way that would make you smile. You would not be very happy with their opinions on the debt, health care, the minimum wage, unemployment benefits, or social programs in general. Unlike you, they do not see government as the problem, they see cronyism and corruption as the problem.

You have this unshakable conviction that cronyism and corruption are inherent in government more so than other instruments of power. They are not. They happen when we allow one class of people to take over the levers of power. Doesn't matter whether it's the left, the right, the poor, or the rich, packing the positions of power with one group means that group will use that power to their advantage and to the disadvantage of those not represented. Given that the vast majority of both parties are presently populated by unfettered corporatists, guess who is getting the white glove treatment today? How many more no bid contracts, tax subsidies, and other favors will it take before you wake up and smell the coffee?

To be fair, I do point and laugh more at the righties, but that's because they read our history about as well as Jerry Falwell reads the Bible. That is to say, they read what they wish was written, not what is actually there. At least the corporatist Democrats don't try to justify their behavior with what amounts to religion.

It seems that a minority has more control over this state and nation than the majority; it wants to do away with our hand gun protection, our military, our national defense, our industry and our jobs. Wake up voters and take a hard look at what goes on.

That was written in 1984. Thirty years later, the right parrots the same tired lines as if nothing has changed. You'd think that their policy prescriptions might have changed in response to the end of the Cold War, globalization, the Internet, and everything else that has dramatically reshaped the world, but no.