What I Don’t Like About Life in the American Police State By John W. Whitehead

[Demeter]

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article39106.htm

“A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.”
―Edward Abbey, American author

There’s a lot to love about America and its people: their pioneering spirit, their entrepreneurship, their ability to think outside the box, their passion for the arts, etc. Increasingly, however, as time goes by, I find the things I don’t like about living in a nation that has long since ceased to be a sanctuary for freedom are beginning to outnumber the things I love.

Here’s what I don’t like about living in the American police state: I don’t like being treated as if my only value to the government is as a source of labor and funds. I don’t like being viewed as a consumer and bits of data. I don’t like being spied on and treated as if I have no right to privacy, especially in my own home.

I don’t like government officials who lobby for my vote only to ignore me once elected. I don’t like having representatives incapable of and unwilling to represent me. I don’t like taxation without representation.

I don’t like being bullied by government bureaucrats, vigilantes masquerading as cops, or faceless technicians. I don’t like being railroaded into financing government programs whose only purpose is to increase the power and wealth of the corporate elite. I don’t like being forced to pay for wars abroad that serve no other purpose except to expand the reach of the military industrial complex...

AND HIS LIST GOES ON HITTING EVERY SORE POINT IN TODAY'S REALITY....

[IDemo]

1. While I can agree with much of what the author says here,

"detention centers being built that could house American citizens", "an imperial president, who operates above the law", "the president (a.k.a. the Emperor)" and "the presidency has developed into a neo-monarchy" pretty much deflate the piece as just another WND rant.

[starroute]

2. The writer is a libertarian, not a liberal

So you'd naturally agree with some of his positions more than others. But that hardly makes it "just another WND rant."

[Bluenorthwest]

3. Right wing bent to this shit.

nt

[mrdmk]

4. History of The Rutherford Institute

On June 29, 1982 John Whitehead and his wife Carol withdrew $200 from their bank account—their entire savings at the time—and set up a small office in the basement of their home. As a Christian and 60s rebel who considered himself an activist, Whitehead dreamed of creating a legal organization that would defend people who were persecuted or oppressed for their beliefs without charging them for such services. He also hoped to influence American culture by encouraging Christians to play a more active role in the courts and in society as a whole. As Whitehead has said, "The Rutherford Institute exists to ensure that people are treated fairly in the courts and are free to express themselves without fear." At the time it was a radical idea. Given the enormity of the task, and the limited finances, many thought the Whiteheads were chasing windmills.

Fast-forward thirty years…

Against the odds The Rutherford Institute (named after Samuel Rutherford, a 17th century Scottish theologian who believed that no one, not even the King, was above the law.) has emerged as one of the nation's leading advocates of religious freedom and civil liberties. Last year alone over 10,000 requests for legal assistance were handled by Institute staff. And with a national affiliate network of over 700 volunteer attorneys, trained and educated on pertinent case law and provided with sample pleadings, legal research, and support and funding for court expenses, the Institute is equipped to handle hundreds of cases at a time. In addition the Institute’s media department makes sure that the major television news stations and thousands of newspaper outlets and radio stations receive news alerts on Institute cases, as well as public service messages on issues concerning religious freedom and constitutional liberties. Now that the Institute has become a nationally known force to reckon with, important cases get the attention they deserve.

Long ago, in a land far, far away…

In the late 70s the idea of encouraging Christians to get more involved in the courts and in politics was not a popular idea. In fact some believers told Whitehead that Christian involvement in the courts was unbiblical. "Religious people had mostly withdrawn and were not participating in their culture," says Whitehead. "Some of it was due to fear of discrimination; for others it was a conscious choice." But Whitehead believed that Christians needed to be willing to fight court battles to preserve religious freedoms, "otherwise you create a vacuum, and other voices are going to fill it up." In essence Whitehead believed that American society, and the Constitution itself, was under siege by an increasingly cold and inhuman secular view of the world. To counter that, Whitehead believed that Christians had to start becoming activists. In 1981 Whitehead wrote The Second American Revolution, in which he argued that modern humanism had turned the state into a kind of deity, with the Supreme Court making laws that actively rejected God and paved the way for abortion, euthanasia, and an attack on religious liberty. Although he used strong, "fighting words" in the book, Whitehead advocated a peaceful revolution, one "not designed to kill people or tear down and physically destroy society, but a revolution in the minds and souls of human beings." The Second American Revolution sold over 100,000 copies and made Whitehead a minor celebrity in the Christian media. Suddenly his phone began ringing with Christians claiming they had suffered religious discrimination for too long and were now ready to do something about it. By 1982 Christian evangelicals like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and James Dobson had caught up with Whitehead’s notion that it was okay, perhaps necessary, for Christians to be involved in the courts and in politics. The revolution had begun.

Keeping the faith…

During the 80s and early 90s, an era of unprecedented wealth and prosperity in American society, many "Christian" movements and organizations succumbed to the temptations of greed and political ambition. As early as 1986 Whitehead began to wonder what had happened to the real Christian message in the modern world. He had seen too many of his "evangelical heroes" make ideological compromises in order to appease their political allies. In addition the inconsistency and hypocrisy of some of the evangelical leaders he had worked with began to disturb him. One well-known leader even made a habit of using Rutherford Institute cases to raise money for his ministry! It was a serious time of questioning for Whitehead and The Rutherford Institute. What was the true essence of being a Christian? Was it an attempted takeover of society, as some evangelicals were saying? Were passing laws and electing the next popular candidate more important than caring for human beings? Gradually Whitehead began to see that some of his more strident beliefs might have been based on some popular evangelical interpretations rather than on Christ’s true teachings. The fruit of this questioning was a small book called True Christianity, in which Whitehead clarified Christ’s teaching as he had begun to understand them, rejected the modern evangelical infatuation with entertainment and various forms of utopianism, and called on individual Christians to become more emotionally and intellectually engaged with their faith. "Equipped with great spiritually and intellectual power," Whitehead wrote, "along with fervent devotion to Jesus Christ, Christians can change the world around them." For the next fifteen years, Whitehead and The Rutherford Institute would do just that. By standing up for the religious freedoms and constitutional rights of countless individuals, provoking those on both sides of the political aisle with its independent and sometimes controversial stance on the issues, setting important legal precedents in several cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, and creating cultural and educational programs to help people better understand our rapidly changing world, The Rutherford Institute and its supporters have indeed changed the world around them.

Link: http://www.rutherford.org/about/history_of_the_rutherford_institute


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Link to the five above articles: http://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/freedom_watch/all


With the above information about Rutherford Institute people at D.U. find topics to agree with John W. Whitehead. At the same time there are issues we may disagree with. For my take on the philosophy of Mr. Whitehead, he does stay away from wedge issues and will be critical of fellow Christians. Looking through the Website, government overreach does seem to be an issue.