Read and Weep

Food for thought from my friend over at Little Drops .....Into the Pool of Life:

Monday, March 22, 2010

Read And Weep...

Our government has become too responsive to trivial or ephemeral concerns, often at the expense of more important concerns or an erosion of our liberty, and it has made policy priorities more dependent on where TV journalists happen to point their cameras.... As a nation we have lost our sense of tragedy, a recognition that bad things happen to good people. A nation that expects the government to prevent churches from burning, to control the price of bread or gasoline, to secure every job, and to find some villain for every dramatic accident, risks an even larger loss of life and liberty.
~~~~~William A. Niskanen, "For a Less Responsive Government," Cato Policy Report, 1996


Slowly but surely our freedoms are being stripped from the very fabric that makes America such a great Nation. Yet, we stand unheard and ignored as our leaders continue onward to the path of a type of government never before seen. Not even the type of government of British rule way back when. Don't believe me? Read this letter that was written by a former Austrian who lived through the very same slow erosion of freedoms by the Nazis; Kitty Werthmann.

This Truly is the Greatest Country in the World. Don’t Let Freedom Slip Away

By: Kitty Werthmann

What I am about to tell you is something you’ve probably never heard or will ever read in history books.

I believe that I am an eyewitness to history. I cannot tell you that Hitler took Austria by tanks and guns; it would distort history. We elected him by a landslide – 98% of the vote.. I’ve never read that in any American publications.

Everyone thinks that Hitler just rolled in with his tanks and took Austria by force.
In 1938, Austria was in deep Depression. Nearly one-third of our workforce was unemployed.. We had 25% inflation and 25% bank loan interest rates.

Farmers and business people were declaring bankruptcy daily. Young people were going from house to house begging for food. Not that they didn’t want to work; there simply weren’t any jobs. My mother was a Christian woman and believed in helping people in need. Every day we cooked a big kettle of soup and baked bread to feed those poor, hungry people – about 30 daily.

The Communist Party and the National Socialist Party were fighting each other. Blocks and blocks of cities like Vienna , Linz , and Graz were destroyed. The people became desperate and petitioned the government to let them decide what kind of government they wanted.

We looked to our neighbor on the north, Germany , where Hitler had been in power since 1933. We had been told that they didn’t have unemployment or crime, and they had a high standard of living. Nothing was ever said about persecution of any group — Jewish or otherwise. We were led to believe that everyone was happy. We wanted the same way of life in Austria . We were promised that a vote for Hitler would mean the end of unemployment and help for the family. Hitler also said that businesses would be assisted, and farmers would get their farms back. Ninety-eight percent of the population voted to annex Austria to Germany and have Hitler for our ruler....

There is much more here. Little Drop... finishes by saying:

All those things she lived through, do they resemble anything we're seeing right now in America? If that doesn't scare the stuffin' out of you, I don't know what will.

Yes, there are those who say "It can't happen in America." or even those who say "Let's wait and see, I think we'll be alright." Well... here's another quote for them; ...

Go, now, and read it all! HERE!