Once Upon a Time, There was a Land Called "America"

Once Upon a Time, There was a Land Called "America"
by Dean Michael Gores

America. America once meant "the land of the free." America meant a place where you could make your dreams come true, free from government oppression. A place where you were free to do what ever you want to your own body. A place where you were free to raise your own children as you saw best fit. A place free from taxation, which means that no one continually stole from the products of your own labor, your property, and that which you gained through consensual trade. A place where just men made sure that murderers, rapists, thieves, and scam artists (fraud) all repaid the victims for what was destroyed before they were allowed to live free. These murderers, etc, destroy our lives, we should make them our slaves, but instead we are slaves to them.

What happened to America? Where did it go?, and why? The reason is simple. Throughout history, men have been falling for a trick which places them into a state of voluntary slavery to criminals. It is the acceptance of one idea: that it is good to live for the sake of others; that it is evil to live for the sake of your own life and values. That it is good to sacrifice your own goals, and only achieve goals dictated by other men; that it is evil for you to choose your own goals, that it is the most evil to act to achieve your own goals. You are a slave to these who dictate that you should give up your resources for the "public good" or for "God", and by "public good" they mean "those in need (actually they mean themselves but they never say so)" and by "God" they mean "non-existent self-contradictory idea (actually they mean themselves but they never say so)". Well, who has needs? Everyone has an unlimited demand for resources. Its impossible to provide for everyone's needs. Its impossible to provide for a single man's needs: unless he doesn't care to live the only life he is absolutely certain to have, and he has chosen no purpose for himself.

Some people don't produce anything of value to your life or your ability to live. What they do is they take the role of "the public" or "God", and they have you take the role as the person who gives up your resources for "the public good (themselves)" or for "the Good which has been deemed good by God (themselves)". And then you give up that which has value to your life, your property, your work, your money, and you give it to these beggars. Money is not evil.

Money is the medium for trading things that are of value to people's goals and lives. To earn money is to create value for yourself and others through mutually beneficial trade. You can make anything be money, but it always comes in the form of a limited resource that can easily be divided and transferred. Money isn't of value intrinsically, it is only because men act to gain or keep the money that it has value. Trade is where two or more individuals decide it is in their own self interest to exchange one part of Reality for another. Yes, some people do not earn money, they steal it. Stealing is evil to those who live by the products of their own labor. Stealing is good to those who live at the expense of others. I judge good and evil with respect to a life form's life and ability to live. I want to live. Do you want to live? How do you determine good and evil? I recommend that you figure out whether something is furthering your life or destroying it, and whether you find that it is the former or the later you determine it good or evil, respectively.

I call these beggars "external duty ethic slave drivers" or "moral slave drivers" or "altruistic slave drivers" or "socialists" or "communists" or "environmentalists" or "feminists" or "multiculturalists" or "religionists". They have all sorts of names. Some of them are pretty much benign to your life. Some of them work extremely hard to steal from you. Some of them know exactly what they are doing. Some of them are just doing what others told them to do out of fear or lack of understanding. They all have one thing in common. They use the arbitrarily accepted idea that one should live for the sake of others to enslave everyone. Have you accepted to live for the sake of other men? Which men do you live for? I'm confident I know exactly who you currently live for. You currently live for the sake of looters and leeches.

Enlightenment. So that is why America no longer exists. It is because the majority of productive men live for the sake of looters and leeches.

If I just destroyed the false reality that you have been tricked into believing throughout your life, then here, please take my offer to help you construct some knowledge that is consistent with Reality. Please do not simply accept what I am saying as true without deducing my conclusions yourself. You don't have to accept what I tell you as true, and I make mistakes once in a while. Please think it over what I am attempting to communicate to you, and compare it to what you experience. Here is a good start:

Oneself currently experiences something. Oneself currently exists. Everything that currently exists is Reality. Reality changes, time is a measurement of reality changing. The future states of Reality are only dependent on the past states and current state of reality: the state of Reality is not dependent on anything else. There exists a Set of parts of Reality that we interact with as Reality changes. In this Set, every part of Reality in the Set interacts with every single other part of reality in the Set as Reality changes. From my experience, the fundamental parts of Reality and the relationships between them are constant as Reality changes, and these are the Laws of Reality. Oneself interacts with other parts of Reality as Reality changes, and oneself can increase one's knowledge of what relationships are consistent with Reality by making predictions about what relationships are true and then observing Reality's state. If your predictions are consistent with your observations, then you can have confidence that you discovered relationships consistent with Reality, you have learned ideas you can be confident to base your decisions on! If your predictions are not consistent with your observations, then you can have confident that you discovered a relationship that is inconsistent with Reality, you have learned an idea that you can be confident is false to base your decisions on! This is heavy stuff, it took a long time for me to put these ideas together. Don't worry if you do not understand right away. You can do it. Take one sentence on at a time, and figure out whether you agree or disagree. If you agree, then OK! If you disagree, then please agrue with me so that I can figure out whether I made a mistake.

Enjoy, and I hope the best for myself-- and I hope the best for you if you live in harmony of interest with me.

Post 1

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - 5:48am

The question I ask you is this: "For what reason have you accepted that it is best for you to live for the sake of something other than yourself?" There is no universal purpose. There are only purposes that life forms choose for themselves. There is no universal reason to accept a purpose that another dictates for you. When someone tries to use authority from "God" or from might to influence you to accept their purpose, if you accept the purpose they dictate to you then you are their voluntary slave, if you reject the purpose they dictate to you, but still follow their command because otherwise you will be tortured or killed, then you are their involuntary slave.

It took me a long time to put these ideas together. If you do not understand, then you can try to read each sentence, one at a time, and determine for yourself whether it is true or false. If you think one of my sentences are false, you are invited to notify me so that I can determine whether I have made a mistake and build knowledge more consistent with Reality. If you still unsure, I hope you can find someone to trust. Look for someone who you find is almost always kind, someone who is always searching for ideas consistent with Reality (true ideas), and almost never does something that seems contradictory to what he or she says.

I am confident that you will find that I, Dean Michael Gores am such a man. My primary goal is to live indefinitely. My current plan is to help voluntary slaves across the world learn that they are slaves, so that they can choose their own purpose and become involuntary slaves. One day, when the majority of power knows that they are involuntary slaves, we will defend ourselves, and make ourselves free from involuntary servitude.

Please be careful. At some point, it will be in other's interest to impersonate me. From now on you will have to determine for yourself whether an idea is consistent or inconsistent with Realty. You can gain confidence in an idea if you observe Reality and discover that your observations are consistent with your idea. You can gain confidence that an idea is false if you observe Reality and discover that your observations are inconsistent with your idea.

Here is a good start:
Oneself currently experiences something. Oneself currently exists. Everything that currently exists is Reality. Reality changes, time is a measurement of reality changing. The future states of Reality are only dependent on the past states and current state of reality: the state of Reality is not dependent on anything else. There exists a Set of parts of Reality that we interact with as Reality changes. In this Set, every part of Reality in the Set interacts with every single other part of reality in the Set as Reality changes. From my experience, the fundamental parts of Reality and the relationships between them are constant as Reality changes, and these constant things are the Laws of Reality. Oneself interacts with other parts of Reality as Reality changes, and oneself can increase one's knowledge of what relationships are consistent with Reality by making predictions about what relationships are true and then observing Reality's state. If your predictions are consistent with your observations, then you can have confidence that you discovered relationships consistent with Reality, you have learned ideas you can be confident to base your decisions on! If your predictions are not consistent with your observations, then you can have confidence that you discovered a relationship that is inconsistent with Reality, you have learned an idea that you can be confident is false to base your decisions on! It took a long time for me to put these ideas together. You need not worry if you do not understand right away, but I find that it is extremely important that you do try to learn ideas consistent with Reality as quickly as you can. I am confident you can do it.

It is important to me that you understand what I am trying to communicate to you, and that you have determined to a high degree of confidence whether each of my sentences are consistent with Reality.

Enjoy, and I hope the best for myself-- and I hope the best for you if you live in harmony of interest with me.

Post 2

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - 6:38am

John Galt,

I have provided you with great evidence that I will accept your offer and that I am your friend. Please invite me to join you.

Post 3

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - 6:58am

Dean, you might appreciate some of the lyrics of an old Steppenwolf song "Monster/Suicide/America".

But Dean, btw, you know there's no John Galt...I hope you're not waiting for Godot...

(Monster)

Once the religious, the hunted and weary
Chasing the promise of freedom and hope
Came to this country to build a new vision
Far from the reaches of kingdom and pope
Like good Christians, some would burn the witches
Later some got slaves to gather riches

But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands to court the wild
And she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light

And once the ties with the crown had been broken
Westward in saddle and wagon it went
And 'til the railroad linked ocean to ocean
Many the lives which had come to an end
While we bullied, stole and bought our a homeland
We began the slaughter of the red man

But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands to court the wild
And she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light

The blue and grey they stomped it
They kicked it just like a dog
And when the war over
They stuffed it just like a hog

And though the past has it's share of injustice
Kind was the spirit in many a way
But it's protectors and friends have been sleeping
Now it's a monster and will not obey

(Suicide)
The spirit was freedom and justice
And it's keepers seem generous and kind
It's leaders were supposed to serve the country
But now they won't pay it no mind
'Cause the people grew fat and got lazy
And now their vote is a meaningless joke
They babble about law and order
But it's all just an echo of what they've been told
Yeah, there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into a noose
And it just sits there watchin'

Our cities have turned into jungles
And corruption is stranglin' the land
The police force is watching the people
And the people just can't understand
We don't know how to mind our own business
'Cause the whole worlds got to be just like us
Now we are fighting a war over there
No matter who's the winner
We can't pay the cost
'Cause there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into a noose
And it just sits there watching

(America)
America where are you now?
Don't you care about your sons and daughters?
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster

Post 4

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - 7:03am

Joe Maurone,

If John Galt did exist, do you think it would be in his interest to allow you to know anything about him?

Post 5

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - 7:16am

Dean, if John Galt DID exist, do you think it would be in his interest to know you? What I mean is, what have you done to draw his attraction? You can't go looking for him, if he DID exist, HE'D come looking for YOU. As much as I hate to agree with what Hong's been writing on the teaching thread (because it means I'm getting old, haha), you are young, you have years of forming your self to do. Yes, you're proclaiming your allegiance now, but so was Judas...

"I've never had to knock on wood, but I know someone who has.
Which makes me wonder if I could.
It makes me wonder if I've never had to knock on wood.
And I'm glad I haven't yet because I'm sure it isn't good.
That's the impression that I get."

Post 6

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - 7:20am

Rush has something appropriate:

How many times do you hear it?
It goes on all day long
Everyone knows everything
And no one's ever wrong
Until later...

Who can you believe?
It's hard to play it safe
But apart from a few good friends
We don't take anything on faith
Until later...

Show...don't tell...

(Show me, don't tell me)
You've figured out the score
(Show me, don't tell me)
I've heard it all before
(Show me, don't tell me)
I don't care what you say
(Show me, don't tell me)

You can twist perceptions
Reality won't budge
You can raise objections
I will be the judge
And the jury

I'll give it due reflection
Watching from the fence
Give the jury direction
Based on the evidence
I, the jury

(Show me, don't tell me)
Hey, order in the court
(Show me, don't tell me)
Let's try to keep it short
(Show me, don't tell me)
Enough of your demands
(Show me, don't tell me)
Witness take the stand
(Show me, don't tell me)

(Show me, don't tell me)
Hey, order in the court
(Show me, don't tell me)
Let's try to keep it short
(Show me, don't tell me)
I don't care what you say
(Show me, don't tell me)
Let's see exhibit A

-RUSH "Show Don't Tell"

(Edited by Ethan Dawe on 3/15, 7:20am)

Post 7

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - 7:31am

Ethan, as many times as I've heard it (this song), I've never heard it until now...thank you.

(I do seem to remember the video, though, featured a "angry young man" shouting through the street...)

Post 8

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - 7:42am

Please do me (and potentially yourself) a favor and copy everything I have said on this thread, this thread, and this thread. If you do, I thank you. You can use your browser to go File->"Save Page As.." and then save it to your local hard disk. If you are really cool, you could save it in an encrypted and new unique password protected location. Create a password by choosing highly random parts of reality. Remember it by thinking through the password over and over again. Erase all copies of the password except for the one in your mind. Refresh the password in your mind once in a while.

Post 9

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - 6:27pm

Excellent posts. Well worth the time reading. Dean, I clicked on one of your links, which led me to reading your statements on how you feel about taxation, and such ethical evils of this country.

I know someone [who also happens to be an Objectivist], that was feeling very much the same way you are, and took action.

He moved to the Dominican Republic. He is now free from taxes - literally. But he recieves zero government benefits, no pension plans, social security, etc. Even the real estate is tax-free in many cases. He even has to practically bribe the police there to do their job. But small prices to pay for the freedom he enjoys, evidently. He wouldn't have it any other way.
But it is important to note that I think he rather retired there, which means he probably has some Swiss-bank account with security dough. If he had just fled there in his early years, then eh, it may not have been as pleasant.

Cabaret�, Dominican Republic is actually quite a nice place as well - many tourists [notably, most often from Canada] visit there, and is an English-friendly place.

Just thought I'd open your mind up to other realms of possibilities.

(Edited by Warren Chase Anspaugh on 3/15, 6:32pm)

Post 10

Thursday, March 16, 2006 - 9:16pm

One of the main problems in the world today is that people have accepted the idea that it is ok to force and manipulate others in order to get them to help themselves or others. The government & society teaches this through taxation and public schools, etc. Almost everyone accepts it as true without thinking about the consequences. The result is a society of people who are slaves to others, completely incapable of being themselves and doing what they want. We live in a world full of self-sacrifice.
Or maybe not. Maybe you can establish your own private communities built on invites and trust, and build them in locations that are not accessible by the slave drivers. Ah, serenity. : )

Life is awesome, isn't it?

Post 11

Saturday, March 18, 2006 - 3:06pm