Article by Colonel Nogov on Apr. 7, 2015
Dear soldiers, you’re not fighting for freedom, I am
The propaganda drums are beating. Constantly beating. Boom. Boom. Boom. Between the booms you see and hear things like, “They’re fighting for our freedom!” Boom. Boom. Boom. “Thank a veteran for your freedom! Boom. Boom. Boom. “We honor the troops for defending our freedom!” Boom. Boom. Boom. “Support the troops, they’re defending your freedom!” Boom. Boom. Boom. “Freedom is not free. Soldiers make the sacrifice so you can be free!” Boom. Boom. Boom.
I’m sure you can think of a dozen others or so that are similar. Has that been driven into your head yet? It’s a lie. When a lie is repeated over and over again, people start to believe it’s true. That’s how propaganda works. Propaganda uses emotional rhetoric to try and make you believe something that isn’t true or is greatly exaggerated. In the case of soldiers defending our freedom, it’s not true. It’s the opposite of the truth.
There is no foreign government attempting to take away your freedom. There are no terrorist attempting to take away your freedom. The only organization taking your freedom is the government you live under. Think about this if you’ve never thought about it before.
Do you know what freedom is?
This is not meant to be condescending. The people of the world have been brainwashed into thinking all kinds of funny things about what freedom is. People think when you ask the government for permission to do something and they allow you, that is freedom. It’s not. Or, if you’re not in a jail cell, you are free. You’re not. Remember when slavery still existed. Slaves, for the most part, weren’t in jail cells, yet they were not free. Freedom is about making your own choices of decisions or actions without being controlled by others.
If you have to go to the government to get a license to open a business, that is not freedom. If the government tells you what you can and can’t do in order to run that business through regulations, that is not freedom.
When you have to give part of what you earn to the government in taxes, that is not freedom.
If the government prevents you from taking certain drugs, whether for medicinal or recreational purposes, that is not freedom.
When the government forces you to have a license of any sort to do certain things like having a driver’s license to drive, that is not freedom.
When the government writes legislation and orders you to follow that legislation or be punished, that is not freedom.
When the government forces you to pay taxes on property you own like real estate taxes, that is not freedom.
I could go on and on.
Anarchist are the ones actually fighting for your freedom. We are the ones sitting behind our desks on our computers writing and educating people about freedom. We make youtube videos. We go to conferences to learn more from other anarchists, so we can spread the word.
Freedom is good. People know this. It’s a common theme in books and movies. That’s why the propaganda talks about freedom. The problem is people have forgotten what freedom actually means. Rediscover what freedom means.
Your government is taking away your freedom. No one else. We anarchists are the ones trying to stop it. We are the freedom fighters.
The bumper stickers should read, “Thank an anarchist, they’re fighting for your freedom!”
