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I occasionally get emails from people who tell me that I hate America. They tell me that I’m destroying our country, and that the world would be better off if I would just go live in some Communist nation.
These people equate love of America with allegiance to the government, and patriotism with loyalty to their favorite politicians. Sometimes people tell me that they wish I would be thrown out of the country, tried for treason, or even executed.
Here’s a common example (spelling and all):
your a traitor and should be executed just like your friend sadaam
The words differ from email to email, but the overall theme stays the same. Why do you hate America? Why are you such a racist? or, Why do you love “the terrorists?”
The most common, though, is what I call the “get out” email
.
To me, this type of position is one of weakness. Don’t stand up for what you believe in. When you don’t like things, don’t try to change them. Instead of speaking out, run away.
Utter weakness.
Like this note from “Tom”:
Why don’t you go to some other country and live? You obviously don’t appreciate what you have here.
Or this short and sweet email from “FREE MAN”
MOVE TO CUBA
I often wonder if people like Tom or the free man would run away if they opposed the government’s policies, or would they obediently fall in line the way they want other people to do.
America: Love it or leave it; that’s what this type of person says.
Does this mean that anyone who rises in opposition to any federal act is a traitor and hates freedom?
Or, is it just one particular law, or one particular war? Or is it a different one, or the next one, or the one after that?
Is everyone who doesn’t like this massive government a communist or a fascist? Is it impossible for a person to love America and hate her policies at the same time?
Or, are we supposed to accept that every single person under every single government ever to exist – including the victims of murderers like Stalin, Mussolini, Nero or Napoleon – hated their country because they hated the government that oppressed them?
Unfortunately, some people identify with the methods of these dictators. Take this love letter I received from “Ken”:
Your web site SUCKS .You are all traders and if this was 1952, You would all be shot.Get real you pieces of shit.
To these people, being patriotic is nothing more than showing obedience to those in power. Did Ken think the same way when other presidents were in office?
As far as these government-lovers are concerned, to oppose the federal machine is to hate America. To stand up against politicians who press for more spending, for more invasions of privacy, or for more invasions of other countries – is traitorous.
But, on the other hand, to be a cheerleader for all the bailouts, and mandates, for the wars and indefinite detention is being a good, patriotic American.
Obey little one. Obey.
For them, the government people are America. The president is America. The TSA is America.
Every politician that they love and worship is America. And, if you don’t like it, you obviously hate America. You must be some kind of racist, or fascist, or whatever term they decide to label you with; and you’d rather be living in some foreign dictatorship.
It’s important to note, though, that most discussions on patriotism neglect the most important issue – what it really means to love America.
You see, I love America. I love the liberty that still does exist here. I refuse to live in a socialist dictatorship like Cuba.
But what is it that makes America great? Is it its multi-trillion dollar government? Is it its role as world Superpower or its self-proclaimed status as spreader of democracy? Is it the mandates, or regulations, or bailouts?
Absolutely not.
I love liberty.
I love the Bill of Rights.
I love the freedom of speech
I love personal privacy and religious freedom.
I love habeas corpus and the jury trial.
These are just a few of the things that make America special; one-of-a-kind in the history of the world. It is liberty that is a direct cause of much of the prosperity this country has had. It is liberty that has driven millions and millions of people around the world to give up everything to come here.
Unfortunately, too many people in this country appear to have very little love for that America. They make is quite clear that they’re willing to abandon these ideals of liberty.
Arturo from Florida is one of those people:
dear idiot, sorry,mr idiot,
here’s a little background info; i’ve been in the car business for 9 years; the middle eastern’s are liars, cheats, and skates. They will steal from you every chance they get;unfortunately, are gov’t doesn’t get it and doesn’t know history; yes, we had the the right to invade iraq. now we need to pull out; why? b/c we do not know who we are dealing with and we don’t have the balls to slit their throats, b/c we are a civilized and the liberal media; you have to kill all these people like they would kill you
Sadly, these people are weak and afraid. They want the military to go out and kill whoever they’re afraid of. Others want the IRS to go out and collect money to pay for insurance mandates. And in both situations, these people want to get other people to do things they can’t or won’t – at the barrel of a gun.
They are cowards.
These violent cheerleaders may claim that they’re patriotic, but they’re willing to throw away everything that’s good about America.
They’re willing to give up our beloved liberties. They’re content to give the government the power to do whatever it wants. They assume, with complete naivete, that doing so will never affect them. They berate free speech with the hope that they can shut up people who oppose their favorite government programs.
People like Tom, Ken, Arturo and the FREE MAN, whether out of fear or weakness, are willing to abandon the Constitution and turn this country into a police state.
So let me say it again. I love America. And – I’m not leaving.
The U.S. government seems to be preparing to control every person on earth. Here at home, they tell us what kind of plants we can grow and consume, how big our toilets can be, what kind of light bulbs we can use, and what kind of tax fine we have to pay for not purchasing a particular product. And around the rest of the world – well, the US government has been bullying and killing people everywhere for far too long
I vehemently oppose this, not because I hate this country. I oppose this because I love America. I love peace, I love other people, and I love liberty.
What will make this country truly great is not what the government will do, but what it won’t do. This country will be great when it stops taxing us into oblivion, and no longer wages aggressive wars. This country will be great when it never again takes people’s property without due process, spies on people, or tortures people. This country will be great when it no longer interferes with personal choice and peaceful behavior, and when it no longer interferes with free speech.
This country will finally achieve true greatness when it respects life and liberty.
Become a member and support the TAC!
Love of, and hope for liberty, is what made America great. I fear that this hope is dying, but I still believe that the People can someday break this system of power and create a truly free society.
The fact that I receive far more supportive emails than the negative examples above gives me real hope. I’ll leave you with this inspiring note from Peter:
Truth may not be forceful – but it can heal. It can even repair a broken world. Truth poses no threat to anyone save those who rely on untruth as the cornerstone of their foundations. It is time to speak the truth- irrespective of who is listening or even has the ears to hear.
It certainly is time to speak the truth, and clearly, I’m not alone.
Four months ago, “Faux” News was referring to anybody who mentioned this site as nuts… today they do not acknowledge the Tenth Amendment Center per se, but are starting to cite nullification of BObama Care by the individual states. It is a shame that people criticize a movement before finding out exactly what the movement stands for. The Constitution every time, all the time, no exceptions…. and just because Congress enacts a “law” does NOT mean that the law is Constitutional…
I have to laugh at the use of “traders”, rather than “traitors”. Not only does this commentor not possess critical thinking skills, but apparently they can’t spell either.
Are we divine or something? He calls us “You” in the middle of a sentence. And if we are, why does he rail against us so much?
Clearly many people are unclear what freedom and liberty are and that we are losing ours. When TSHF and they see their 401k disappear and a loaf of bread is $50 will they still hold their pres on a pedastal? Probably.
God Bless you all. Keep up the fight.
And this is why I live in a rural area and am armed. When the uneducated masses button up the brown shirts and start to move to the farms to “claim food for the people”, I will be ready to defend my property, my life and my liberty.
I was about to go buy stuff at Trader Joe’s…..hmmm….
@andrewjs How is that remark relevant? I love TJ”s. It is my favorite store.
At least he spelled “pieces” correctly. Personally, my favorite quote is from John Milton: “None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but licence.”
Omg, the one place I can go on the Internet and find intelligent comments! Loved that “traders gonna trade”
Just goes to show, with all the grammatical errors in their ramblings, that Jefferson was correct when he said,
“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”
and
“No nation is permitted to live in ignorance with impunity.”
So let these little minded, statist loving, arm chair general, cowardly little people think what they want. They’re going to anyway, no matter the evidence to the contrary. They will never have the intellectual superiority to counter our movement, we are gaining ground, and they hate it. Idiocy doesn’t stand a chance unless we cower to it. So stay active and in their face.
When I was sworn into the Coast Guard, when I was sworn into the Army, when I was sworn into the Federal Civil Service, my oath of office in each case was to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic. No sworn allegiance to the government, the Supreme Court, or the President — only the Constitution. That is as it should be. My military oath included obedience to orders of the President, but only to the extent that they complied with the Constitution.
@GordonMcCauley Agreed. The U.S. Bill of Rights remains central to my Army and Navy oaths.
The really scarey thing is that moron can nevertheless cast a vote!
Calling for limited government draws the wrath of spiteful socialist wannabes. I wouldn’t concern myself too much with their nonsense. Not unless they present a physical threat, at which point you lawfully stop them.
I find idiotic comments like this one intensely amusing. So . . . y’all got eny beaver pelts over thar at TAC?!
It’s a shame you don’t post their email addresses. It would be fun to troll these retards. If you associate patriotism with doing whatever those in power say you have no idea what a true American patriot is.
ya cuz only traitors defend the constitution. whoever sent you that message is an idiot
Ah, conservatives.
Ah, conservatives.
The best quote I ever heard was Loving America means Loving American(s). Its a much different concept in that you care about the people that compose America without any allegiance to the whole society or to its government. You care about people on an individual level which is much different than caring about the nation as a whole.
@onetenther I don’t love other Americans. I respect their inherited natural rights and expect the same from them. I firmly believe in private ownership and how this ties in with community. I absolutely abhor liars, cheats and thieves – having dealt with my share of pathological personalities.
@onetenther PS: one of government’s primary roles is keeping the pathological personalities in check through criminal and/or civil statutes. So I’ll have to say I do care about the whole society and government.
@West Texan Loving Americans kind of forces us to love people as people themselves that are not attached to any kind of nation-state. I think I see your point about caring about the society but it is kind of like caring about a favorite car in that it is not a person and only has value for what it can do for the person. I like the car because it provides me with a method of going somewhere. I like the society only because of the benefit it provides for me. It sounds ‘selfish’ but I hate to tell everyone this but individualism inherently focuses around our own self-interest. Society loses its value (in my mind) when it no longer respects that. I stop loving it when it harms me in the same way I stop loving my car when it no longer works.
I’ll be real honest and will probably stomp on some people’s feelings of patriotism but in the last 15 years this country has not done a lot for my own self-interest. In fact, it seems to want to sacrifice it whenever it wants. If the country is the proverbial car then I would say that this car is no longer working out for me.
Your reply is appreciated. You’re much more philosophical than I could hope to be. Let’s just say my perspective focuses more on the practical side of life. I enjoyed the discussion. WT
LOL, “traders”… haha. Pretty hilarious in its inanity.
I love America, I only hate those who pretend to own it because pretending does not deliver Liberty by choice.
So many call themselves patriots a word that only symbolizes some idea, try standing up for Liberty, independence and ideas for which this country was set free by. All these activities were done through choice an actions, to love thy self and to share that love because we care about each other.
Pretend owners don’t love, they are clueless and only want to control it all because they THINK and thinking holds no force with in it.
For the spineless unable to stand up for themselves as Life, I get your weakness, your lack of knowing you. I get you have been filled with propaganda your whole life times and that is the only choices you know how to make. That you are entirely ignorant to your own ability to decide for yourself a direction in which to live. You count on some low life that has no life to make choices for you.
Please keep this in mind, Independence is a great decision for a great reason which includes reason. To be free from those who claim ownership and own nothing at all. Ownership is me over my actions and always has been. Acting in the direction that supports me as LIfe, that stands up for Liberty and pursues those dreams and accomplishments in a Republic environment is a genuine choice because it includes you, allows you to participate and the discovery you only own yourself by choice.
The knowledge of you is truly the empowerment of you in all honesty and the lies being told have never delivered one activity in your support as life. Yes Life is independent and is connected at the hip because you are unable to sustain yourself without the rest of us which is fact without fiction.
Live in liberty or die in the act of preserving it for no freedom exists without Liberty present. I own this choice because I am certain it is true and maybe you should inspect for yourself or watch the rest of us be wiped out in front of you for I shall stand for Independence with or without you for it is only when we all stand for Liberty does liberty truly stand and not until then. Grow a spine and learn to be real for you only own you and your actions.
Those emails I think are mostly from individuals who are somewhat limited in mental capacity. I like to refer to them as ‘autopolobots’ – they are, most often, good men and women of good heart who are simply too lazy to research and investigate the truth. They vote without thinking, assuming that by doing so, things will all work out in the end. In actual fact, many of the extremists out there count on this mindless knee jerk reaction by the autopolobots and so it all goes. (BTW – All of this works until the money is drained and then, like bugs, these people magically disappear under a carpet for another decade or two). As a group, they comprise the ‘Takers’ – people who want a free ride in this society, or any society. Balancing the equation are the ‘Makers’, men and women who strive to innovate, create and produce and who work long and hard hours in the process.
Of the later group, I would strive to nurture and protect. Of the former…well maybe they would find a better climate, in which to exist, in Iran.
I could whole heartedly support congress taking a year off. With pay even!