Der Polizeistaat
I’ve attempted to write this
blog a number of times since the beginning of the year. Obviously, if you are
reading this now you are seeing the final version. Originally, I was going to
make a little joke about the title.
The idea was that when you translate it into English it means the Police
State. The joke that went along with it was the phrase always sounded better in
the original German.
The premise of the first
draft was to point out that since 1945 there has been a drumbeat that has
promoted globalization and the expansion of the relationship between world
governments and the international military-industrial complex. It was going
discuss the Occupy movements, the innovation of the Anonymous collective and
how the protests of 2011 were similar to the revolutions of 1848. Additionally, I was going to investigate
the response of the various municipalities. However, the situation changed
drastically since January 2012.
In the last few months,
here in the United States, laws have been passed that create an atmosphere of
surveillance and control. Between recent bills such as HR 347, The Trespass Bill, and National Defense Authorization Act 2012 the
US has become at the very least an autocratic state. These are just added to
the plethora of laws that were generated by the events of 9-11 and the passage
of the Patriot Act. Since then the federal government has been expanding its
power under the umbrella of Homeland Security (this too has a better ring in
German: Heimatland Sicherheit). The
TSA is now not only going to be involved with airports, but also at train
stations, and from recent news articles they’re vying to control interstate
highways and maybe your local mall. All of this is happening under the guise of
safety. Hermann Goering at the
Nürnburg trials stated,
“Naturally the common people don't want
war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is
understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine
policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it
is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist
dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the
bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they
are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and
exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”[1]
In 1933 the NAZI hierarchy,
wanting to consolidate power, came up with a plan to burn the Reichstag and grab
a large amount of executive and legislative power. Shortly after it was
destroyed a guilty party was found and executed. The important part of the
event was the passing of the Enabling Act, which granted Hitler wide executive
powers & in some cases rule by decree. Although I am not a conspiracy
theorist when it comes to 9-11 I do believe we need to acknowledge that the
government used the event to its greatest advantage. Since 9-11 the government has done everything it can to
absorb freedoms under the auspices of protecting the public. But to be sure
this started long before that.
The powers that be
(plutocrats) take a long view to domination. They saw how their previous
attempts in other parts of the world have failed because it was to much
domination to quickly. They learned and have been using the solid and slow
approach this time. They are biding their time. Their method is nearly perfect.
They start on the young and follow them through school and then into young
adulthood. When I went to school, we had drugs in my school, weapons of course,
and even weird people. In fact the Hillside Strangler, Kenneth Bianchi, was just 5
years ahead of me at Gates-Chili Sr.-Jr. High School. However, we never had
police in the hallways, inspection of lockers when we weren’t around, or go through
metal detectors. I don’t believe the student population is all that much
different than we were in many respects but the youth today have no expectation
of privacy and those in charge don’t want them to expect any.
With
the permission of the courts it became possible to go through student lockers.
In the past lockers were seen as an extension of personal space. Certainly if
there was a probable cause the police could have gotten a warrant and search it.
No longer, since the 1990s students have no rights at all in school. Oh, maybe
a few rights for personal space such as rest rooms or a toilet stall but whatever
they had as a personal space is limited and can be inspected. Currently one
would suspect that the restroom is probably no longer sacrosanct, more of a
knock and enter. Think about this, most students who started school in the 90s
have never known a time when the “powers that be” could not intrude into their
lives. Today they can be stopped by the police along the road, there are
roadblocks, and now when the police come to your front door. These students
have been trained to be subservient to the government and students are
continually brainwashed into not being an activist or even to a protector of
their own rights.
When
the police come it’s not Officer Morgan knocking to ask you a few questions,
but a Swat-Team that batters down your front door and then they take you away.
Wrong house… “Oh sorry.” By the way don’t forget, if they arrest you for J-walking
today they can perform a strip-search. Of
course the US has perfected the ultimate in control. They have come up with a
control mechanism that is full proof and works beyond compare. I’m not talking
about prison, that’s the last resort, but money. The government can fine you
nearly into non-existence, the last step before losing your freedom in prison.
Let’s face it no money in a capitalist country puts a crimp in your life. When
it’s a plutocratic capitalist country where money is used to control like ours
it’s life threatening.
I have been blaming the
plutocrats and their minions in crime, our bought and paid for politicians, and
the plutocrat’s shill the banks, mainstream media, and a plethora of NGOs. Now
to be honest we, the citizens of the US, are just as much to blame. For years
we heard the BS that you can’t fight city hall and that you don’t
discuss politics in polite society. Now, it’s gotten to the point that when the
government actions are questioned there are a number of nationalist political
and religious groups that charge that you’re not patriotic. To echo and
paraphrase John Lindsey, mayor of NYC in the 1970s; those who think it’s
unpatriotic to protest the government, do not know the history of their own
country. As citizens of the US we must resist the temptation to do nothing and
become involved on some level and protest the police state forming around us.
What
can you do? Vote! Attend a protest. Help out the local Occupy movement. Become
an Anon. Use social media to promote ideas, news, information, and the support
of protests. The main thing is get involved.
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