We Don’t Live In a Free Society:
I wrote an article over a month ago exposing the Obama administration’s crackdown on civil liberties. The piece begins with the assertion that “the United States is still the freest country in the world.” I was curious to see how readers would react. A number of people commented that such a statement is so delusional that they had to stop reading. At the time I thought they were perhaps overreacting. But after witnessing the state’s crackdown on Occupy Wall Street it has become clear that they were right. We do not live in a free society.
Perhaps the most basic right in a democracy is, to quote the Constitution, “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” If we cannot do this we don’t live in a real democracy. I’ve been aware that our democracy is a sham for some time. Prior to Occupy Wall Street I understood that our government has been completely hijacked by corporate interests, rendering the political process pure theatre. I had also been familiar with the fact that the state has cracked down on demonstrators on many occasions.
But my experience at Occupy Wall Street has served as a serious reality check about just how free our society is... Continue Reading