Do They Care?

Have you noticed that "things" are getting worse--not better? Have you noticed that oppression is gaining speed exponentially, when it should be almost non-existent? Have you noticed that laws are written at a pace that is faster than one can actually read them? Have you noticed that when you talk to the average person on the street, they only possess a cursory understanding of how their government works? Why do you suppose that is? What do you think will happen to our remaining freedoms when so many are ignorant of them?

 

I've been banging away at this keyboard trying to shed some light on current events and questioning the motivations of those involved. When I share what I have found with those I meet in public, I get the standard responses: "That's interesting," or "It doesn't affect me, so I don't pay much attention to it," or "I don't have the time to really understand all the issues." I can appreciate that. We're all so extremely busy these days. But, what do you suppose happens when 9 out of 10 people are ignoring events that are indicative of the practices of an abusive government?

"It is a besetting vice of democracies to substitute public opinion for law. This is the usual form in which masses of men exhibit their tyranny."

~James F. Cooper

Public opinion is a double-edged sword. It can bring about great change, but it can lead to great oppression, too. If people on the whole don't care about the reach of government into their personal lives, government will surely encroach as much as possible. Look around you for the proof of this statement. There's hardly an activity one can engage in that hasn't been touched by government. As a matter of fact, people have been so ingrained with government's supervision of their lives when there's a perceived problem, the people's first instinct is to call for government regulation to protect them. Why is that? People need to learn that if they hand over control of their lives to government, government may not want to relinquish it when the people change their minds.

 

Let me leave you with another quote by James Cooper. He understood that the check on government's power was the people's consent to be governed. Once government loses that consent, their legitimacy ends. Therefore, public opinion can be measured by government to gauge just how much abuse people are willing to put up with.

In America, it is indispensable that every well wisher of true liberty should understand that acts of tyranny can only proceed from the public. The public, then, is to be watched, in this country, as, in other countries kings and aristocrats are to be watched.

~James F. Cooper

Our freedom and our liberty face an even greater threat than from the tyranny of our government. This threat can be found in the uneducated, uninformed, and unconcerned neighbor. Think about what it means to have so many people around you who either don't know or don't care about what their government is doing. If your neighbor doesn't care about his own freedom and liberty, what makes you think he gives a damn about yours?