A Book Excerpt
From
By Joe Withrow
(Cognitive Dissonance – While I edited this book for Joe I am not participating in any revenue from the sale of this book. However I did purchase several copies for personal use as well as to give to family and friends.)
From Chapter Four - A New Paradigm is Forming
From the American perspective, one does not have to go back very far in history to recognize that the fundamental principles underlying our society have dramatically changed. The American spirit was once firm on the principles of personal liberty, property rights, free markets, and non-intervention. This is the spirit that attracted immigrants from all over the world to flock to American shores. Freedom was quite popular.
That spirit has been dulled over the past one hundred years and the principles underlying American society have shifted drastically.
Personal liberty was gradually traded for “the greater good for the greatest number” and the illusion of government provided security. Property rights gradually became subject to all manner of governmental rules and regulations. Free markets were destroyed by constant government intervention as America accepted the Keynesian/socialist notion that it was, and is, the role of government to centrally plan the economy.
But the future is calling and the paradigm is rapidly shifting. They won't mention this shift on the television or in the major publications, however, so those still mired in the 20th century way of thinking do not yet realize that it is happening. But if we look around our world we can quite clearly observe the shift in motion.
Look at the explosion of alternative media resources on the Internet. While estimates suggest that only five companies (Time Warner, News Corp, Viacom, Bertelsmann AG, Walt Disney) control more than three quarters of all major media properties (television, cinema, book publishers, magazines, newspapers), there is now a myriad of alternate media sources working diligently to provide unfiltered news and information. The Internet has allowed alternative media to flourish, and people are beginning to see that most mainstream ‘news’ is little more than state propaganda.
Look at the explosion of books and documentaries based on the principles of personal liberty and free markets. More and more people are waking up to the reality of what has happened over the past century and they are trying to spread the message as best they can.
The deterioration of popular support for the corrupt political system and the equally corrupt and enabling mass media is becoming too obvious for even the ideologically blind to ignore. Support for politicians is at an all-time low in modern history and people are starting to realize that it is the entire political system that is corrupt rather than one or the other political party. For example:
- Michelle Obama recently cancelled a speech she was scheduled to give at a Kansas high school after nearly 2,000 people signed a petition in protest of her appearance.
- Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently cancelled her scheduled speech at Rutgers University as faculty and students publically protested her appearance citing her “efforts to mislead the American people about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.”
- Attorney General Eric Holder cancelled his speech at a police academy graduation due to protests asserting that he was an ironic choice given his “tactics of obfuscation and redirection of blame”.
- Former Vice President Dick Cheney had to cancel multiple appearances in Canada because it was “too dangerous” for him.
- Former President George W. Bush had to cancel a speech at a Jewish charity gala in Switzerland because he was worried about possible legal action against him for alleged torture.
Read the comments sections on mainstream financial articles that suggest the economy has recovered and the Federal Reserve is the hero – people just aren't buying it anymore. To counter the teetering support for the political and financial systems, the mainstream media has been working hard to paint the status-quo in a positive light. Many people aren’t buying the rhetoric and they are actively calling the bluff.
Additionally, it is remarkable how many localities are pushing for secession throughout the world. Northern California, Texas, Colorado, Vermont, Scotland, Belgium, Bavaria, Catalonia, and Venice are all areas in which residents have voiced support for secession in some capacity due to the ills of government interventions.
Look at the explosion of support the Ron Paul Revolution attracted during his presidential campaigns of 2008 and 2012. Ron Paul’s efforts awoke a legion of young people dedicated to carrying the message of liberty forward. The seeds of liberty have been firmly planted in the minds of these young people and those seeds have only begun to blossom. We will truly witness the historical significance of Ron Paul over the next several decades as these young people develop into principled leaders with a clear understanding of personal liberty and free market economics.
As Ron Paul so often said: “The Revolution is alive and well…”
History has shown, repeatedly, that the human spirit cannot be conquered. You may be able to suppress the human spirit for one hundred years or so, but never forever. The human spirit will always rise.
History has also shown that the collectivist tyrants will do everything in their power to suppress the human spirit and maintain power, and the present day situation is no different. There are now cameras on every stop light and federal taps on every cell phone for this reason. Federally funded SWAT teams are now operational in nearly every town and city, and heavy duty military vehicles and equipment are deployed in every major metropolitan city for the same reason.
The PATRIOT Act, which effectively repealed the 4th amendment, was passed for this reason. The National Defense Authorization Act, which declared the United States a battleground and every American a terrorist suspect, was passed for this reason. The Department of Homeland Security has purchased millions of rounds of hollow point ammunition, which is illegal under international law, for this reason. The REAL ID act, which requires States to upload every single American's photograph into a federally monitored facial recognition system, was implemented for this reason.
The power elite are not content to go quietly into the night, to be filed away into the dustbin of history's mistakes so seamlessly.
Instead, they are prepared to use force to maintain their lordship over the individual. They are prepared to meet the individual on the battlefield. What has completely gone over their head, however, is that the individual does not fight on the battlefield of force, but rather the battlefield of thoughts and ideas.
Victor Hugo once said "No army can withstand the strength of an idea whose time has come."
Our time has come.
The revolution is already in motion. It is a peaceful and intellectual revolution - not one of violence or force, and that is why it will succeed. The collectivist power elite are ill-prepared to fight on the intellectual battlefield because the results of their ideology are in: they failed and they can no longer convince the individual otherwise.
Brushfires of liberty are burning in the minds of men once again. And what is so amazing is that this liberty revolution is not constrained to America this time; it is world-wide. Not only are Americans awakening to the long-forgotten principles of liberty, but so are individuals all over the world. There is a fierce anti-Euro, anti-collectivist movement sweeping all of Europe as these words are being written. Meanwhile, much of Asia is becoming more free-market oriented by the day.
History has demonstrated that dying paradigms are sometimes capable of holding on for much longer than anyone can believe. But they can never last forever. The current paradigm may be able to linger for a while longer, but make no mistake about it - a major paradigm shift is currently underway.
And make no mistake about it - the individual is rising.
By Joe Withrow
The Paperback and Kindle eBook may be purchased here.
re: ” the mainstream media has been working hard to paint the status-quo in a positive light. ”
Case in point, two MSM headlines I saw yesterday:
“Solid US Job Gains Pointing to A Stronger Recovery”
“What’s Making US Economy A World Beater? 5 Factors”
WTF!? What world do these people live in? Maybe things are rosy in the D(istrict of)C(orruption) or N(ot)Y(our)C(lub), but here in the Midwest not so much.
I think you hit the nail on the head. DC and NYC are the primary cities at the bottom of the funny-money funnel so things look great if you live in either area. Step off the metropolitan path and it’s pretty clear that most of the United States is depressed and in a state of major disrepair.
While I am not a fan of the current banking system, I was speaking with an executive at a local community bank in a town of 6,000 people just last week who advised me that this little bank will have to pay roughly $500,000 in federal taxes this year. I made the comment that half a million dollars is just a drop in Washington’s bucket but would be an enormous figure if it were re-invested in the local community. Of course the executive doesn’t understand the role that the bank plays in transferring those funds from the community to DC, but he at least agrees that government is out of control.
The Ponzi certainly has many layers.
What a great read this book is!! Well done Joe. This is an excellent reference to hand to family or friends just waking up and trying to piece it all together.
But when I read it, I must say I was surprised. Do you know what this book does for people like me who think they know most of the information in it? It provides a much needed broader perspective.
We each get so mired in the vision of our own world with how those around us view and deal with modern day changes, along with what we hear from alternative media sources, that we forget. We forget the whole world is starting to wake up. I find that a very important piece of the big picture, especially when so many I know are deer in the headlights or still in denial about the scope of things to come. It’s going to change. Ultimately, I think it will change for the better. Ya’ just can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube. Thanks Joe. :-)