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[Tom P.]

Well, I just finished my last english paper for the semester.

Im not exactly a poet laureate, but Im pretty good in this class. Straight A's (for the first time in my life - I guess going back to school as an "adult learner" is working out well). Since it was the last paper, I decided to play with things a bit. The papers focus was "cause and effect." We could either pick one cause, with numerous effects, or numerous causes with one effect. Causes - Civil war (loss of states rights), Prohibition, Gun control, JBTs (the Hiibel case), Patriot Act, RealID. My Citations - The Constituition, Bill of Rights, the Patriot act itself, private writings of the Founding Fathers, court documents, video. Effect - The loss of freedom in America.

I was asked to read the paper aloud. I made it clear before beginning that this was a highly political paper, but I based my arguements upon factual evidence and I could provide sources for any point of contention. Any opinion that managed to leak through was unintentional but some editorialization needed to be made to illustrate the situation beyond what mere factual bulletpoints could convey.

I read the first sentence - a few people looked at me.
I read the second sentence - a few turned in their seats.
I read the third sentence - one guy on the other side of the class slammed his pencil down and looked away.

...and that was just the introduction.

As I read through three pages of verbal illustration, the room was silent. No whispers. No scuffleing of feet. Even the teacher who normally picks apart peoples sentences was silent as I read.

I finished my paper, and looked around the room. A few people sat rigid with red faces, but most looked at me with eyes and mouths wide open. The teacher started and stopped and started to speak several times before finally asking if anyone had any comments.

Silence.

The teacher sat for a few seconds and said aloud "That was... If I could... Well... If that were the only paper you turned in this entire semester, I would give you an A in this class based on its merits alone"

Then, the rigid red faced guy blurted out "If you dont love it, why dont you leave it!"

Well... needless to say, this comment sparked a bit of controversy. I was, however, elated to see that it was not an arguement between he and I. Oh no... I was hardly alone in this little discussion. It turned out, some people were actually listening.

I hardly needed to say a word. The entire class was virtually on its feet. They cited my paper. They cited the news paper. They cited their own experiences. They made a bold case for freedom by themselves, and on occasion I tossed in a few tidbits for them to gnaw on.

So it turned out, my red faced friend supported the notion of guilty until proven innocent (Actually, he said "If you havent done anything wrong, then what are you afraid of?" and "I dont care if they spy on me, they will figure out that Im not doing anything wrong that way." Which, lets face it, means "I dont care if they assume Im guilty, I will prove myself innocent") and was completly dismissive of anything thrown at him that didnt fit his immediate world view - like, he didnt care that his phones were tapped, but refused to believe that they were because "No one has knocked on my door and handed me a piece of paper that shows what I said on a phone call, and I dont believe anything on the news."

It was at this point that the teacher asked the red faced guy "Where do you get your information? How do you form your opinions?"

"Books"

"What books do you read?" came the teachers reply.

(Anyone care to wager a guess at his response? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?)
.
.
.
.
.
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Mien Kampf. the only book he could name was Mien Kampf.

The debate trickled to little more than giggles after this revelation, and the red faced guy stormed out of the class. Even a few people on his side grumbled a bit that he went too far.

Four people asked me if I would make them copies of this paper......

It was a good day.

[Vrsovice Rebel]

Well DONE, Mister Payne!

I recently had a similar, though not -nearly- so satisfying, experiance defending my Senior Thesis in Anthropology...I basically argued that Anthropology is a science and "could we keep the Communism away from the Brown People and out of the classroom, please?"

As you may imagine, it was not well recieved. I've never gotten so many dirty looks from so many professors in my life.

I passed, though.

[securitysix]

"could we keep the Communism away from the Brown People and out of the classroom, please?"

I laughed. 

[Bear]

Tom  P.

Could you post the paper here? It sounds good and I'd like to read it.

Bear

[Mr. Inspector]

Tom P.

Could you post the paper here? It sounds good and I'd like to read it.

Bear

Second.

[Tom P.]

I dont have a copy saved locally... its on my thumb drive, and my thumb drive isnt handy right now... I'll post tomorrow.

Hope it lives up to the hype

[Bill St. Clair]

Waiting with bated breath...

[Junker]

Yay! Nice story. Thanks, Tom.

And, waiting for my copy, too.

[Tom P.]

Hope you enjoy. Probably not much here you all havent seen before, so its kinda preaching to the choir.

From Freedom to Tyranny
   Welcome to America... WELCOME?!?
   Land of the Free... right? FREE?!?!
   The greatest country in the world... right? WHATEVER!

   We stood up to our oppressors in the Revolutionary War and a handful of backwoods bumpkins not only liberated a nation from the worlds then strongest power, but created one of the greatest documents of self rule the world had ever seen. The United States Constitution stands as a beacon of freedom and its little brother, the Bill of Rights, a bastion of liberty... right? Not hardly. We have been on a long and steady decent from freedom to fascism for over 150 years.

   First, the rights of the states were violated on January 1, 1863 thanks to President Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation. Didn't read that in your history books I'm sure. In 1913, the Federal Reserve took control of the finances of anyone doing business in the United States. Unfortunately, the Federal Reserve is no more a federal entity than Federal Express. It is a private company that has lauded upon itself the ability to decide everything from interest rates to the printing of fiat currency, in effect leaving the value of every penny you have ever made in the hands of a single corporate monopoly.  In 1920, with the 18th amendment to the US Constitution, and the birth of American prohibition, our right to choose what went into our bodies was taken. Despite the repealment of the 18th amendment, prohibition lives on in the “War on Drugs”.  In 1934, the National Firearms Act took the first steps down a long road of stripping the American people of their Second Amendment rights. Prior to the Roe v. Wade ruling of 1973, a woman had no legal control over her own  reproduction, and even today many people struggle to strip that right from women again. In 2001, the Patriot Act was signed into law, making a mockery of the 4th, 6th, and 8th amendments to the US Constitution. Even those sworn to “serve and protect” have turned upon the American People. Don't believe me? Watch how fast you get arrested if a cop asks to see your ID and you refuse. In May of 2005, the Real ID act was signed into law, a law allowing for the absolute ability of Government to identify and track every American no matter where they go or what they do. Even today, our law makers plot ways to compel Americans to be implanted with computer hardware that would allow the FBI and other agencies to monitor, literally, every step you take anywhere on the globe.

   Find this all hard to believe?

   Did you know that President Lincoln fully admitted he had no Constitutional authority to free the slaves? In fact, such an act was unconstitutional. The 10th amendment says that powers not granted to the  federal government were reserved for the states and the people, and the constitution said nothing about slavery until 1865, two years after the proclamation.  Did you also know that the Emancipation Proclamation, while quite noble in the light of revisionist history, freed no slaves in the slave states still loyal to the Union? Maryland, Delaware, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and parts of Virginia and Louisiana all were exempted from freeing their slaves. You see, those states were no better in the moralistic sense than their Confederate brethren, they just agreed – in whole or in part – to give up their individual rights as states and rally under the Union federalist flag. Lincoln's proclamation wasn't an act of kindness upon his fellow man, it was a military order issued by Lincoln in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief. Rather than being the equivalent of a statute enacted by Congress, or a constitutional amendment, it was literally an act of war. Brothers didn't fight each other to the death over the right to own slaves, they fought each other to the death over the constitutional right for each state to govern itself free from the meddling of a National government far removed from the people.

   Since the National Firearms Act went into place, Americans have endured nearly 75 years of having their 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms whittled way into a laughing stock. The founding fathers views on gun ownership are well known, for anyone willing to look, despite statements from law makers and law breakers alike. Thomas Jefferson once said “The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” He said nothing of duck hunting or trap shooting. He said “For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security.” He did not say that only the military should be armed. Quite the contrary, President  Jefferson stated “The spirit of this country is totally adverse to a large military force.” And do not fall for the fallacy of believing that the use of the word “militia” was meant to indicate the National Guard. No no, for he also stated quite clearly “The Greeks and Romans had no standing armies, yet they defended themselves. The Greeks by their laws, and the Romans by the spirit of their people, took care to put into the hands of their rulers no such engine of oppression as a standing army. Their system was to make every man a soldier and oblige him to repair to the standard of his country whenever that was reared. This made them invincible; and the same remedy will make us so.”  Having said all that, there should be no question what was meant in the 2nd amendment. “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” However, everyday our rights to gun ownership are chipped away and the Supreme court, sworn to uphold the Constitution, holds the hammer.

   The Patriot Act, that most vile bit of legislation, has virtually nullified the Bill of Rights. The 4th amendment tells us “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated” and yet, the Patriot act allows for you and your property to be searched at any time in the name of national security, with or without a warrant. The 6th amendment grants you the right to a speedy and pubic trial, unless of course you have been declared a potential terrorist whereupon you can be held without charge nor trial nor even access to legal council, indefinatly. The 8th amendment frees us from fear of cruel and unusual punishment, but torture before conviction? Or even trial? Torture is apparently appropriate, if national security warrants it, of course. Civil rights and civil liberties are attacked wholesale by the enforcement of the Patriot Act. The act initially gave the government carte blanche access to your internet activities and records through your service provider, until the courts ruled that to be a violation of the 1st and 4th amendments. What remains however is the governments ability to tap your phone randomly without a warrant, seize your voicemails, and to search and read your email without your knowledge or consent. Libraries are no longer a safe haven, your friendly neighborhood librarian is now supposed to report to the FBI any “inappropriate” reading material and speaking of inappropriate, banks are now instructed to monitor your spending habits – where you go, what you buy, how you spend your money and report to the government any purchases or financial activity that is of concern. To make sure your local banker knows what to look out for, the FBI is standing by to give your financial institution in-depth training on just which building or gardening supplies are “ok” to buy, and if theres any question, the bank is supposed to freeze your account, indefinatly if they so choose. It's all for your own safety though, of course.

   In May of 2000, a man named Dudley Hiibel was arrested in Nevada. His crime? He was lawfully standing next to his truck when a law enforcement officer approached and demanded to see his identification. Eleven times the officer demanded Dudley show ID. To each demand Dudley asked a simple question. “Why?” "Because I'm investigating!" replied the officer. "Investigating what?" Dudley asked. "I'm investigating an investigation" was the officers non-reply.

   Mr. Hiibel, feeling harassed and more than a little confused, was polite yet uncooperative, consider it a touch of civil disobedience if you will. He requested that he be left alone or be charged with a crime. Eleven times the officer demanded Dudley's ID, and when the officer decided Dudley was uncooperative , he cuffed, then tossed him in the back of his patrol car. That wasn't the end of it though. Meanwhile, Dudley's 17 year old daughter was watching the encounter between her dad and the officer from the cab of the pick-up truck. On the video of the arrest, you can hear her screaming "Nooooooooo" as her father is handcuffed. Another policeman on the scene held the door of the pick-up truck shut so that she couldn't get out. Kicking and screaming, she finally forced the door open only to be thrown face down into the dirt by the side of the road by the second officer. A third officer climbed on top of her and the two brutally pinned the girl to the ground and slapped her into handcuffs. The charges made against Hiibel after the fact (like obstruction of an investigation) were upheld on appeal. He was made a criminal for simply asking why he was being investigated.

   Now, lets review. Man standing next to lawfully parked truck. Officer demands to see the “papers” of man. Man requests reason for this here-to-fore unreasonable search and is repeatedly given non-answers. Man and child are arrested. The right to remain silent is torn into shambles.

   Had Hiibel more actively resisted this violation of his constitutional rights, he might be dead right now. America has become a land where cops kill little old ladies and young retarded children if they think they are threats, imagine the threat of an adult man defending his family!

   The mantra of totalitarian regimes, “Papers Please,” has become more than passingly familiar to the American people. But we are not hearing it from movies though. We are hearing it from our own government. We hear it from police and security, we hear it at political protests and on public buses. Your right to move around freely without hearing “Papers Please” is going down the drain with the rest of our freedoms.

   Enter Real ID. With the adoption of Real ID our nation has joined the old Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, and Communist China by issuing its citizens a national ID card. Get on a plane, show your papers. Open a bank account, show your papers. Buy a car, show your papers. Rent an apartment, show your papers. By law, the ID must have a “common machine readable” zone that may come in the form of a bar code, but Homeland Security is pushing hard for the adoption of RFID (radio frequency identification) technology. This allows for the card to be read at a distance without anyone actually viewing the card. What information is on this card? The basics of course. Your name, address, picture, plus new things like biometrics – you know, fingerprints, retinal scans, maybe even DNA profiles. The threat? All it would take to track your every movement is for automated RFID readers be installed in strategic locations like on and off ramps from the highway, entrances to public buildings, or at various intersections around the city – maybe up on the light pole near that traffic camera thats always watching? Vast databases compiling information about where you go, when, and with whom. This isn't science fiction. This isn't 1984. This is science fact in 2008.

   That implant thing I mentioned? Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts was told, specifically and in open session by Senator Joe Biden during his confirmation hearing “Can a microscopic tag be implanted into a persons body to track his every movement? There is actual discussion about that! You will rule on that! Mark my Words!” The American people would do well to mark Senator Biden's words.

   What is freedom in this land? Our right to self determination is gone. Our right to privacy is gone. Our right to choose what goes into our bodies is gone. Our right to stand up to tyranny is gone. Hell, our right to stand on the side of the road without being engaged by law enforcement is gone. The effect here is nothing short of the total abolition of liberty and the birth of a Police State.

   Land of the free huh?

“The Constitution is just a god damned piece of paper” so quoted Pres. George W. Bush in 2005

[Lightning]

Wow.  That took guts.   

How intriguing, and refreshing, that your professor was at least open-minded enough to hear your arguments' merits, whether in agreement with them or not.

[Bear]

Nicely done, and you refrained from going over the top. Thanks for writing it!

Can this be copied, or should we post links to it?

Bear

[C.G.]

Tom P.,

Nice paper, well-written.  I would've loved to see the guy storm out of the classroom. 

[FREE RIFLEMAN]

I loved your paper, Tom! I copied it for further review, I hope you do not mind.
I wish there were more students like you in college... it seems the brave only go to Iraq these days and get themselves caught up in the government solution, rather than the government problem, we have in our country today.

I wish I had classmates like you in college. At least I wouldn't have been the only one labeled extremist or paranoid!

May you write many more papers that influence even more thinkers in this once great country.

[Tom P.]

I dont really mind if people copy it for personal use, but I would prefer if it didnt get spread around too much at this time. I dont feel that it is really that good of a paper. The writing itself is not my best work. It just got the best reactions. For people who have heard it all before, I dont think it has much punch to it.

[Junker]

Tom P.> Revolutionary War ... the birth of a Police State.


My complements. It goes well and strong. It makes me mad; it makes me sad; it makes me want to march. Though it may not be 'your best,' it suffices this audience. Thank you for posting your writing.