Liberty

  James Madison said:" The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty." Today that liberty is being threatened like never before. Our media outlets are being controlled by a particular faction. That faction are the very wealthy, 15 billionaires control the vast majority of what we see and hear. They are controlling the diffusion of knowledge and threatening the Republic in which we live. It is important to understand what a Republic is to understand why that is so important to the survival of that Republic. Have you noticed the main stream media outlets always proclaim this to be a Democracy? Yes, they would like that to be so, very much, that alone would further their goal. That goal is control. Make no mistake about that. The goal is control and the acquisition of more wealth for themselves. It is interesting to read what Madison and John Jay has to say about this, the subject of factions. John Jay in the federalist papers declared a republic, our republic to be favored because we were one united people, descended from the same ancestors, sharing the same language and the same religion. Something that we aren't supposed to promote today. Those controlling the advancement and diffusion of knowledge would have us reject that thinking altogether. Indeed many times we are labeled racist, fascists even for suggesting such. The reason is plain enough to see if one buts looks. A bunch of small groups are far easier to influence and control than a United force opposing your agenda. James Madison speaks of faction in the Federalist papers at length. It is well worth the time to read, see Federalist paper #10. Madison explains you can not prevent factions but you can mitigate their effects, by a Republic, but that isn't possible in a Democracy. In a simple Democracy one needs only a simple majority. One faction will dominate all the others. 

 But what are these factions Jay and Madison were concerned about? They are what we call interests these days. There are the manufacturing interests, energy interests, retail interests, pharmaceutical interests, real estate developers and the list goes on. Depending upon your location in this great country of our those factions varying a great deal. To the farmer in the mid west agricultural interests rule the day whereas in Manhattan the interest centers on commerce. Certainly very different factions. And that is why we have a Republic, a representative form of government, to mitigate the effect of those factions.  on national legislative measures. The objective is an equal playing field for all. In every society there will be factions, that is unavoidable and Madison and the others were all very well aware of that. It's nothing new, it has been been that way since man first huddled together in caves. The larger the group, the more diversity, the greater number of factions there will be. That too was a concern of those founding fathers, the size of the Republic. That is also the reason for the formation of individual states, to prevent one faction from dominating all the others. Even then it was recognized that the Northern portion of the country had different interests than the southern. The north was more concerned with industry while the south was agricultural in nature. One of the reason for the civil war that was to come centered around just that. The south wishing to retain their labor force for a labor intensive business while the northern manufacturers had no such concerns.

 But all of this is nothing new. Some would say it is inevitable. Aristotle said Republics decline into Democracies and that is just what a certain faction would love today. Still, as long as we hold onto the Republic we can keep that faction at bay. The system will work as designed if we but adhere to it! You can not simply vote a faction away. those factions will still exist. That is human nature and that can not be changed by any form of government or legislation. 

 Madison spoke of True Liberty. What does Liberty mean? The word liberty comes from the ancient Greeks. To them liberty meant you were not a slave, you were free to do as you pleased in a very broad sense. You were free to live within the society, within the boundaries that society had established. Liberty to them meant freedom from oppression from government. It was the government that allowed the keeping of slaves, not individuals. To enjoy your liberty was to enjoy the freedom to act independently in the society. More importantly perhaps is with Liberty you have have the ability to speak, to be heard in government. A Republic, a representative form of government, gives you that voice. Our Constitution is the law of the land. The law has been written before the offense was even committed! It is that rule of law that established our Republic and it is the rule of law that can preserve it. 

 The true guardian of liberty was written down, years ago. We need only read those documents to understand. It is the job of every citizen to educate themselves. Real knowledge is only that knowledge that you yourself have acquired. We need to remember that media is a business. Media doesn't exist to inform, educate, or enlighten the masses. Media is the business of selling information. That information will often be tailored to the audience for which it is intended. Just look at the New York Times as a prime example. Does their content appeal to the mid western farmer or rancher?  What about the Duluth daily tribune? Have you read that paper? I sure haven't but I can guarantee you it doesn't align with the Times stories on very similar subjects. Who controls the media? They are controlling the information. Is that information designed to advance your knowledge? Or is that information presented in such a way so as to advance their interests? The True Guardian of Liberty is the Constitution of the United States of America. Do not allow that Constitution to be perverted. We must never allow Liberty to be sacrificed for any gain, social or economic.