The Dream That Was America

The Dream That Was America
by Robert Hawes

For a moment, set aside your party affiliation and whatever special interest you might have and travel back in time with me. We won't need to go far; the seventies and eighties will do just fine. This was the era in which I grew up.

It was also the latter part of the Cold War. The Soviet Union was our great enemy. Why? Because the Soviets were communists, and communists were the sworn enemies of freedom. They were not merely authoritarians but totalitarians. They believed in absolute state control over every aspect of an individual's life, and they were intent on spreading their system throughout the world.

I clearly remember being taught that, in the Soviet Union, fear ruled with an iron fist. Government spies were everywhere. The secret police could listen in on your phone calls at any time. They could read your mail. They could search your home and other property and seize whatever they liked. You could never be certain that you weren't being watched, no matter where you were. You had to carry identification papers everywhere you went, and many times you had to have permission to travel very far at all. And it wasn't just government agents that you had to be concerned about; you also had to live with the fear that your own friends, co-workers or family members might report you for "suspicious activities" or "politically questionable statements," sometimes for no other reason than to endear themselves to the communist party bosses. You had no enforceable rights where the state was concerned. Government agents could kick your door down in the middle of the night, drag you away to a state prison, torture you and even execute you. Your family would never know where you were. More than likely, you would not have legal council or ever see the inside of a courtroom. You were the property of the state, which was free to do whatever it liked with you.

We called this oppressive, militaristic mega-state "the Evil Empire," and we prided ourselves on being everything that the Soviets were not.

I have never read anything by Mr. Hawes before but these four paragraphs are EXACTLY the truth. We WERE not the EVIL EMPIRE, but we sure as hell are ran towards that label as fast as we could.

However, there ARE SO MANY OF US who will not tolerate it any longer.

There ARE SO MANY OF US who will not tolerate it and are writing the lists large of the PETTY, SMALL, WORTHLESS, GROVELING WOULD-BE TYRANTS, their armies of Jack Booted Thugs, and of course their BLOOD MONIED SUPPLICANTS!

There ARE SO MANY OF US who ARE speaking out against it and will not tolerate it any longer- for this CANNOT continue.

Each one of us, individually and together, must simply say NO MORE! Then act upon it. Do not let them cower you, push you, bully you, harass you, or in ANY FASHION convince you that THEY are your SUPERIORS- they are nothing but our SERVANTS!

The time is NOW to remind them of this- before it is too late!

WP