Liberty Gone Bad?

[HARDCORE]

?Could our own experiment in liberty have gone as badly as it did in Liberia? And is mankind destined to be a slave to one thing or another for as long as he exists upon the face of this planet?? Be it a slave to history, ideology finance, the mentality of the jungle, or other men, some within our race will always seek to enslave their fellow beings!

What was it that Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States said away back in 1787, well over two centuries ago: ?The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots!?

And did not Jefferson also avow that: ?What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that this people preserve the spirit of resistance!?

There are, of course, many forms of resistance, and resistance need not always be of a violent nature. ?Civil Disobedience, Strikes and Recalls? are three forms of resistance that have been undertaken many times successfully, even here in our own nation. But when the zealous and the greedy lose sight of sanity or mutual gain, a scenario begins to take form in which Revolution, Civil War and anarchy are the end result.

How many times in the past have we (USA) narrowly avoided such a national catastrophe, and sometimes, even liberty itself can be bastardized, as it was in Liberia, into a blood bath of monumental proportions! Let?s take the ?Nation of Liberia? as an example. ?Just saying that one possesses liberty, don?t necessarily make it so!?

The Republic of Liberia under the misguided leadership of Charles Taylor has been embroiled in a bloody civil war for years. With a population of around three million people (those that haven?t been knocked-off that is), this African bastion was designed to be a safe haven for former slaves. And with a government that revolved around ?Anglo-American Common Law?, how could it possibly go wrong (How indeed)?!

Founded in 1822, this Nation that now threatens to engulf us in its long running internal miseries, even had an American as its first President (Joseph Roberts of Virginia), But somewhere along the line, the same type of social illness that sometimes even affects our own nation came into play! Hell, some of the America-Liberians (intellectuals) even became at odds with the indigenous population (about 99 % of Liberia?s people).

To make a long story short, the social roadblocks that we managed to avoid here in America were too big an obstacle (apparently) for this nation to overcome. That and the fact that Liberia?s President is a bastard, has fermented another debacle that now has us threatening intervention! It must be remembered, however, that intervention has not always proven to bring about desired results!?

The only problem as I see it is that our government will never truly embrace any other form of leadership, and so (in my opinion) it should be! What we accomplished was a one in a million shot, and didn?t some without its share of hardship and even bloodshed, but we made it!

Can we, however, logically conclude that liberty and or democracy is the natural state of all of mankind? Remember, one can not appreciate any gift unless he has the absence of that gift to compare it to! As such, we see the ills of other nations, be it hunger, political unrest, despotism or what have you, and unlike our Founding Fathers, attempt to jump right in and correct the problem, whether or not the people want our help! Granted, at first many a would-be benefactor embraces us and our money with open arms, hoping to themselves become another America! ?This ain?t going to happen!? We can improve their lot, yes indeed, but you will never turn a prune into a watermelon! (opinion) ?And I damned well wish that some in government would quit trying!

Here in our magnificent (though far from perfect) country, we too have a myriad of ills to contend with. A rising unemployment rate, class friction, racial unrest to a degree, and political shenanigans on a daily basis. We have learned to live with, if not accept these things! We are a product of gradual conditioning, but when you attempt to immerse a foreign, backwater, third world bastion into the waters of democracy with no acclimatization, what in the hell do you think is going to happen after the initial shock wears off, as it did in Somalia and now in Iraq?

But hey, I can even live with this, if needs must, just so long as there isn?t some larger agenda behind it, and only some in government can answer this question in all certainty!

?WHAT ARE YOU GUYS AND GALS REALLY UP TO!??

VERITAS