probably weren’t any hotdogs cooking on the grill on Independence Day in 1776. When the founding fathers of our nation signed the Declaration of Independence, they probably weren’t wondering if the beer was cold yet, if Ben was going to burn the burgers again, or whether Thomas remembered the lighter for the fireworks.
They were thinking about freedom.
The whole purpose of the gesture was that these men were tired of bowing down to someone who did not have their best interests at heart. They were determined to no longer be the subjects of a King who looked at them as a way to make himself wealthy.
And, sadly, here we are a couple hundred years later, dependent yet again.
Our culture is just so incredibly dependent. Freedom is terrifying to most people because it means that they and they alone, are responsible for the actions that they take. An independent person succeeds or fails on his or her own merit. Independence by its very nature means that the possibility of failure exists. It requires a sense of adventure, confidence, and the ability to fail and get right back up again, and it seems like these things are being bred out of the American people.
What “independence” actually means
“Independent”, by definition, is the opposite of dependent. Here’s a whole list of definitions:
1. not influenced or controlled by others in matters of opinion, conduct, etc.; thinking or acting for oneself.2. not subject to another’s authority or jurisdiction; autonomous; free3. not influenced by the thought or action of others.4. not dependent; not depending or contingent upon something else for existence, operation, etc.5. not relying on another or others for aid or support.6. rejecting others’ aid or support; refusing to be under obligation to others.7. possessing a competency.
So, if you are, at heart, a free person, the above is the description of your character.
Maybe you read that list and realized it doesn’t describe you. With some hard work and a big dose of courage, it can. Here’s how:
You must reduce your dependence on everything that is out of your control.
You must reduce your dependence on the government, the large corporations, the transportation system, money, the banking system, entities like the FDA and the USDA. All of these are marketed to us to make it seem like we can’t survive without them.
Those who signed the Declaration of Independence, hundreds of years ago, knew this was the case. When Britain tried to coerce them and convince them that they needed help and governance from the other side of the ocean, those patriots decided that there was not one single thing that England could provide for them that they needed enough to remain under the rule of the King.
Once you decide that there’s nothing that you need, then the boogeymen who would control us all lose their power. That’s why nearly everything you need to do to become self-sustaining is either illegal or strongly discouraged: milk straight from the cow, water collection, front-yard vegetable gardens, carrying a firearm. They need you to need them.
How we’re manipulated into dependence
The government is not really made up of the elected officials that it purports. It’s made up, mostly, by people who sell their souls to huge corporations that have an interest in beneficial laws being passed and laws that would harm their businesses shut down before they ever reach the desk of the presidents.
As well, the supposed watchdog entities, like the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the United States Department of Agriculture are also populated by those who have been hand-picked to support corporations, no matter what the detriment to the American people whom they pretend to protect. If Congress was like Nascar, the members would have to wear uniforms emblazoned with their sponsors. However, Washington DC does not have the transparency of professional car racing, so we must guess at the sponsors of our members.
We are buried under silly laws with the sole purpose of generating revenue or adding to the slave labor force in the for-profit prison system. We must work most of our waking hours to be able to pay for our basic necessities. We are convinced repeatedly that we must have things that our ancestors would never have considered owning, much less requiring.
Hand in hand, the mega-corporations and the government entities work together to keep us subservient and in our places. The corporations create products, the watchdog agencies “test” the products, and the government mandates an artificial need for these products.
They have most people convinced that they must follow the food pyramid, the vaccine schedule, and the rules that force us to have licenses for every darned thing we do. We must pay for and be granted permission to feed ourselves, transport ourselves, build shelter for ourselves, unite in matrimony, and even to own pets.
Like some kind of frighteningly authoritarian parent, they assure us that it’s for our own safety, these breaches in our independence, and that we must comply or face the consequences. They ground us by taking away our licenses. They send us to our rooms that just happen to be located in for-profit prisons. They don’t “allow” us to pursue life, liberty, and happiness because once we taste that sweet freedom, we won’t want to be under their oppressive thumbs anymore.
But some of us have seen the corporate government for what it is: a bully that reigns through fear of reprisal. They hold over us these fears:
We will die if we don’t eat things that were inspected and approved by them.
We will be jailed, fined, or have our children taken from us if we don’t toe the line.
We are unable to figure things out for ourselves because we are not “experts” and therefore we must suppress our own judgments and bow to their far greater knowledge.
We will die if we don’t follow their expert health and nutrition advice.
We’ll be murdered by scary foreign terrorists if we don’t allow the TSA to fondle our private parts and perform x-rays that show us naked before we fly.
Because some people fear these things and believe these tales so thoroughly, they allow the government to enforce ridiculous, unconstitutional laws “for our own safety.” They say, “Better that I give up my rights as a human being and save the world from a terrorist.” They justify, “These agents are only doing their jobs.” Heck, I’ve even heard people in line at the airport thank the TSA for patting them down.
Whether you call it freedom, liberty, sovereignty, or self-governance, the point remains the same: if you’re reading this, you probably want to determine your own life, whether the result is success or failure. You want to have control over your ability to live,truly live, and not merely exist as a slave to the powers that be.
How we’re all being manipulated by the corporate government
The corporate system is constructed around making us feel as though we need what they are offering. They want us to believe we need their expertise, their handouts, their approvals, and their protection. They want us to feel that we are not capable of making our own decisions without their input.
Once they create this insecurity in you, then you have become their slave.
You must work, almost non-stop, to be able to afford the lifestyle they tell you to have. Your home must meet their standards, your dependence upon the grid is absolute, and you must never, ever partake of a food that has not passed their approval process. You should call the experts to protect you, via 911, as opposed to taking care of your own security. Your children must be supervised constantly, unable to grow and seek adventures, in order to create the next generation of adults who submit without even realizing they are doing so.
When it’s put like that, you can see how absolutely ridiculous it all is, right?
Let’s take food, for example.
Historically, in nearly every takeover of the modern world, food was involved. Think of communist China in the early 1960s or the Holodomor, for two examples. The government took control of the farms “for the good of the people.” They controlled all of the food – every single bite. If you complied, you ate. If you rebelled, you starved.
Here’s another example. Back 100 years ago, people drank milk. You got it from cows as opposed to the store. Now, the substance they drank is called “raw milk” and it’s the subject of taboos, warnings, and legal hoops that must be jumped through. It’s a million times easier to purchase a known carcinogen (cigarettes) or a mood-altering substance (alcohol) than it is to get fresh, creamy milk from a cow and drink it. We’ve been brainwashed into believing our milk must be heated to the point that the good bacteria is exterminated and then approved by the USDA before we’re able to drink it. Milk is controlled like a dangerous Level 1 narcotic, for crying out loud. But pasteurized milk from the store, originated from cows that were given recombinant bovine growth hormone and antibiotics, is perfectly fine. It’s USDA approved.In a million small ways, folks are being brainwashed that we require permission to do nearly everything. Think of an abusive relationship, because our relationship with the government is a classic example of such a thing.
The abuser says things like this to the victim:
“You’d never survive without me.”
“You obviously need me to take care of you because you aren’t smart enough to take care of yourself.”
“Why did you do that without my permission? Now, you’re going to be punished.”
“I’m doing this for your own good.”
The abuser keeps track of your time, makes you account for your earnings, seizes your personal belongings, coerces you into doing things you don’t want to do, and harshly discourages any vestiges of independence. Because if you are independent, they have lost control of you. Compliance is rewarded and rebellion is punished.
Let the TSA pat you down, you are allowed to travel. Refuse to be groped and you lose the price of your plane ticket and your opportunity to go to your cousin’s wedding by air. Sell a homemade edible product that hasn’t been “inspected” and approved by local officials, they will fine your business out of existence. Not only this, but occasionally we’re allowed to feel we’re independent and do these things, and we pay extra for the privileges for living our lives, traveling, and earning a living.
So how do you become an independent human being?
You may feel like you aren’t in the right place in life to declare your independence. Perhaps you don’t have room to raise your own food. Perhaps you have a physical handicap that bars you from living 30 miles from civilization in a yurt located down a dirt road, over a creek, and in the woods. Maybe it’s all you can do financially to keep the refrigerator full of groceries for the week.
But wherever you are right now, that’s okay. Wherever you are, know that every single person, even the very free-est person you know, started at a place that was less free than where they are right now. The most important thing is to begin to recognize the chains that are on you so that you can begin, link by link, to break them.
How do you break free of the life that nearly every single person around you lives?
It’s simple, yet so complicated. Here it is, the ultimate act of insurrection:
You have to need less.
When you need less, you have less to fear.
Now, every year when I write about this topic, a few people come out of the woodwork to claim, “It’s not enough.” Not everyone is a warrior, but taking steps to become freer than you were the day before is a cause for celebration.
It is simply reality that most of us cannot make a stand in every single aspect of our lives. We have children that could be taken away from us. We have homes that could be seized. We fear being imprisoned in a cage. I get that, truly. I don’t want to lose my daughter or my home or be thrown in jail either. The folks in control have done their job in that respect, but we can work around it.
We can refuse to eat the poisoned apple that they graciously hand to us. Some can stop sending their children to public school for “free” education. We can all stop purchasing processed food that originated as the bastard child of factory farming and a chemistry project. We can refuse to shop at Wal-Mart, K-mart, or any of those corporate discount stores that have their products manufactured in sweat shops so that they can undercut the Mom & Pop stores right out of business.
I use well water and hope to soon install some solar panels. I raise as much food as I can and I buy the stuff I can’t raise from farmer friends who treat their animals well. I don’t watch television and haven’t seen a commercial in more than a year, so I’m not really sure what it is I “need”. I buy things I actually do need from local craftsmen and I have things repaired instead of replaced. I don’t pay interest to the banks, heck – I don’t even leave money in the bank. 911 is not my default for home security. We don’t have Obamacare, cable TV, a major credit card, or a home phone. I live my life quietly, and without many of the things that others consider “necessities.”
You might be thinking, “What about the children? Don’t they feel deprived?”
I don’t believe that they do. My oldest daughter just graduated from college, debt free. We budgeted carefully, she won scholarships, and she gets to start her life without being in the hole. She can take her time and travel to Europe before she gets a “real” job, because she doesn’t have a student loan hanging over her head that requires her to dive into full time permanent servitude right now.
My youngest daughter stays up until midnight and sleeps until noon all year round, because she is not subject to school bells at specific times. Her grades are very good, and she has far more free time than her public-schooled friends. She takes care of horses, dogs, and cats. She actually earns a substantial amount of money shoveling poop for people who don’t have the time to do so. For fun, she hikes and shoots her long bow. She meets up with other home-schooled kids to hang out because they aren’t tied to an arbitrary schedule either.
I spend my mornings outside with the animals. I check on the vegetable garden and see if there will soon be something to harvest. Instead of an iPod, my music is the birds, the wild turkeys, the friendly nicker of the horses, hoping for some attention. I spend my days learning: about health, nutrition, natural remedies, old methods of gardening and preservation, and needlecraft. I read the books I always wanted to read. We don’t spend a lot of money and that decreases a great deal of our need for money. I don’t have to sell the majority of the hours in my day for enough money to survive the other hours.
Every single day, I strive to reduce my vulnerability to coercion. Because the less I need, the more difficult I am to manipulate.
And you? You don’t need this stuff they are offering, either. There is so much that you can do to free yourself from them….
SOTT…
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Added by lloyd fuller at 3:08pm on December 9, 2009
tting down internet websites (web domains) without due process or a proper trial. DHS simply seizes web domains that it wants to and posts an ominous "Department of Justice" logo on the web site. See an example at http://torrent-finder.com
Over 75 websites were seized and shut down last week, and there is no indication that the government will stop such efforts. Right now, their focus is websites that they claim "violate copyrights," yet the torrent-finder.com website that was seized by DHS contained no copyrighted content whatsoever. It was merely a search engine website that linked to destinations where people could access copyrighted content. Google also links to copyrighted content -- does that mean the feds will soon seize Google, too?
These seizures were conducted on the basis of language in the DMCA law, which is vastly overreaching in its powers (it was passed to appease the music recording industry and the RIAA). Even so, the U.S. Senate is right now considering passing yet another law -- COICA -- the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/...), a new law that would give the federal government even more power to shut down websites it opposed.
Read more about COICA here: http://www.usa-anti-communist.com/w...
And here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris...
Here's the list of 19 US Senators who voted to censor the internet via the COICA bill: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...
Government could shut down alternative health websites
Where is all this going? Today the U.S. government is targeting websites focused on copyright violations, but if the public tolerates this government-sponsored censorship of the web, it's only a matter of time before these government powers are expanded to control the content of the internet.
Over the last few years, several U.S. Senators have already attempted to outlaw vitamins and nutritional supplements. One lawmaker even suggested that "alternative health" information should be outlawed on the internet in order to "protect" people from information that isn't aligned with the drugs-and-surgery approach to sick care. It's only a matter of time, it seems, before the U.S. government uses its new power of seizing internet websites as an information warfare weapon to silence anyone who opposes FDA and the Big Pharma agenda.
In fact, under these new laws, there's no limit to what websites the U.S. government could choose to seize and shut down. This is the beginning of the federal takeover of the internet, where all websites that don't fall in line with "official" government-approved information are now potential targets of DHS seizures.
One music website seized by DHS -- RapGodFather.com -- was seized merely because its users posted comments linking to file-sharing websites (http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/...). The site had 150,000 members, but as of today, it is the property of "Homeland Security Investigations." (http://rapgodfathers.com/)
See the TorrentFreak.com news report on this important story here: http://torrentfreak.com/music-linki...
All websites using the word "Face" could soon be seized
The reach of tyrants knows no limits. As widely reported throughout the popular press last week, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has assigned Facebook a trademark monopoly over the word "Face." (http://techcrunch.com/2010/11/23/pa...) This means that any website using the word "face" could theoretically be seized by the DHS under the DMCA.
Lest you think this is some impossible exaggeration of the law, keep in mind that governments always misuse laws to go far beyond their original intended purpose. The RICO Act, for example, which was originally passed in 1970 to combat the mafia, is now used nearly every day against individuals and small businesses (http://www.ricoact.com).
Similarly, the Patriot Act signed into law by President Bush after the 9/11 attacks was originally intended to be applied to international terrorists. But now in the United States, it is routinely used against animal rights activists and environmental protection groups (http://www.aclu.org/national-securi...).
These rogue abuses of federal law create a pattern of expanding government powers that increasingly threaten the Constitutional rights of American citizens. To seize a person's website without due process is both a violation of that person's First Amendment rights (Free Speech) as well as their Fifth Amendment rights.
The Fifth Amendment states:
No person shall be... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
And yet this seizure of websites by the DHS is doing precisely that -- depriving people of property without due process of law.
The U.S. federal government, as we have increasingly seen through the actions of the TSA, DEA and DHS, does not recognize nor honor the Bill of Rights. Nor does it believe the U.S. Constitution has any authority whatsoever. The upshot of this is that all Americans citizens are now living under a system of government tyranny, where government agents may molest you at the airports or seize your website if they don't like what you're saying online.
Take action: Sign the petition
Help stop the government takeover of the internet. Sign this petition:
http://demandprogress.org/blacklist/
In order to protect your access to NaturalNews.com and stay in contact with us in case the DHS ever attempts to seize our web domain, be sure to join our email list by entering your email address at http://www.naturalnews.com/ReaderRe...
That way, we will be able to reach you by email with any important updates or announcements.…
s a fun quiz to find out how smart (or gullible) your friends really are. So let 'em take the Sheeple Quiz! And then you'll know whether they're independent thinkers or just zombie-minded sheeple like the rest of the flock.Here's the quiz. Choose "A" or "B" as the answer for each question, then check your score below.The Sheeple Quiz#1) The purpose of the mainstream media is to:A) Keep you informed.B) Feed you misinformation while keeping you distracted from the real issues our world is facing.#2) Social Security is:A) A financial safety net that makes sure people have a retirement income.B) A government-run Ponzi scheme that requires more and more people to keep paying in just to stay afloat and will ultimately collapse into total bankruptcy.#3) The fluoride dripped into municipal water supplies is:A) A naturally-occurring mineral.B) An industrial chemical waste byproduct.#4) When you donate money to find the cure for cancer, that money goes:A) To fund research programs that assess actual cancer cures for the purpose of freely sharing them with the public.B) To fund mammogram campaigns that actually irradiate women's breasts, causing the very cancers that earn huge profits for the cancer treatment industry.#5) The national debt is:A) Under control and will be paid off in a few years.B) Out of control and will spiral into a runaway debt collapse.#6) GMOs will:A) Feed the world and prevent starvation.B) Threaten the future of life on our planet through genetic contamination and widespread crop failures.#7) The FDA protects:A) The people from dangerous medicines.B) The financial interests of the drug companies.#8) The EPA's real agenda is to:A) Protect the environment.B) Protect the financial interests of the chemical companies whose toxic products destroy the environment.#9) The Federal Reserve functions to:A) Stabilize the economy and keep America strong.B) Loot the economy and control America's economy for the interests of the few.#10) The purpose of TSA checkpoints at airports is to:A) Keep air passengers safe and secure.B) Indoctrinate Americans into surrendering to police state invasions of their privacy.#11) The practical function of the U.S. Supreme Court is to:A) Protect the constitutional rights of the citizens.B) Legitimize federal tyranny over the People by ignoring the Constitution and its Bill of Rights.#12) Vaccines are based on:A) Gold standard science that conclusively proves their safety and effectiveness.B) Quackery and fraud combined with a persistent medical mythology that utterly lacks a factual basis.#13) Herbs and superfoods:A) Are medically useless and cannot treat, prevent or cure any disease.B) Contain powerful plant-based medicines that can help reverse and prevent disease.#14) In Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq, America:A) Led a humanitarian effort to save innocent people from tyranny.B) Waged an illegal imperialist war to occupy foreign nations and control their oil.#15) The U.S. Bill of RightsA) Grants you rights and freedoms.B) Merely acknowledges the rights and freedoms you already possess.Score your Sheeple QuizTo score your Sheeple Quiz, simply count the number of times you answered "A" to the questions above.If you answered "A" 10 times or more...You are a total news-watching, gullible fairytale swallowing Sheeple! Be sure to keep taking those medications and watching more network news. Don't bother thinking for yourself because you seem to be incapable of accomplishing that.If you answered "A" fewer than 10 times...You are sadly Sheeple-minded but there is hope for your rescue. Learn more about the world around you and train yourself to think critically so you can depart from the herd mentality.If you answered "A" fewer than 5 times...You are an unusually intelligent free-minded thinker who questions the world around you and doesn't buy into the usual propaganda. You still got suckered on a few items, so there's more yet to learn. But you're on the right track!If you answered "A" exactly zero times...You are the complete opposite of a Sheeple. You're independent minded, well informed and probably a regular reader of NaturalNews.com. Stay on track and question events in the world around you. Eat more superfoods to maintain your healthy immune system and cognitive function. Avoid the toxic chemicals in foods, medicines and lawn care products. Keep reading the alternative press and voice your intelligent views to others willing to listen. (But don't waste your time on those who aren't.)Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/032415_sheeple_quiz.html#ixzz2Fl6sayrW…
-veiled assault on our Second Amendment freedoms.
Either they want to ban our guns, track our guns . . .
. . . Or track us.
Well, after years of watching our illegal immigration problem grow steadily worse -- and watching our elected officials refuse to lift a finger in response -- the politicians' "fix" is finally in.
It's a new Federal Biometric ID card.
That's right. Instead of controlling our borders, the politicians want to control you and me. They want to give amnesty to illegal immigrants and make us prove we're not criminals!
And President Barack Obama, Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) are all working hand in glove to ram this new scheme into law as part of their new "comprehensive immigration reform" package.
That's why it's vital you sign the petition to your Congressman and Senators IMMEDIATELY.
If passed, the Federal Biometric ID card included in the new amnesty bill will:
* Include a "unique biometric identifier" -- like fingerprints, retinal scans or even a scan of the veins on the back of your hand; and,
* Allow bureaucrats to watch your every move, as the Federal Biometric ID card will almost certainly be produced with RFID tracking technology; and,
* Include virtually unlimited amounts of personal information about you -- like what guns you own, for instance.
And this new Federal Biometric ID would be required for any person wishing to hold a job legally in the United States.
So I guess the welfare recipients don't have to get one.
I don't know about you, but I'm outraged.
It seems that whenever politicians are using terrorism, crime, illegal immigration or something else as their excuse, it's really you and me in their crosshairs.
Just remember those Department of Homeland Security memos listing pro-gun, pro-constitution activists as "domestic extremists."
How would you like to be told you can't board a plane because your new Federal Biometric ID Card told a TSA agent you supported some political candidate the new anti-gun regime thinks is too "pro-constitution?"
Even if you place complete 100% trust in the intentions of all federal government bureaucrats, what if there's some "accident?"
After all, you and I have heard the news stories of government officials "losing" laptops chockfull of hundreds of thousands of records including folks' names, social security numbers, addresses and birthdates.
And, of course, you and I cannot ignore the fact that since ID cards are required to purchase a firearm, the Federal Biometric ID scheme will likely create a de facto national gun registry.
That's why it's so important you click here to sign the petition IMMEDIATELY.
Unfortunately, this fight will not be easy -- just take a look at the makeup of Congress.
Anti-gun, anti-freedom Speaker Nancy Pelosi has an enormous House majority.
Throwing party labels aside in the Senate and counting EVERY anti-gun Senator leaves you and me with a steep hill to climb.
And, of course, we can't forget about President Obama.
He's already come out publicly in favor of Senator Lindsey Graham's and Chuck Schumer's "bipartisan" bill -- so you and I must expect he'll do whatever it takes to enact the Federal Biometric ID scheme.
There's no doubt about it -- our backs are against the wall.
But there is good news.
Coming on the heels of the Healthcare fight -- and all the lies, smoky backroom deals and outright bribery employed to ram the bill into law -- there's not a real cozy feeling of "bipartisanship" right now in the U.S. Senate.
That's a HUGE plus.
It could be that with the exception of Senator Graham and perhaps a couple of others, you and I may not have as much difficulty in keeping even marginally pro-gun Republican U.S. Senators in our fold as we would normally.
Also, many key Democrat Senators come from states that have recently REFUSED to comply with the original DANGEROUS ID Bill.
As we move deeper into this election year, many of these Democrats are going to grow even more nervous about voting AGAINST their state legislatures to pass the similar new Federal Biometric ID Scheme.
That means we can win this fight, but it won't be easy.
The anti-gun politicians believe their best shot at passing the Federal Biometric ID scheme is to move FAST.
That's why your IMMEDIATE help is so vital.
So in addition to your signed petitions, I hope you'll consider making a generous contribution, as well.
You see, I've already prepared a massive targeted mail, phone and e-mail program that I'm ready to launch as soon as I can pay the up-front costs.
And then if I can raise the resources, I'd like to run hard-hitting radio, TV and newspaper ads, as well.
The goal is to start a grassroots fire against a new Federal Biometric ID scheme in the states represented by key Republican and Democrat Senators.
We'll point out that there's an overwhelming majority of citizens in their states who are opposed to a Federal Biometric ID card.
We'll also mention these voters are ALL watching these Senators' votes very carefully this election year.
Believe me, these Senators WILL get the message.
But I can't do any of this without your help.
That's why I hope you'll rush me your most generous contribution TODAY.
I know I'm asking a lot from you. But this could be it.
This could be the major, knock-down, drag-out fight we've been waiting for ever since President Obama was elected.
Until now, we've beaten the gun-control crowd to the punch -- publicizing and mobilizing a firestorm of grassroots opposition to the gun-grabbers radical schemes before they could even get them off the ground.…