Acting head of the IRS, Steven Moore, prevaricating before Congress
The Distrust/Disgust Factor:
In his magisterial Decline and fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon records that by 476 AD, the Romans of the West had lost all of their European empire because they had lost their “civic virtue.” By this he meant that the wealthy senatorial class had renounced their commitment to serve in the military while the over taxed, impoverished middle and lower class Romans were no longer willing to serve in the legions and in large numbers sided with the invading Barbarians.
The genesis for my book, Lessons from Fallen Civilizations, was a single phrase I came across, penned by the classicist, Victor Davis Hansen. He wrote: “War is not merely a material struggle, but more often a referendum on the spirit. No nation has ever survived once its citizenry ceased to believe its culture worth saving.” In the decade I spent researching and writing my book (my response to 9/11), I developed ten immutable principles that govern the fall of great civilizations. They are ‘undermining factors” that can be seen to repeat in the collapse of empires. They repeat due to the fact that human nature does not change very much over small blocks of time such as the roughly three millennia of recorded human history. Immutable #1 reads:
No nation has ever survived once its citizenry ceased to
believe its culture worth saving.
What does all the above have to do with the FOUR scandals, the Sebelius HHS shakedown, Benghazi, IRS and AP scandals now engulfing this government? They go to the heart of this immutable law. They don’t simply besmirch a corrupt and deceitful administration. They are examples of how this government targets, attacks, and otherwise harms its own citizenry. They ratchet up what I call the distrust/disgust factor.
Disparate elements of the opposition to the Obama regime will surely differ as to what aspect of the Benghazi debacle are the most egregious attacks on our nation. But for me, it’s the fact that military assets which were located both in Libya and in the near Mediterranean, assets which were poised for action and could have saved lives, were given TWO stand-down orders. In the future, what will this disgrace perpetrated by our Commander-in-Chief have on the Nation’s ability to recruit and retain American men and women soldiers? Of course, we will never know.
The IRS Scandal:
Regarding the IRS scandal, the Washington Post reports that 298 groups were selected for special scrutiny including 13 which had patriot in their name. As George Will reports, ‘…the IRS official in charge of the division that makes politically sensitive allocations of tax-exempt status said last Friday she learned of the targeting of conservatives from the news. But a draft report by the IRS inspector general says this official was briefed on it two years ago.” She lied.
Add to this the fact that Frank VanderSloot and his wife, co-chairs of Romney’s presidential finance committee were smeared by the Obama campaign’s website as “wealthy individuals with less than reputable records” and two months later they were audited by the IRS.
Add to this, next year in 2014, every American who files a tax return, will be required to report to what is clearly a corrupt IRS his or her personal health information. As Investors Business Daily reports, “The IRS will require the name and health insurance identification number of the taxpayer, the name and tax identification of health insurance company, the number of months the tax payer was covered by the plan…and whether the plan was purchased in one of Obamacare’s exchanges.”
Beginning next year 16,500 new IRS agents will be added to the agency to collect, examine and audit the new health data requirements. Heavy fines will be levied for non-compliance. And by the way, despite the fact that the thought police on the left vehemently protested Sarah Palin’s right to speak of it, there will be death panels.
So What Does This All Add Up To?
A great nation must be adequately prepared, equipped, and willing to defend itself against those ruthless enemies which are always poised to attack. Our enemies, perhaps in the near term, may not be a rogue band of terrorists but instead be a consortium of China, Russia and Islamic armies. We may need young men and women of great loyalty and courage to defend us. A nation’s survival is always dependent on the patriotism of its citizenry willing to answer the muster in time of great danger.
Purchase Lessons From Fallen Civilizations now!
It was the ancient Greeks who came up with the notion that the many should rule the few. They invented the concept of democracy (rule of the people). No nation untouched by the Greeks ever came up with that idea. Flash forward to the present… Obama probably would have never guessed that his proclamation that he would “fundamentally transform America,” would become a rallying cry for those of us who oppose his march toward a collectivist America. This is because those of us who hope to retain our inalienable rights, understand that when Obamacare is fully implemented, the relationship between Americans and their government will be fundamentally changed. When you and I are dependent upon the government for our healthcare, for our very well-being, we will no longer live in a country where the many rule the few. A corrupt government that nationalizes healthcare, targets legitimate political organizations, that harasses and confiscates more and more of its citizens’ wealth is at work applying layers of the same tyranny and puts at risk our ability to maintain a nation of patriots.
