Do you remember the question that drove many of us from a career in science or philosophy? It went something like this, "If a tree falls in a forest and there is no one to hear, is there a sound?"

Well, that was a pretty stupid question, if you had asked me then and I remain convinced even today, that it still is a pretty stupid question. Back then, when my science teacher asked it of me, I replied something along the lines of, "Well, it depends upon what you mean by "sound"." Little did I understand at the time that I was challenging authority and preaching the future at the same moment. I was trounced then as an idiot who would not listen and obey in class. In a later year, I instantly understood the answer, "That depends upon what "is" is." to a similar question posed by different idiots.

In any case, that first moment ended any thought of finishing high school and began a stream of consciousness processes which have made life somewhat contentious and insular among the more successfully indoctrinated of my fellow Americans. The later comprehension merely confirmed that I had unlearned my earlier lessons well.

I joined the Marine Corps instead of finishing the last three years of high school. The subsequent four years put a pretty significant twist in my perceptions of "Authority". It took thirty years to erase the propaganda-driven mind-control of my prior existence before I outgrew the imposed disabilities of artificial un-thought and maliciously suicidal indoctrination.

If "hate" were a useful word in my personal vocabulary, it would not be unreasonable to hear me state "I hate the bastards that did that to me!" The truth is, hate is a waste of emotion and revenge a waste of time if expended upon other ignorant, brain-dead artifacts of societal manipulation.

Thoreau was right, "Strike at the root." Go to the source. Don't worry the leaves and branches. Eliminate the cause and the effects wither and disappear.

I am Free, but I am surrounded by a population of cretins and cowards, the residue of incredibly successful social engineering and thought control over many generations of Americans. I was one of those and even though I am now free of the mental bindings, I must struggle around the innocence of my fellow Americans like the skitter of a raindrop on a puddle of hot oil.

"Democracy!", the People demand! "What of it?" I ask in reply, "I will have none of it." "A Republic, not a Democracy!" others proclaim. "Not much difference, at the core." I respond. "We have a Constitution!" they say. "What good a Constitution or a Republic or democratic processes if all of the debilitating aspects are carried out and none of the limiting factors are dutifully obeyed?" I ask.

We are free until we meet someone willing to exercise physical power to make of us a slave and if then, we do not defy their ambition with similar or greater power. We have become slaves in our own land.

We won our Liberty and created a government to preserve our individual Rights and Liberty. Then, we abandoned true Self-Respect, Honor and Liberty for the tinsel of government-approved prosperity, government-issued security and government-approved freedom. The Gold-Standard of American Liberty has been replaced by the fiat values of our political, financial and social rulers. Those, a class of humans whose most productive function would be stretching various fiber suspensions like the fruit of an alien tree.

"You cannot change City Hall!" "It takes a village to raise a child." "If it saves the life of a single child, it is worth the sacrifice." "If we force people to get a license and insurance, it will prevent unnecessary hazard to the population and save the taxpayer a lot of money." "You can't have a civilized society if everyone goes about doing as they please." "Taxes are necessary to provide the services that society demands." "The constitution is a living document, changing its meaning as the language and circumstances of our society change." We hear these and other similar falsehoods from all quarters and from all elevations. The uniformity and universality of the lies cannot disguise their false claims.

What is so wrong with Liberty for the individual and for our society? Liberty is unsafe for the unwary, the unprepared, the uneducated, the slothful, selfish, self-serving, greedy and etc. Is it dangerous for society to tolerate such individual failings? Only if your society is composed of individuals who are incapable of self-reliance. No, if the society is composed of free men and women who practice and love Liberty, for they will preserve our society by their own virtue of determination and competent self-reliance.

For me, Liberty, now.