The crisis I speak about is not the presidential impeachment hearings. It is not the recent rise in hate crimes. It is not the dangers our children face each day as moms and dads across America drop them off at public schools. It isn't the religious persecutions around the world that seem to be untouchable by the separation of church and state that has been planted in our way of life for the past 30 years. It isn't the crowding of prisons due to victimless crimes; nor is it the rising numbers of deadbeat parents. It isn't the break-up of the family, or the lack of role models in the land.

The crisis isn't campaign finance, or the outrageous amount of taxes we pay each year. It isn't nuclear warheads pointed at different countries around the world; nor is it the rapid destruction of rain forests. It isn't global warming, natural disasters, man-made pollution, or endangered species. It isn't terrorism, war, or slavery. It isn't the federal reserve, international moneychangers, or even welfare reform. It isn't illiteracy, differentially-abled persons, or unemployment. It is not the economy, stupid.

The crisis we are facing in this country is fear. It is knowing that something is wrong and refusing to rock the boat for fear of being labeled a dissident.

I believe that it was Roosevelt that stated, "The only thing men have to fear is fear itself." Today we have come to understand the meaning of those words all too clearly.

Too many times men and women change the subject rather than face controversial issues. Too many times we tend to give our children the benefit of the doubt rather than offer them advice whether they need it or not. Too many times we defend our public officials simply because we voted for them, rather than hold them accountable to do the job we voted for them to do.

For too long we have allowed the government access to our pocketbooks without saying a word for fear of being labeled a tax-evader. We fear speaking up for our rights to the very people who swore to protect those rights. We fear police who harass and intimidate rather than serve and protect.

We fear arrest at our places of business for failure to I-D eighteen-year-olds who are allowed to die for their country without parental consent but are not allowed to decide whether or not they are responsible enough to drink a beer. We fear arrest for sexual harassment if we ask someone out on a date more than once. We fear being labeled racist if we promote someone of the wrong color, regardless of his or her ability. We fear being labeled stalkers, kooks, or fanatics if we attempt to hold our public officials accountable. We fear being politically incorrect when we speak at a public forum.

Yet we don't realize that the chains of slavery are fastened by fear. It is fear that keeps man from actively pursuing his natural tendencies regarding life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. When we fear we are more inclined to accept 2nd best, rather than strive to have the best at any cost.

There was a time when our heroes were admired for the lack of fear they seemed to show. Today, I am ashamed to say societal stature rather than dissident opinions measure our heroes.

My heroes are still those of the past who uttered such words as "give me liberty or give me death" or "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

If only we could think like those men and have the courage to draw that line in the sand and stand up for our beliefs and control over our own lives as they did. Maybe then we would be able to tip our hats in appreciation of the officer on the streets without fear. We could call our public officials and tell them thank you rather than complain. We could say to our children, "Stand up straight. Show respect. THAT is the president of the United States of America coming."

Speaking of excuses, I won’t mention names, but recently I received an e-mail from a young man whose talents were VERY worthy for the cause. This young man had a knack for making people actually listen to us. He was soft-spoken, sensible, and had the ability to speak his mind without offending the opposition.
We were proud to have him as a part America’s Media Alliance.

He is a prime example of what happens to all of us at one time or another. His frustration at the lack of response from the public, as well as his financial inability caused him to reconsider his position, and to make a long story short, he backed out of the movement.

His reasons were as follows:

*His monthly phone bill was about as much as his rent.
*His travel expenses along with lost wages while pursuing stories was too high.
*There was a lack of help from sponsors.
*He had sympathy with others who were in like positions in the cause.

He quoted a phrase in this letter that was from an essay written by Thomas Paine, “Some men have a strange aversion to arms, yet are willing to risk every shilling in the cause…”

*He has received countless numbers of death threats, which included his wife and his children being threatened.
*He asked the question, “If you live in fear, are you really living?”
*He said that most so-called patriots give in to peer pressure. Most expect everyone else to do the work it takes while they profess themselves to be patriots, yet refuse to get off their behinds and help in whatever way it takes.

This is a quote from his e-mail:

“The simple fact is for all of our hard efforts, for all of our money spent, for all of the time spent bitching at beaurocrats instead of bouncing our children and grandchildren on our knees, very little has changed. People, especially so-called patriots, continue to pay illegal taxes, thumbscan, consent to warrantless searches, and in general, kneel to those that wish to keep them enslaved. The slavemasters in this world actually do little to enslave us. We do all the work for them. We love being slaves. Slaves are secure. They have very well defined boundaries, and hence, little is unknown; the unknown is, after all, what humans fear the most.”

Further into the letter he said:

“Americans sense that as a whole, “patriots” are wishy-washy, and really stand for very little. That is why I no longer have it in me to show up to events myself. I have a very real understanding of Martin Luther King, Jr’s “Letters from a Birmingham Jail” now. This is my letter from the jail I am now freeing myself from. For those of you who have not read it, do so. He writes about his disgust for the “white clergy”. While admitting that racism and racist policies, laws, etc. were wrong, none seemed willing to do very much about it. His disgust stemmed from the fact that they knew the difference between right and wrong, yet continued to perpetuate the wrong. I feel the same. Right now,” he goes on, “In fact, for quite some time, I’ve had more respect for the enemies of this nation that for the patriot community. THEY stand for SOMETHING, even if it’s wrong.”

I read this letter, after I received it, over and over. Each time, I felt a little different.

The first time, I was stunned. He put in words what many of us have felt and have been frustrated with over and over again. We all have given thought at one time or another, for one reason or another, to just throwing up our hands and saying, “I quit.”

After reading it again, more carefully, thoughts began to race through my mind. What if everyone was to feel the way he does and throws in the towel? What hope would our children have? How could we look them in the eye and say, “It was all for you.”

Our Founding Fathers faced loyalty to the crown dead on. They created friendships and a circle of people that they could trust to stand up for their beliefs. They knew that the chance of survival was minimal. They knew that their numbers were small. They knew that what they were asking for was not popular, nor was it supported. Not “politically correct” is the phrase we use today.

When the Revolutionary War was fought, only 3% of the population were among those who stood up with the Founding Fathers. 3%. And that was after exercising their talents in the press for several years. They had written pamphlets, started newspapers, written letters, and held public meetings as well as private ones. They knew that even that was grounds for getting them killed, legally, and with the King’s blessings.

Had they thrown in the towel, we would not feel the need to be able to protect our freedoms today. We would not have the ability to create the press the way we have today. The information would not be important. Many of us would have grown up in a different atmosphere, with different beliefs, because that is all we would have ever been taught.

While I was exploring the Internet the other day, I came across one of Captain Nemo’s web pages. On it was an essay I would like for you to read. It is called “The Price They Paid.” I am including it here with the permission of “Captain Nemo.”

THE PRICE THEY PAID
Author Unknown
Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or the hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men where they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.

Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners, men of means, well educated.

But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British navy. He sold his home and his properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers or both looted the properties of Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr. noted that the British General Cornwallis, had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. The owner quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.

Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

Such are the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution.

These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged this pledge:

"For the support of this declaration, with the firm reliance on the protection of the Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

They gave us a free and independent America.

What will you do to keep it?

I thank God for the fight I am fighting today, for the sacrifices I have to make for the cause, and for the friends that are standing up and being counted as one of us. I thank God for those who died and were tortured and were shamed in front of their family and peers so that I COULD stand up today and appreciate the freedoms that I am fighting hard to protect for my children, and my grandchildren.

The Founding Fathers pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honors so that I COULD stand up today with something worth standing for.

Why should I not give as much as they?

Why should we all not give as much?

In closing, Freedom-Lovers International would like to thank America’s Media Alliance, and all of the freedom-loving alternative media, patriots, and militia groups out there who are fighting tirelessly to reverse the trends of the Elite Special Interest groups, who’s main agenda is to bring us all into slavery in the name of peace.

I honestly believe that we all were chosen to live in this day and age for a reason. And that our great great grandchildren will benefit from our tireless labour.