The Original "Freedom Basecamp" Opener (To go to Freedom Basecamp, click the Alpinist image left)

Why this and other "grass roots level" sites are so important right now:

My friends, we are facing a national crisis at this time that could well be the ruin of this country if we don't return to what Sam Adams called "The animating contest of Freedom."

Freedom is grossly misunderstood today, and undervalued in favor of greater reliance upon government solutions for everyday problems. It is a natural - but very destructive - tendency against which we have to exercise vigilance. If you value your Freedom - financial and otherwise - and want it to continue to be available to your children, you have to lose any apathy you might have towards politics, because

"Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you." --Pericles (430 B.C.)

History's most respected scholars agree...that government grows to tyrannical levels when not watched closely and checked at every opportunity so that it remains "limited" as our founders intended. The extreme power grab we are witnessing right now by big government politicians is proof of this trend, and how it CAN, in fact, happen even in America if we don't all get more involved.

You are not being asked to march through the snow barefoot as the soldiers of the Revolutionary War had to in order to protect our Freedoms - nor must you cross the Delaware during a full-on Nor' Easter as Washington did. All you have to do is get more informed and more involved in voting against the growth of the Welfare State.

This is not an opinion site....the objective, undeniable fact is that our own federal government is right now in the process of confiscating / siezing / nationalizing entire private industries (auto-makers, financial services [ex. AiG], energy, coal, oil, housing, health care, etc) all justified in the name of the age old class envy - like we saw happen in Russia with the Bolshevik Revolution.

If that sounds extreme and paranoid to you, just watch the protestors in London and watch the people here who are siding with them idealogically.

I am here to help reestablish the idea of Freedom that our founders understood, and provide a fresh perspective on what Freedom fundamentally is - minus the caricatures you often see in our biased media outlets. So let me begin....

"A ship in a harbor is safe; but that is not what ships are for." - John A. Shedd

The headline photo for this group is of an "Alpinist," the freest and most self sufficient of all climbers ... or humans, I would say. (S)he is supported only by what can be carried in a pack, does not feel 'entitled' to have Sperpas, cooks, or anyone else to guarantee the summit experience, or caretake along the route.

(S)he accepts the mountain for what it is, climbing on its own terms without making any attempt to render the experience "fair" - even to the extent of eschewing supplemental oxygen in the case of purist Alpinists. (S)he knows it's not safe up there, but knows too that the only way to ensure safety is to never strive upwards at all. (S)he ignores discomfort, notes the challenges, learns from the setbacks, but continues upwards nonetheless. And (S)he doesn't see a failed summit attempt last season as any reason not to climb this year.

(S)he faces the freedom of choice in this photo to scale high peaks or descend back to where it is safe and comfortable ... and to where less motivated people expect to be guaranteed a trouble free existence; who seek "understanding" and "tolerance" forthe obstacles that they allow to talk them out of their own summit attempts. Worse, a great many such people feel entitled to support from the climber's resources to maintain them down there.

Some would say that it's "mean-spirited," "uncompassionate," or "insensitive" to fail to acknowledge the limitations that others must live with...most of which are external to themselves as individuals and are sold to them as part of their group identities. I say that it is true bigotry to look at individuals as being a part of a group at all; or to see that group as any less capable than the rest of us - as if they are innately or genetically in need of hand-outs. Unfortunately, you can see this attitude infesting our current political landscape as people look to the government / vaunted politicians for more and more support for even the most everyday problems.

Like the Alpinist, anyone can overcome - on their own - so long as they don't allow others to convince them that they need help to live their lives. Even worse is to buy into the idea that the people from their group who do break free and successfully climb are "not authentic." To say such things sounds conspicuously like telling people that "your proper place is on the low ground."

I say to everyone, "get back up," and "press on!" because you can. You are capable. You are the pinnacle of Creation, endowed with everything you need to make your summits happen.

I can think of no better metaphor than the Alpinist for what it means to be a self sufficient achiever in a free country ... and it's as clear a picture as any of what it is to be a Conservative - which is a lover of what Sam Adams called "the animating contest of freedom" ... someone who can't stomach the thought of anyone having to live corraled and dependant upon "feed" somewhere down below basecamp.

I realize that this does not fit with the pop culture, media-enhanced caricature of what conservatism is. I mean, it hardly sounds "repressive" or "inflexible." ... but please read on to see what I mean, and don't buy into shallow, pop culture stereotypes. We're all better than that.

You are entitled to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happ(y)ness. The protection of these innate rights is all you will ever need from government if you choose to climb.

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Okay, That Was the Metaphor...Now for a Little Substance:

I hear from a lot from people that they "just aren't into politics." I can easily understand that, as it can be a pretty gritty business, or just seem tedious to keep up with. But of course, the problem with that is that politicians tend to encroach on your life, your savings, your retirement, and even your freedom when you stop monitoring them. They do this because they crave power. I don't necessarily mean "Stalin-like" power (though that applies sometimes) but at the very least they crave "regulatory" power...much like that petty person at work who needs to lord his or her power over you just to feel important. A politician is this person on steroids. Yes, there are exceptions - of course - but we don't encourage that in our elected officials.

The worst part about all this is that the trend will eventually bankrupt us, as has happened to all free societies in history so far....because they decline from true freedom into mere "democracy." Our founders considered "democracy" to be a dirty word, that's why they made us a republic.

The destructive pattern was best expressed by Alexander Tyler over 100 years ago. It goes like this:

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government, because of class envy. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure [through the taxation of the wealthy producers and then "redistributed" by elected officials to those who haven't earned the money but envy those who did]. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years [How old are we?]. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, [We're at least somewhere about here right now] from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage."

You can see in the business about the current "Stimulus Package" how government feels encouraged to expand into all areas of our lives when we stop watching them; and when we stop relying upon ourselves (the private business sector) to solve our own problems.

At it's heart, the "Stimulus" Package is a plan to confiscate almost ONE TRILLION dollars of our money and use it for government pet programs. Have a look for yourself at what it finances, and when (years from now, in most cases....conveniently around the next election cycle) and ask yourself if that will really create jobs. But there's more about that in a separate article I have posted below.

Another thing that will help you get politically motivated is that politics isn't always dirty. It can actually be very inspiring, as it was for the people who founded our nation. The American Revolution required tremendous, striving vision and the rise of greatness in many different people.

We've seen a handful of great politicians since then, but far too few. That's our own fault, because we don't watch them closely enough to hold them to any kind of standard, or to fire them when they abuse their power...which is, of course, ours to give.

This group, Freedom Basecamp, is a place where we present vital information in a fresh way that I try to keep free of politic-ese, so that what's going on is understandabe to everyone. After all, how much better off would we have been if John McCain had been able to realize that he was in a vital competition; and that clarity of speech mattered enough to point out to the public that what he kept calling Obama's "income redistribution plan" really means, in English: "Mr. Obama wants to take your family's savings and give it to people who didn't earn it." Because he chose to use diplo-speak instead, the general public was never told straight out what the consequences of this election would be. Now, we are going to have to live through it.

The articles here are quick and easy to digest, yet have plenty of room in the discussion posts to go deeper; and I often include links to my more in-depth treatments on each subject. If you've ever wished you understood what's really going on in politics - or you know someone who does - this is your basecamp. Pass it on as much as you like; and be encouraged if you've paid enough attention to be a little lost, because...

"If you're not confused, you don't know what's going on." - Irish proverb

"A little confused," then, is not a bad place to start.

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My Guidelines and the Format Here

First, let me say that I do know I'm nobody special...I'm just an overtaxed citizen with web access and freedom of speech. Know too that I am not here because I have to be "right." I am genuinely concerned about our country - and about my family's financial future - in a way that transcends petty us-vs-them squabbling. If you will look at me without party lenses, you will see that I criticise and praise all sides when it is deserved.

Having said that, there is one party over the other that uses the class warfare tactics to get ahead, and to finance themselves and their voters withyour money. I will not shy away from pointing it out in them when they do it, and the fact that you already know which party I mean is proof enough that it's true. I don't even have to name them. To balance the criticism out, though, their opposition fails to realize that we have two parties so that they can each CHECK and BALANCE the other. Political parties and politicians are not supposed to "get along" with each other by seeing how well they can ride the fence. That is not leadership.

Format:
This "Intro Description" page is where I put the "if you don't read anything else" info. I could do that on my website but what I really like about communicating on Facebook are the other two ways Facebook lets you interact within a Group...via Discussion Topics and The Wall.

The "Discussion Topics" are where I post my interactive articles on main points that I think are key pillars.

I am planning to start using The Wall to post quick current events quips from day to day so that we stay up to date, and quick, to-the-point quotes that I like to call "bumper stickers." Of course, The Wall is also your bulliten board here, so post at will.

You can always comment on anything I say. And please feel free to pass this on and invite your friends to our group. The more people who stop looking to government to plunder each of us through taxation in vote-buying schemes, the better off - and freer - we'll all be.

- Publius