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The Jonathan Dolhenty Archive |
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The Dolhenty Report A Commentary on the Human Condition by Dr. Jonathan Dolhenty July 1999
On Violence and the Government and At some point in time over the past few months, video games, guns, motion pictures, bad parenting, lack of prayer in school, the NRA, Hollywood, sex, testoterone, white males, and many other cultural and social icons have been blamed for the increasing violence among our young people, especially by government officials and politicians. Thus far, none of these have been shown to be direct causes of the school shootings and other violent escapades plaguing our country (not to mention the world, of course). It is interesting that one possible cause (or better - "catalyst") of violence is always missing from the list provided by government officials and politicians. This "catalyst" is the government itself or, to be more specific, governmental policies as implemented by government officials and politicians. Even a brief look at history (and especially the past 100 years) will clearly show that the number one perpetrator of violence is government itself (with religion and an established church running second). Think, just for example, of how the U.S. federal government commits violent acts on its own citizens. Think of Rudy Ridge and Waco as just two recent instances. Think of the power of the IRS, whose agents are authorized to carry weapons, take your property literally without warrent, judge you, sentence you, and generally make your life hell and, mostly, do it without due process of law. Think of the INS and Customs Service with their strip searches of perfectly innocent citizens just because they "think" someone may be smuggling goods. Think of the federal police agencies who can confiscate your property without any criminal charge under a forfeiture law which has drastically altered the civil liberties of every citizen in this country. I have just finished reading an eye-opening book which documents many cases of federal violence, many of them virtually unknown to the general public. Innocent people killed by federal agents who over-reacted in an innocent situation. Millions of dollars of property taken without due process. Families, including young children, subjected to life-threatening situations at the hand of the FBI, BATF, IRS, INS, DEA, and other alphabet-soup federal terrorists. Violence? Yes, direct violence against the citizens of this country by the very government which is supposed to protect them. Much of this government terrorism during the past thirty years is due to such "enlightened" policies as the self-defeating War on Drugs and the War on Terrorism. And, especially with the so-called War on Drugs, the wool has been pulled over the public's eyes. As long as this War on Drugs continues, more and more of the individual rights and civil liberties of our citizens will be placed in jeopardy or outright abolished, in the name of "public safety and national security," of course. I can't go into detail here about all the hellish situations in which the federal government commits unnecessary violence against its citizens, but I will refer you to the recent book I read (which is just one among many books about violence perpetrated by federal agents). The book is "No More Wacos: What's Wrong With Federal Law Enforcement and How To Fix It" by David B. Kopel and Paul H. Blackman. So, if we are to begin to prevent violence among our youth, it might be a good start for the government to cease perpetrating violence on its own citizens (including that official policy of violence called capital punishment -- but that's another story). Furthermore... Suppose the federal government implemented the following policy:
Would you be outraged at this license for stealing? Doesn't the above seem more appropriate to a totalitarian dictatorship? Well, the above statute is currently law, for federal seizures, and for most states. Although the actual phrasing of the various forfeiture statutes may be more elegant, the effect is the same as the "model" statute above. How did things get to this point? Very simple. The American public bought the lies, distortions, and cover-ups perpetrated by federal government officials and the politicians regarding such insane policies as the War on Drugs and the War on Crime and the War on Terrorism. The move on the part of government was deliberate; get more power and more money and the way to do this is to create a crisis in the minds of an unthinking and uncritical public, referred to by one government official as "the sheep." This was not a partisan attempt at increasing government power at the loss of civil liberties. Both major political parties, Republican and Democrat, support the draconian policies associated with the War on Drugs and the War on Crime and the War on Terrorism. Put simply, the American public right now has more to fear from federal government terrorism than it has to fear from a foreign invasion. Interesting, ain't it? (Source for the above "model" statute: David B. Kopel and Paul H. Blackman, No More Wacos: What's Wrong With Federal Law Enforcement and How To Fix It, New York: Prometheus Books, 1997, p. 327.) Enrich Your Life With a Philosophy Book... Enrich Your Life With a Philosophy Magazine...
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