De-mockeracy

I used to feel terrible for my aunt and cousins in Estonia when their country was under Soviet domination prior to 1990.

They had no freedom of speech. They weren't allowed to display the old blue-black-and-white Estonian flag or sing the national anthem. They were afraid to make any sort of comments about their lack of freedoms, for fear of being denounced, arrested, and sent to a labor camp. Their press was all propaganda. Their mail was monitored. Their elections were fixed.

They weren't allowed to protest. The Soviets encouraged large numbers of ethnic Russians to move to Estonia, and they took all the good jobs. Private homes and farms were turned into communal enterprises, and people were kicked off the land their families had traditionally farmed for a long time.

Their economy was a mess. I remember my cousin Anne sending me outlines of her children's' feet so I could buy and send her shoes that would fit. There were no shoes in the stores there. When she had her third child and was unable to nurse it for medical reasons, I sent her nursing bottles and formula on a regular basis until the child was weaned. There was no infant formula or nursing equipment available there at the time.

When my aunt visited us in 1979, she was afraid to talk about anything political or economic, for fear somebody was spying on her. These people lived in constant fear of being overheard and arrested.

***

Now Estonia is a free country. The flag flies everywhere, the national anthem is sung, and people have the freedom to criticize the government and assemble and post opinions on the Internet.

And now I'm feeling terrible for myself and my fellow Americans.

The rights we used to take for granted, rights that were the envy of my Estonian relatives and of much of the rest of the world, have been deeply eroded since the B*sh Misadministration took office.

Americans who assemble and protest are herded into "free speech zones" or shot with rubber bullets or arrested on pretexts. Or watched like hawks by Homeland Security agents who write down their car license numbers.

We're not permitted to attend speeches by government leaders, let alone protest during them. We're harassed or evicted for wearing our opinions on our t-shirts. Our phone calls and e-mails are monitored, and our personal information is collected by data miners.

Our elections are not fair or accurate. People of color are thwarted from voting, and their votes are not counted. Voting machines are taken home at night by Republican election workers. Republicans are convicted of jamming phone lines at Democratic election offices.

RFK Jr. has written a persuasive case that the 2004 election was stolen, and the mass media has ignored it.

Move-On tries to run television ads about the Iraq war, and Republicans threated to sue to keep the ads off the air. Every effort is made to keep us silent, or ignored. Those who do dare to speak out are "swiftboated" with shameless lies and denunciations. Whistleblowers are fired. People are arrested without charges and held in secret prisons without hearings or trials. People are tortured by our own government. Reporters are barred from covering these and other issues. The freedom of press is a mockery.

The list of traditional American freedoms that are vanishing continues to grow. This is no longer a democracy, it's become a mockery -- a de-mockeracy.

And I have thought more than once about moving to Estonia for the sake of freedom.

folks herded into those "free speech zones" will become the "disappeared". Thanks for another thoughtful post.

"Americans who assemble and protest are herded into "free speech zones" or shot with rubber bullets or arrested on pretexts. Or watched like hawks by Homeland Security agents who write down their car license numbers.

We're not permitted to attend speeches by government leaders, let alone protest during them. We're harassed or evicted for wearing our opinions on our t-shirts. Our phone calls and e-mails are monitored, and our personal information is collected by data miners.

Our elections are not fair or accurate. People of color are thwarted from voting, and their votes are not counted. Voting machines are taken home at night by Republican election workers. Republicans are convicted of jamming phone lines at Democratic election offices."

Sometimes when I think how corrupt our government has become, I wonder if maybe I'm overreacting. I wonder if it's just my imagination that we're living under a near dictatorship. I wonder if I'm just seeing flaws that were always there, even prior to Bush stealing his 1st election.

Then I read a letter like yours, which comes from a different perspective, and realize that I'm not just imagining all of this.
It really is as bad as it seems.

Tonight I was talking with my attorney, who is also an economist. He's also a Republican. He says "the economy is about to go." He also thinks Bush has become a dictator. I had to agree on both points.

It really is every bit as bad as it seems.

unlawflcombatnt

EconomicPopulistCommentary

EconomicPatriotForum

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The economy needs balance between the "means of production" & "means of consumption."

and seeing just how many things had changed since 2000, it scared the bejazus out of me.

Your economist friend may be right about the economy. Only I think the economy will fall apart by design, not accident. It's being manipulated to maximize profits for the rich and powerful.

For example, when people start going bankrupt and are unable to file for bankruptcy under the Misadministration's drastically altered bankruptcy laws, there are going to be huge numbers of foreclosures. Foreclosures are already increasing around the US.

One of the impacts of the 1929 Depression was that many Americans lost their homes. Others with some money bought up these homes and properties, and made a killing in real estate. I see this coming again. Many people will lose what little they had - their equity in their homes.

a government that would represent their interests. Unfortunately, most people still don't see this coming. They are still living off savings and home equity since their income doesn't make ends meet anymore, and thinking that things will turn around soon.

And today the Supreme Court took away our Constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure, by allowing police with warrants to barge into our homes without knocking.