• 
• 

The 3 P’s – Propaganda, Programming leading to Pacification; how the national government grows

We’re being propagandized, programed leading to pacification – the 3 P’s of despotic rule. And the DC’vers are wildly successful. Let’s take a minute to break down their tactics and examine why we’re in heap big trouble if we let it continue!

Program (verb used with object) - to cause to absorb or incorporate automatic responses, attitudes, or the like; condition: The government programmed us to ignore the Rule of Law.

Our average elected officials are not noble people; in most instances, they possess a deep seeded desire to rule others. They are generally not trustworthy to protect inalienable rights; in some cases maliciously and in others out of sheer ignorance and/or lack of knowledge. Now to be sure, from time to time, anomalies appear, but as a rule, the people occupying power over the citizens thirst to rule over others, status, and fringe benefits that come from their position. They do not respect authority by and large and cleverly seek ways around adhering to it; in relation to this article, the authority for the national body of elected officials is the United States Constitution including the Bill of Rights.

In order to reach their objective of maintaining their rule over others, status, and fringe benefits, these officials must find a way to overcome the limitations of the Constitution. It is an obstacle to them to achieve their self-centered goals.  And the biggest threats to them are an informed and engaged electorate, thus the need to begin programming the populace to accept their un-constitutional activities at the earliest possible time. This is a requirement of all despots, programming the people via propaganda until pacification is achieved.

Propaganda (n) - information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc. Government has become so powerful that its propaganda has framed a debate where Inalienable Rights are no longer authoritative.

Propaganda is a primary tool in the arsenal of the less than noble elected official class; they are masters of this. In a liberated society as contrasted with a no holds barred despotic society like North Korea, the people must be gently prodded to accept more and more control by a national government. The average DC’ver recognizes that he/she has a large number of tools to do this. Here is a very partial list, broken into two categories of more recent propaganda emanating from the DC’vers in DC:

Positive Propaganda:

1.  Investment vs. taxation – Confiscation of productive people’s income is the lifeblood of despotic rule. Throughout history, military might, direct confiscation, arbitrary law, and the like were used to confiscate property. In a Union like the United States that was at one time governed by the Rule of Law and that Law being the Constitution, there is a heritage of consent of the governed. The government can only take that what is consented to. So, DC’vers, wanting to enhance their rule over others, status, and fringe benefits must find a way to get the people to consent to having their property taken under the illusion of their consent.

   
   Thus, we’re told that the confiscation of our property is an “investment,” a word scrubbed of any sense of taxation. And as people with 401K’s, homes, and who value education, we understand investment as a positive thing; it will improve our future if we invest. Every evening, we’re bombarded with TV commercials telling us this. And the national government, which is able to adapt to maintain their rule over others, status, and fringe benefits piggy back on this term. So, SCHIP is an “investment” in children’s health. Wind power is a good government “investment.” When we pay by force of law into the Ponzi scheme called Social Security, we’re not being taxed, no; we’re “investing” into our future retirements. The list can go on and on. The DC’vers have figured out a way to get you not to rebel against further confiscation of property from you by coercively using the term “investment” instead of taxation. You’ve been programmed to see the money confiscated from you every two weeks as an innocuous investment in your fellow citizen at worst, or in more modern times, “investment” as a good and patriotic thing. Either way, you’ve been programmed.

    

2. It’s your civic duty – We’ve been programmed to accept the size, scope, and power of the national government as a condition of being a good, upstanding, and patriotic inhabitant of the Union. In fact, we’ve been trained to turn on our fellow citizens when they speak out against the national governments power or possessing a different opinion of the confiscation of property via taxation. We see this every April 15^th when the news comes out that billions of dollars are “owed” to the national government by tax-cheats.  Citizen after citizen will call into to talk-shows berating these people as tax-cheats, tax-frauds, unpatriotic, even anti-American. We never seem to stop and think about what we’re defending and the DC’vers further entrench their grip on the population. The DC’vers now have agents for their cause of maintaining their rule over others, status, and fringe benefits.

   
   A free people generally have a good grip on justice, what’s right is right we say. We believe that honesty is still a value for a stable society so it’s no wonder that the DC’vers persuade us through very deliberate actions to turn on our neighbor and all the while insulating their coveted rule over others, status and fringe benefits they believe they’re entitled to. If they can program us to see the unethical as ethical, they’ve secured their future. And this is what they’ve done and sadly, the average person has bought into this. So, rather than ask what Constitutional authority is there for SCHIP, Medicare, Social Security, EPA, DHS, Department of Agriculture, and the likes which make up the national government, we shame, criticize, moralize about people who don’t like their property confiscated. Sadly, the very anger we have been programmed to direct at our neighbor should be harnessed and directed back to the DC’vers insisting that they justify every dollar confiscated from the producers with a Constitutional basis of authority…not a Supreme Court case. In just about 95% of the actions by the national government over the last 150 years or so, there is no Constitutional authority to justify what they’ve done.

    

3. We have a “Federal” government – No we don’t! We’re comforted by the word “federal” when attached to government. This hearkens back to our primary school years when we were first exposed to the founding of the Union, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the creation of the “Federal” government. But, because so little accurate history has been taught for generations now, we’re no longer able to discern the difference between the nation and federal government. Indeed, there was a time when the government was federal…no longer.
   
   So, what is a “Federal Government?”
   
   It is nothing more than a system of checks and balances where various equal authorities keep the other authorities in “check.” In the United States, governments (State and Federal) are supposed to be kept in check to a written legal framework we call the Constitution which includes the Bill of Rights. This is commonly referred to the Rule of Law. In the US there are two separate and distinct authorities, the federal government and the States. These are called vertical and horizontal checks and balances. When properly functioning, the three branches of the federal government (horizontal) keep themselves in check to the Constitution. Each branch has the authority to prevent the other from exceeding their authority under the Constitution.

   
   When these internal horizontal checks fail, it is the duty of the States to check the federal government via the 9^th and 10^th Amendment to the Constitution; the so-called “reserve” powers. When the States fail to do check the federal government, over time, we move from a federative system of government where the two authorities are keeping one another in check to a national government; a position where all checks and balances are lost. This is the condition of the United States today. There is no longer a federal government, but a national government with no authoritative written legal framework, i.e. the Constitution. The national government is currently free to do whatever it pleases to the people comprising the 50 separate and sovereign States. These are just the facts as unpleasant as they are.

   
   Yet, for the DC’vers to hold onto their rule over others, status and fringe benefits, they must program you to believe everything is alright, rest assured we’re told, “we’re still a federal government and what we’re doing in Congress, the White House and the Supreme Court is fully federal.” And we go about our business believing them when nothing could be further than the truth.

    

4. The mythic oath of office, pomp, and circumstance – Every two and four years, we’re treated to a spectacle of another group of elected officials taking their seats in Congress or the White House or both. There is much fanfare surrounding these events, parties, parades, speeches. Each element of the events are cleverly choreographed to deliver maximum comfort that the “peaceful transition” of power was accomplished and the newest group of officials will guide the Federal Government (read national government) the next two or four years. Central to this propaganda event is the oath of office, administered to every elected official. Each oath contains certain terms to assure the populace that adherence to the Rule of Law will continue…so help me God they say.

   
   But, do we ever stop and wonder whether or not the people raising their right hand, placing their left on the Bible, uttering a few words actually ever keep their oath? The evidence is not heartening in this regard, the facts simply do not support the idea that any of the DC’vers actually do or ever intended to uphold the definition. Now, perhaps there’s some wiggle room in the phrase “uphold,” “defend,” “preserve,” “support?” Maybe, assuming you’re looking for wiggle room, and isn’t that the exact problem. Everyone likes a loophole if it benefits them; we’re all subject to human nature. But, shouldn’t character help us to overcome these natural urges; especially when the actions taken by a governing body may affect millions or people? So, if the primary purpose of the majority of the DC’vers is self-aggrandizement, why do we believe them when they take their oath? If the oath is meant to reassure allegiance to the Rule of Law, why don’t we actually do something? After all, as Jefferson so eloquently put it in the Declaration of Independence, “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Did you consent to having your property, and liberty taken by people who could care less about an oath?

    

5. The Constitution waving elected official – Another part, more recently than formerly, thanks to the Tea Party is the constitution waving candidate. They’re all over the place and yet another cleverly placed piece of propaganda by DC’vers coveting power to rule over others, status, and fringe benefits. They have a deep need to convince you that they “honor” this document though the reality is, most know next to nothing about it…why should they? As discussed above, we no longer have a federal government constrained by a written constitution; we have a national government wielding arbitrary power under the illusion of it being Constitutional. And there is no better prop than whipping out the Constitution at a campaign rally. Or mentioning it, along with a couple of Founders during a speaking engagement.

   
   This propaganda tool depends on the average person having little to no knowledge of the document as well; and sadly, this is largely true. Most people are vulnerable to this propaganda device because of their lack of knowledge.

    

6. The visualization of power, Washington DC – Do you ever wonder why House Representatives and Senators like to have buildings named after them? Or how about all the monuments in the Capital? All contribute to the propagation of an idea; we’re a nation and its leaders are the DC’vers. This could not be farther from the truth. First off, we are not a “nation” in the sense we understand other nations like France, Germany, Australia, etc. We are a Union of separate and sovereign States. But you’ve not been taught that and neither was I; I had to go find this out for myself.

    

7. The illusion of legality of all laws – Do you believe all laws are legal? If you do, you’ve fallen prey to one of the biggest frauds the DC’vers perpetrates on the masses. Read Jefferson’s words in the Kentucky Resolution and ask yourself if you agree or disagree?

   
   “That they will concur with this commonwealth in considering the said acts as so palpably against the Constitution as to amount to an undisguised declaration that that compact is not meant to be the measure of the powers of the General Government, but that it will proceed in the exercise over these States, of all powers whatsoever: that they will view this as seizing the rights of the States, and consolidating them in the hands of the General Government, with a power assumed to bind the States (not merely as the cases made federal, casus fœderis but), in all cases whatsoever, by laws made, not with their consent, but by others against their consent: that this would be to surrender the form of government we have chosen, and live under one deriving its powers from its own will, and not from our authority; and that the co-States, recurring to their natural right in cases not made federal, will concur in declaring these acts void, and of no force, and will each take measures of its own for providing that neither these acts, nor any others of the General Government not plainly and intentionally authorized by the Constitution, shalt be exercised within their respective territories.”

   
   Jefferson makes the case quite clearly; if a law is made that is not authorized by the Constitution (probably 95% of what we obey is not authorized by the Constitution), in Jefferson’s own words, these laws (Acts) are “void, and of no force,.” Bet you weren’t taught that in high school were you? No, the DC’vers who desire to rule over others, status, and fringe benefits need you to believe everything they do is lawful. Pssst…folks, most of what we fear from the government is unethical, immoral, and based in ZERO Constitutional Authority. How’s that sit with you?

Negative Propaganda

1. Well placed stories - We’ve all seen them, “the IRS raided so and so’s home after they were charged with being delinquent on their taxes…stay tuned for the full story at 11:00!” Or, “Tonight, on Gold Rush, watch as the MSHA inspectors close down Dakota Fred’s mining operation.” While not directly placed by the national government, they nonetheless achieve a desired goal…scare the heck out of the masses by visually showing them that if you cross them, you can lose everything. Ask yourself this question, where in the Constitution are the DC’vers authorized to have created MIOSH in the first place? But we never ask these questions, no, we watch this travesty and probably get a little angry, but we also might say to ourselves; glad that wasn’t me! And another grain of negative propaganda has just affected how you think about the national government.

    

2. Taking advantage of a crisis – This is a particularly insidious tack the national government takes. Under the auspices of an impossible assertion, “we’ll protect you” we are scared into handing over our liberties. For example, the TSA. No one argues that there needs to be security at airports and that there is indeed a real threat from radical Islamists. But we never ask; is there a better way to secure our aircraft than being felt up, radiated, or strip searched before we get on the plane? No, we dutifully submit to the DC’vers who are probably sincere in their desire to secure aircraft but have knee jerk reactions like…let’s nationalize airport security. Does anyone ever stop to wonder whether or not there is ANY Constitutional authority to do this? And perhaps is there a better, safer, more convenient way to handle airport security…of course there is.

    

3. Invasion of privacy – No one really knows to what extent the national government tracks what anyone in the Union is doing; yet we’re bombarded almost daily with news stories about this or that agency tracking cellphone use, internet behaviors, even travel habits. How much of it is true? I don’t know, probably no one does but that doesn’t matter. It’s not engrained in our psyche that all of are under the watchful eye of the national government. So of this negative propaganda is released in a manner that provides a sense of comfort and some of it is released as a warning. For example, a Report issued by the Department of Home Land Security speaks of having gained information about “Right-wing extremist chatter.” This Report was disseminated throughout the media and eventually caused a great uproar. But look at the three words I included from the sentence I pulled:

   
   a. Rightwing – What is the definition of a “right-winger?” There’s no appendix in the report, but clearly, the DHS has a definition they’re working with. Are social conservatives’ right-wingers? How about 10^th Amendment supporters? Or church goers? Or Ron Paul supporters? Who is a right-winger?

   b. Extremist – what is the definition of an “extremist?” No appendix, but clearly the DHS has a definition they’re working with. Are Jeffersonian’s and Constitutionalists extremists? Are people who oppose the Incorporation Doctrine extremists? How about people who point out the voluminous record of anti-constitutional acts by the national government? How about people who call the national government the national government? Are these people all “extremists?"

   c. Chatter – A deeply troubling word in the sentence I pulled from the Report. Ask yourself this; how does the DHS know about the “chatter?” going on in “rightwing extremist” groups? How are they monitoring this chatter?

Propaganda is a powerful tool and has been used for well over 150 years to pacify and terrorize a free people. I’m not suggesting for a moment there is a grand conspiracy here or some sort of “Star Chamber.” No, this is just the natural course of consolidated national governments throughout history who are run by people who like to rule over others, maintain status and fringe benefits. National governments naturally end up here for self-preservation. That is why the Founders attempted to create a very small, minimally powerful federal government; they understood history and the inherent path national governments take. There need not be any star chamber, just people in power that like to rule over others, maintain status and fringe benefits. This group of people, without any real coordination will naturally steer the national government in this direction. It is instinctive to them, create more and more laws to control more and more behavior to a point where everyone is at some point breaking a law and susceptible to punishment as defined by the law writers. In this case, the law writers are Congress, the Executive (via regulations) and the Supreme Court. In days gone by they were Monarchs, emperors, and outright tyrants. All used threats based on a law to control people imbued with Inalienable Rights.

Propaganda is a powerful tool that has programmed us all to obey our masters in DC. Sure, we’re allowed to rally without signs and yell through bull horns. We’re allowed to have radio shows that complain, complain, complain…but that’s about it. Step outside of that box, or cross a national government law and you will run foursquare into the powerful hand of the national government; not a place any of us want to be. And they know you know that.

Programming, propaganda leads to the ultimate goal of the DC’vers…pacification!

Pacification (n) - Reduction, as of a rebellious district, to peaceful submission: Real pacification is hard to achieve when the people think they’re free.

The ultimate goal of despots who desire to rule over people, maintain status and fringe benefits is pacification and submission. The DC’vers cannot accomplish their goal of self-aggrandizement without the people submitting to their rule; and submit we do. I believe this is why Jefferson said; “I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.” Jefferson is correct; there simply is no other way to make the government fear the people than a little rebellion from time to time. Is it messy? Yes. Risky? Yes, Fraught with danger? Yes.

But worth it? YES!

I hope this article challenges you, challenges you to admit your own fear of the national government and the DC’vers who seek to rule over others, achieve status, and fringe benefits. Because until you admit your own fear, you’ll never understand an equally powerful emotion…principled courage.

Part 2 next week – Principled Courage

And by the way, what is it that the DC’vers desire?

To rule over others, status and fringe benefits. See how easy it is to use propaganda to program you?