Winning the War of Ideas

By Tom Rhodes, 7/26/2013

Statists are losing the war of ideas. Look at the NJ liberal governor who happens to look like an elephant, and claims to be an elephant's latest rant against libertarians. Gov Christie says promoting the Fourth Amendment, and limiting the government from searching every persons effects is "dangerous." Like all statists over the history of man, they use the excuse that giving the state control of you will make you safer. What they don't do is tell you they mean "safer for the state" not safer for you.

It's gotten so bad that leftists are now calling for the end of the First Amendment, saying limiting free speech is a "necessity."

The obvious problem is that since the internet has allowed people to communicate and publish without going through government, big business, or a newspaper editor, ideas and information that the ruling elite would rather not have discussed, exposed, or broadcast, are now readily available to everybody. Snowden exposing the state's clear violation of its constitutional restrictions is "dangerous."

Exposing the fact that when liberal statist ideas are implemented, they result is ruin, as evidenced by Detroit after 50 years of liberal statist rule. Statists of all stripes want to put the genie back in the bottle, they want to control what information the masses are exposed. They are losing their grasp on what they thought they controlled. More and more people don't watch television as a primary means of news and entertainment. They have more choices and can actually respond and participate. A guy in his pajamas can expose the ruling elite and bring the actions of the high and mighty to the masses. This not only can, but has resulted in the impeachment of the President of the United States. The Drudge Report lead to Clinton's Impeachment.

The Libertarian Party (LP) has been around for 40 years. It was ignored for years, and until recently was treated as a foil for late night comedians. When formed in the early 70's you had your choice of ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS on TV, and other than highly edited editorials in your local newspaper, the statists controlled the ideas people were exposed, and the LP message was shut down by the ruling elite. In the Mid 80's two things happened to begin the destruction of statist control of the media and ideas. The courts forced the FCC to get rid of the so called "fairness doctrine" which lead to an explosion in talk radio, and technology advanced to a point where the internet became commercially viable. In the last 20 years, digital image technology and cell phones turned virtually every person walking the street into a reporter. That Damn 1st Amendment now means that the cops are routinely exposed for abusing our rights, Rodney King was just the start. Video and audio recording in court rooms, of the police, at town hall meetings, etc. continue to expose statists for the controlling anti-freedom, two-bit dictators they are.

The right says libertarian ideas are dangerous; the left says limiting speech is a necessity; Libertarian ideas and their implementation means more freedom, and less government. Less government means less power for the statist ruling elite. They are fighting the idea that you as an individual know best how to live your own life. That is a dangerous idea, they want control. Education is the key, the internet and 1st Amendment allow everybody to get the education they need and want without filtering by the ruling elite. In addition to wanting restrictions to free speech on the internet, they want to control what your taught. This is why Common Core, NCLB, the Dept of Education, the FCC, etc. exist. This is why Eric Holder is attacking home schooling. Control; they want to control you right down to what ideas you are exposed and what you are allowed to learn. There is a war of ideas and the battle is not over. The preamble of our Constitution starting with "We the People" was a slap in the face of the ruling elite. They now claim that those ideas that culminated in our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution that limited the government are dangerous. They are dangerous; dangerous to the ruling elite.

Because the statists are losing the war of ideas, they are now actively calling on government and corporate control of the ideas people can share. Because of the loss of control to the news, ideas, and information that the masses are exposed, the LP can no longer be ignored. Because of the exposed abuses of power and observable outcomes of statist policies, laughing at the libertarian is not longer an effective tool to diminish their influence. The Statists are now openly attacking and fighting both libertarians and libertarian ideas like the Rule of Law, Freedom of Speech, natural rights, etc. This is good news, as the next step is Libertarian Victory.

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." ~ Mahatma Gandhi