Letter: Time to remember the Four Freedoms
To the community,
On Jan. 6, 1941, FDR delivered his Four Freedoms speech to Congress. Freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, freedom from fear. After his speech, FDR requested a pamphlet for publication on the Four Freedoms.
The Four Freedoms should be the national standard for America. However, today we are way off the mark. We have regressed.
In 1947, the National Security Act created, among other things, the CIA. The CIA has become a covert agency that listens in on citizens’ phone conversations and reads citizens’ emails. Of course, it gets help from its blood brother the FBI. According to Oliver Stone, “NSA intercept and stores … 1.7 billion emails, phone calls and other communications each day.” President Harry S. Truman feared that the CIA could turn into a Gestapo. Bottom line, Big Brother has big ears.
Bill Crawford
On worship. Hate crimes are alive. Many are aimed at religious groups. Seems know nothing has been reborn.
On freedom from want. It appears that the homeless numbers are growing, meaning the police must use force in many of the nation’s cities to patrol or break up homeless camps. But it’s a given that people need shelter, a roof over their head. Also, food banks, etc, are increasing in numbers to meet the needs of the millions who would go hungry. It seems that we need national programs to hopefully remedy the sad situation. President Abraham Lincoln said the government should do for the people what the people cannot do for themselves. That sounds reasonable, especially since we spend billions on the far away wars and military activities. Wars that will cause us to have a national debt for ages to come.
On freedom from fear. We do have our wars so fear of something must have hold of us. Here at home we have the beginning of a police state, i.e. the CIA and FBI. And according to the British Observer, “… more Americans have been killed by firearms over the past 45 years than in all the wars the U.S. has been involved in since its birth.” As the poet said, “Man’s heart is in his weapons.”
Amen.
Bill Crawford, South Lake Tahoe
This country probably has a lot of great laws(freedoms), unfortunately they were never enforced from day one. How many people who wrote/were a signatory to, all men are born and created equal, legally owned(had slaves) other people? I honestly regret existing in this country where civil rights are a joke. Sad for an entity with so many resources available to have a very good existence.
Dear Mr. Crawford , You seem to make a great effort towards promoting yourself as being the good guy, here in Lake Tahoe. I’m not convinced. Freedom from want, as you say, takes away from a person being responsible for their own needs. If we give everyone free shelter, (for example) a portion of the population depends upon government to provide them with housing. I don’t know what you believe, but I don’t believe it is government’s responsibility to take my tax dollars and build shelters for people who don’t provide for themselves. This is a matter for charity organizations to address. Freedom from fear is foolishness. Anyone that is free from fear is vulnerable to lose all their freedoms entirely. We are now seeing our choice in medical care being taken from us by a government take over. We, who feared this government take over, warned you who had no fear, that this would result in a loss of choice in medicine. Now, our fears are coming true. My fear is that the government’s attempt to take care of everyone, is resulting in the government not being able to take care of anything. I’ll conclude by saying that fear is what drives people to vote. If there is no fear of what you oppose in government, there is no incentive to vote. Mr. Crawford, you are like a lamb being led to where the government wants you to go. You are about as brilliant as a jew that would vote for Hitler.
The problems are much larger than private philanthropy can handle. Part of government’s role is to provide for those who cannot provide for themselves. When you come from a place of fear it weakens you. My motivation to vote is optimism that my vote will count and contribute to real change. I would like to be free of the fear of the gun nuts and tea bagger racists that are attempting to ruin our country and drag us back to the last century. Five percent of the population who purchase their insurance on the open market have had policies cancelled because they are junk and do not meet the minimum standards of the ACA.
Word for the day “compassion”.
Government has enslaved people by encouraging them to be dependent on the State for their survival. Many more people BELIEVE they need government than actually do. That is not charity, and it is not a kindness. It’s a destruction of spirit. It is slavery.
As far as ‘gun nuts and tea bagger racists’ (can you please come up with some new, more original insults? Those are becoming tiresome, not to mention easily debunked) trying to ruin the country, those folks are the ones trying to save it from total ruin.
And those policies you say are ‘junk’ might be more than adequate for the people who CHOSE to purchase them. Who are YOU to tell anybody else what they need or what they should have???
“Compassion”? Hardly. Try “Arrogance”.
Neither government, nor you, have the omniscience to know what is right for anybody else.
RIGHT ON AROD!
Bill Crawford wrote here about how we have regressed. I agree with him there. But what has led to regression is that Arod and you others that agree with him are refusing to see the fundamental flaws in your policies. LBJ began what he claimed would be a war against poverty. Instead his style of government intervention into our lives has led to more poverty, than ever before. Food stamps and welfare was no longer shamed. That’s a fact that you’ll try to rebut, but is true. Basically, the government’s role is not taking care of people, it’s role is protecting people’s rights. Our role as people in society is to provide for ourselves. The false idea that the government’s role is to provide for the people has led to this regression that Mr. Crawford speaks of here. You cheer Arod, saying “Right on Arod” just like the nazis hailed Hitler with their rally cries. My comparison is valid. Take a good look at where government handouts have taken us. Your next response will be to insult me.
Arod ya got a lot of them old teabaggers after you do you?
That’s silly – so SLT – how old are you?
This guy Ferguson has a great point and it is funny too.
http://youtu.be/UKUZ42T9diU
He may well have answered the question of “why everything s*cks”
I keep thinking of the freedom from fear. That’s no where in the constitution. After all what might be a tool to one person (say a pocket knife) might cause fear in another.
What we do have in the constitution is a right to redress grievances which is guaranteed in the FIRST amendment (that is can not be taken away). Yet that right has been taken away essentially. Be it all the protections given to bad cops (see Johnny Poland) or the actions of the government against its people you state.
I would contend what we really need is a better method to have our grievances address, one without lawyers, one that works, one that causes change.
Oh yea, we can vote.
Bill’s Abraham Lincoln quote is abridged and the essence of the President’s message is missing for this reason. President Obama also misquoted our first Republican president in second inaugural address in an attempt to appear bipartisan, not unlike some Republicans who channel John F. Kennedy in their public discourses.
Lincoln was attempting to define the legitimate role of government in their “separate, and individual capacities.” I’ll let Mr. Lincoln speak for himself:
“The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves—in their separate, and individual capacities.
In all that the people can individually do as well for themselves, government ought not to interfere.
The desirable things which the individuals of a people can not do, or can not well do, for themselves, fall into two classes: those which have relation to wrongs, and those which have not. Each of these branch off into an infinite variety of subdivisions.
The first—that in relation to wrongs—embraces all crimes, misdemeanors, and nonperformance of contracts. The other embraces all which, in its nature, and without wrong, requires combined action, as public roads and highways, public schools, charities, pauperism, orphanage, estates of the deceased, and the machinery of government itself.
From this it appears that if all men were just, there still would be some, though not so much, need for government.”
Boy, dogface sure has some anger issues, hope there is no gun around
Dogula opines above and as usual demonstrates an intellect and wisdom that are rare to these pages. More often is the maturity stunted 30 somethin’ crowd with an over developed sense of self and an underdeveloped value.
go figure…
Only if you drink the same kool aid, I prefer the non tea variety…
Anger issues? Me? At least I’m sticking to the issues and responding to direct quotes.
I’m not sure what I said that makes you think I have anger issues. I never attack, I only defend. And as far as being concerned about my possibly being armed? Well, don’t worry. You aren’t worth going to prison over. Really.
Wow….okay….my only comment and opinion on this is I am totally in favor of less government. Is there anyone out there who feels differently? I don’t know if I’ll be able to understand why, but to each his own.
Gus,
Thanks for posting the quote.
The problem is that now the government is deciding for the community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves—in their separate, and individual capacities.
I say let the government respond to requests, not go out looking for a reason to grown.