Nearly All the People, Nearly All the Time

 by Paul Hein

That’s whom you can fool. Reports are rife that the American people overwhelmingly support the present bombing of Afghanistan, and will tolerate, perhaps with glee, the extension of the “war” into Iraq, although Iraq, even less than Afghanistan, was not involved with the attacks of September 11. Either the reports of this popular support are lies, in which case we’re being fooled, or they’re true, in which case we’re still being fooled--into thinking that justice and the interests of the American people are being well served by this bombardment.

So what’s new? The American people have shown a depressing willingness to be bamboozled by the most preposterous lies from their leaders. Consider President Roosevelt’s proclamation of April 5, 1933, for example. The fact that it did not immediately trigger a revolution can only be due to the fact that a lie big and bold enough just can’t be recognized as such.

“I, as President,“ he orated, “do declare that the national emergency still exists; that the continued private hoarding of gold and silver by subjects of the United States poses a grave threat to peace, equal justice, and well-being of the United States; and that appropriate measures must be taken immediately to protect the interest of our people.” 

The national emergency to which he referred was the depression which began in 1929, and which his policies worsened. Gold and silver were, of course, our money in 1933, and “private hoarding” of it constituted—what else?--the people’s savings. The government “stockpiles,” (good, beneficial) but the people “hoard” (wicked, selfish). So what Roosevelt was saying was simply that the continued saving of their own money by Americans presented a “grave threat” to “our people.”  Well, his people, of course, were the government and the bankers supporting it. Note also his referral to “subjects” of the United States. Did Roosevelt blunder into the truth here? The only subjects of the United States are the citizens of Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Washington D.C., etc. Certainly, the federal establishment had/has no authority over the savings of Americans in the sovereign states. On the other hand, the arrogant windbag had no qualms about regarding all of us as his “subjects.” And our saving our own money endangered “peace, equal justice, and well being!” And we swallowed that!

“Therefore, pursuant to the above authority, I hereby proclaim that such gold and silver holdings are prohibited, and that all such coin, bullion or other possessions of gold and silver be tendered within fourteen days to agents of the Government of the United States for compensation at the official price, in the legal tender of the Government. All safe deposit boxes in banks or financial institutions have been sealed pending action in the due course of the law. All sales or purchases or movements of such gold and silver within the borders of the Untied States and its territories, and all foreign exchange transactions or movements of such metals across the border are hereby prohibited.”

Is a Presidential proclamation law? Can a government, instituted by men to protect their rights, i.e., to do justice, seize the people’s property, especially under the color of a simple presidential fiat, with no pretence of  “due process?” And what is the “legal tender” of the Government?  The Constitution makes nothing but gold and silver coin a legal tender in the states, and that is what the people were using, and which the President sought to take from them. However, the states may not coin money. That job is assigned the federal government. It would seem, therefore, that the official “legal tender” of the United States is specie. Obviously, Washington was not about to take the people’s gold and silver, and “pay” for it with gold and silver. Washington wanted to spend money it did not have; the banks wanted to loan money they did not have (and collect interest on it, of course) and to be able to “honor” their liabilities with something other than the money they lacked. Mr. Roosevelt, in other words, was warning that the U.S. was about to embark, in a big way, upon counterfeiting, and since good money drives out bad, no good money was to be allowed. Never mind that the Democratic party platform of 1932, upon which Roosevelt ran, pledged to protect the gold standard. Bamboozled again!

“Your possession of these proscribed metals and/or your maintenance of a safe deposit box to store them is known to the government from bank and insurance records.  Therefore, be advised that your vault box must remain sealed, and may only be opened in the presence of an agent of the Internal Revenue Service.”

Sheer, unadulterated hot air. Neither bank nor insurance company did, or could, know if a depositor had slipped a few gold eagles into his box. And when renting a safe-deposit box (safe?), the customer had not agreed to the control of that box by any “agent of the Internal Revenue Service.” Isn’t one of the government’s few legitimate jobs protecting the sanctity of contracts? Bamboozled still again!

The tragedy is not so much that Roosevelt was a bare-faced, brazen, and highly skilled liar. The tragedy is that even today the scoundrel is regarded with actual approval by many, and his descendents, liars all, continue to deceive and dishonor us with no fear of apprehension. We have not learned, and we are not going to learn! If invincible ignorance was good enough for our grandparents, it’s good enough for us. Forever bamboozled!     

January 6, 2002