"An estimated 24% of the 311,591,917 Americans counted in the 2000 Census are 18 and under. The post-9/11 era is their entire political experience. They have had no freedom-oriented American political culture to which they can compare their personal experience."

The Young Don’t Know the Freedoms They’ve Lost

Bob Bauman (June 5, 2012)

If you’re a young American, just turned 18 and eligible to vote for the first time in the 2012 elections, what – if anything – do debates about civil liberties and the U.S. Constitution mean to you?

That important question was recently considered by Glenn Greenwald, attorney, author and columnist and, in my opinion, one of the best libertarian media commentators these days.

Greenwald spoke to a group of student journalists recently about the post-9/11 erosion of American civil and constitutional liberties, and one 11th grade teenage girl pointed out that much of his speech was about a time when she was a child. She was only six years old when the 9/11 attacks occurred.

An estimated 24% of the 311,591,917 Americans counted in the 2000 Census are 18 and under. The post-9/11 era is their entire political experience. They have had no freedom-oriented American political culture to which they can compare their personal experience.

Liberties that Young Americans Have Never Experienced

The numerous constitutional rights that have been destroyed in the name of the specious “War on Terrorism” are liberties they never experienced, exercised, and most probably do not understand or even expect.

Certainly the American educational system has done little or nothing to explain about lost freedoms. On the contrary, many unionized teachers justify all-powerful Big Brother government as a welcome benevolence.

Greenwald rightfully suggests: “Every year that these assaults on core liberties are entrenched and expanded further…the more normalized they become…the more unlikely it is that they will ever be reversed.” I can only pray he is wrong.

I don’t usually quote the late governor of Alabama, George Wallace, but a 1968 observation he made about U.S political parties has stuck with me: “There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between the Republicans and Democrats.”

On civil-liberty issues these days, that’s unfortunately true, with a few exceptions.

America may already have reached the point of no return. The likely Republican candidate for president, Mr. Romney, speaks in platitudes about the Constitution, but he never mentions how he differs on civil liberties from the incumbent president.

Does Romney, like Bush and Obama, support the odious PATRIOT Act, indefinite detention by the military, massive Internet and communications and drone surveillance?

Defying his oath to uphold the Constitution, Mr. Obama flouts that sacred document’s restrictions daily, using his blatant violations as election campaign points to embellish his supposed anti-terrorist manhood image.

Do you really think that an administration headed by a president who believes he has the right to murder Americans in a foreign country with which the U.S. is not at war, in secret and without the benefit of a trial, has any respect for your personal or financial privacy – or for you?

If it comes to the IRS vs. you, who would such a president support?
I Will Not Stop

I have grown weary of explaining the concrete steps that sensible Americans must take to protect their wealth, family and future survival. But I will not stop as long as some can be helped.

These solutions are real, but just as those doubting passengers a century ago contemplated the 20 life boats on RMS Titanic, you need to be fully aware of the impending danger and take appropriate action.

All the warning flags of the approaching storm are flying: FATCA, expanded FBAR reporting, tax information exchange treaties, offshore banks refusing U.S. accounts, government confiscation of precious metals, police civil forfeiture of property and cash worth billions, exit taxes, passport restrictions, and still more depredations daily, as statist politicians fashion an American prison for its most productive citizens.

As my colleague, Jeff Opdyke, suggests, whether what is happening in America can qualify as a conspiracy really doesn’t matter. Yes, we should do all we can to educate young Americans about how to restore our constitutional rights, to re-assert liberty.
Waiting Could be Fatal

The danger is real and immediate.

What matters most now is establishing for yourself and your loved ones an escape route, and that may mean acquiring a foreign residence, and a second citizenship and passport. The new Panama fast-track residence program is a good example of where we can help you.

No matter who wins the 2012 elections, our greedy government will continue attacks on your wealth and freedoms. During this election year, it looks like the only real way to vote might be with your feet. This year alone, more than 2,800 sovereign-minded individuals have purchased a copy of my Passport Book – they know that the time to start planning is now. Don’t delay when your liberties are at stake… waiting until “things get worse” could be fatal.

As we say in my home place on the Eastern Shore of Maryland: “I hope you luck!”

Faithfully yours,

the sovereign society

Bob Bauman

Link:
http://sovereign-investor.com/2012/06/05/the-young-dont-know-the-freedoms-theyve-lost/