The Magna Carta

I have been listening to Peace Revolution Podcast # 50, and it brought up a great point.  The Magna Carta, in 1215, in affirming basic freedoms like Habeus Corpus, and basic rights regarding freedom of people, was looking backward.  What do I mean by this?  Philosophically, the Magna Carta was an affirmation, 800 years ago, of basic freedoms for citizens.  It nailed down the due process of law (clause 39) and the right to face your accuser.  The irony is rich (and disappointing) today with the advent of such freedoms stifling atrocities as the PATRIOT ACT, executive orders, and the NDAA.  I find the confluence of factors at play here.  Many of them having to do with the dumbing down of the USA, and the control of the media.  I'll stress the period of the "Progressivism" in the early 1900's USA as being the wolf in sheep's clothing - preaching empowerment for the little guy yet consolidating and cartelizing minority Industrial Wealth and Power.  It was a revolution that went on quietly, and is hidden from the young people of today in their History - oops - "Social Studies" classes.  Search for Woodrow Wilson's imprisonment of people who spoke against the War for a place to begin.

None of these things would be possible with a free thinking, autodidactic, trivium educated population.  How is it possible that in an era seen by the modern citizen as 'backward' and 'primitive', did they recognize that not even the King was able to arbitrarily detain / imprison / control free men?  And this was in an era of the 'Divine Right of Kings'! Yet now, we have shallow debates measured by micrometers on whether the Bush or Obama administrations are "good" and "for the  people", or my favorite - "racist".  It is as if there is some odd sociological experiment going on.  "Let's erode basic freedoms out in the open, and watch the rabble argue about nonsensical issues as we pillage their wealth".  The fallacy of authority is clearly at play here.

Thankfully there are the Remnant out there, and friends of mine, some people in the press, and young people who see exactly what is going on.  Ron Paul said something off the cuff a few months ago, and that was that people prefer freedom.  I think he's right.  There are free places in the world and people who refused to bend to tyranny, such as the Slovenian people.  They seem to understand the idea of freedom of the press.  They were able to fight off Yugoslavian tyranny 20 years ago.  How we've lost centuries of freedom here in these United States in such a short time is baffling, frightening and unfortunately,  fascinating.  If the Slovenians did it 20 years ago, we can do it now. Recognizing the Corporate Media for what it is, educating yourself, understanding how leverage works, and understanding historical connections can fix this.  I used to think that the saying "education is the answer" was a tired phrase - but now I believe it more than ever before.

Recommended Reading: Frederick Bastiat's The Law