Probably the most obvious fact to emerge from the War on Terrorism is the state's refusal to consider its hand in causing the terror they're fighting.  For generations, the state has played an aggressive role in the affairs of other countries, shunning the advice of our founders.  Given our presence in world affairs, one might expect more people to question whether we belong there.  But as we've witnessed, quite the opposite is true.  Those who question the state at this level are either ignored as cranks or condemned as traitors.

But the truth is too obvious to ignore.  The state is hurting us in countless ways.  It won't stop until we stop it.  The illusion that the state represents the people of this country is a child's game.  We must assert ourselves as adults and put an end to it -- before it puts an end to us.

Until then, we put up with the state's version of justice, such as the embarrassing investigative attempts to uncover the causes of 9-11.  Did we have advance warning?  Were the various intelligence agencies not cooperating?  Were they underfunded?  These are not the right questions.  They are state-approved questions, because they don't threaten the power of the state.

The unstated axiom guiding national policy is: nothing must threaten government power or government growth.  Every failure is an excuse for more power to fix what failed.  Every illusory success justifies further aggrandizement to do even more.

Consider the nature of the state and what it's competent at doing.  We know it does things through force or threat of force.  With its methods, can it produce wealth?  Can it change bad attitudes?   Can it keep us from ingesting harmful substances?  Can it get us to ingest beneficial substances?  Can it educate us?  Can it protect us?   Can it make the economy work better?  Can it provide adequate retirement funds for our future?

It can't do any of these things, but it makes a pretense of trying.  And it does so with our tacit permission, in defiance of the Constitution.  And every time it fails, it says let me try again, only this time with more money and power.  So now, for instance, we have the Homeland Security obscenity.  How many times does it have to fail before it empties our pockets and takes complete control of our lives?

And herein lies the state's competency: it keeps us from rejecting it for its failures.

None of its failures are little-known secrets.  They are infamous.  They are well-documented.  In many cases, they are blindingly obvious.  They are the emperor with no clothes.  They are not unique to the U.S. or to the current or previous century.  Throughout history, government intrusions invariably fail to produce their stated objectives.

The alleged function of the state is to protect its citizens.  Yet in the 20th century, governments worldwide accounted for the slaughter of 220 million people, 170 million of which were killed by their own states.  [1]

It takes enormous duplicity to cover up so much evidence.  How is this accomplished?  The state blames someone else.  It finds a scapegoat that is universally loathed, such that mere mention of its name condemns it.  In recruiting this scapegoat, the state evidently paid close attention to the way successful religions work.

Most people will tell you man needs religion.  "If God didn't exist, it would be necessary to invent Him," as Voltaire is accused of saying.  Most people will tell you man needs some kind of government.  Even some of its critics will admit the state is a necessary evil.  To remove all external authority from man -- God and the state -- is to condemn him to death from self-indulgence, though history is a little short on specific examples of this claim.

Is man's alleged weakness all that's needed for religion to capture his soul?  As it turns out, no.  He needs a constant threat, a metaphysical terror, to keep him in line.  Thus, we have the devil.

Having nothing better to do, the devil exploits man's weakness and leads him into a state of depravity.  Man finds the strength to resist the devil only through belief.  Believe and you are saved.

To a politician, that's a pretty neat con.  But where will a pol find the analogue to the devil in politics?  Any guesses?

Before you blurt out "business," consider that businessmen, even in our envy-ridden culture, are difficult to indict for certain things, such as flying jumbo jets into 100-story towers.  Not that they weren't blamed -- according to the knee-jerk crowd, the airlines welcomed the 9-11 hijackers onto their planes without sufficient security checks, putting profits before safety.  But not everyone was comfortable with that explanation by itself. Therefore, the cause of 9-11 was business plus another evil, the terrorists.  The full explanation became: terrorists, supported by business, caused the disaster of September 11th.

What are frightened Americans to do in those circumstances?  They do what they've always done:  run to the state.

And the state will greet them like lost sheep returning to the fold -- provided they understand a few ground rules.  First, the people must understand that since the state agrees to save them, they must let the state do whatever is necessary to secure their safety.  Let's not hear any noise about the Constitution -- this is your life we're talking about.  Second, since people have a habit of trying to understand things, they must accept the state's explanation of why horror befell them.  And the state, in its infinite magnanimity, agrees to share the blame for part of the failure.  It really does -- provided, as earlier noted, this failure in no way threatens its power.  Those who charge the state per se for the disaster are, by decree, traitors or terrorists, since both are enemies of the state.   

Like a successful religion, the state has secured a firm foundation in our lives.  It forbids questioning of fundamentals and instead offers a child-like explanation of why things go wrong when it gets involved.  All is well in the U.S. of A.  Come to it as a child and show your faith by believing, and believers will be saved.

Americans need to accept the full horror of government betrayal or pay the consequences.  To borrow from Voltaire again: "As long as people believe in absurdities they will continue to commit atrocities."

References

1.  Higgs, Robert "Government Protects Us?" The Independent Review, Fall 2002