Battlefield America: The War On the American People

Foreword By Dr. Ron Paul

"Most Americans react with confusion, disbelief, and even hostility when told that America is not a free country. This reaction is quite understandable. After all, we are continually bombarded with messages from politicians, the media, and even popular culture about how we are the “freest nation on Earth.” We are even told that the reason people from other countries hate us is because they resent our freedom, not our drones. But if one puts aside the propaganda and honestly looks at modern American life, the idea that we are no longer a free country does not seem so outrageous.

If Americans were truly free, then … Would the NSA be able to “monitor” our emails and other online activity without obtaining a warrant? Would we have to submit to the TSA’s harassment every time we boarded an airplane? Would local governments use red-light cameras to enrich themselves and deny us due process of law? Would we hear, on an almost daily basis, stories of SWAT teams terrorizing, and even murdering, innocent Americans via no-knock raids? Would we watch in horror as police respond to peaceful protesters with military force? Would armed federal agents invade Amish farms because those farmers dared sell raw milk to willing consumers? Of course, we are told these infringements on liberty are all for our own good. How else is the government supposed to protect us from terrorists or stop us from using dangerous drugs or drinking raw milk unless they have the unrestrained power to spy, harass, and even shoot us with weapons developed for use in war?

Fortunately, a growing number of Americans, including a large number of young Americans, are questioning whether we are really better off trading away our liberties for phantom security. These people are studying great libertarian thinkers like Mises, Hayek, and Rothbard. They are also organizing with other activists to spread the ideas of liberty. Many other Americans who have not yet accepted the entire libertarian paradigm have been motivated by some outrageous examples of government abuses to speak out against the loss of our freedom. For example, Edward Snowden’s revelations of the extent to which the National Security Agency was spying on Americans caused the debate on the NSA to shift in a more pro-liberty direction, while the events in Ferguson, Missouri, moved police militarization from an issue of concern for a few libertarians to the center of American political debate. During my 2012 presidential campaign, I often said that we do not need a majority to win the battle for liberty, what we need is an “irate, tireless minority.”

The growing liberty movement is certainly irate and tireless. However, to make truly revolutionary change, members of the liberty movement must also have a solid understanding of the freedom philosophy as well as the communication skills to rebut the arguments thrown at us by the statists of the left and right. Liberty activists must also have the moral courage to stand by their beliefs when the establishment offers them the carrots of prestige and power or the sticks of marginalization, ridicule, smears, and even IRS audits in order to get them to “play ball” with the establishment. Individuals who wish to move America in a pro-liberty direction must not only understand how far we have drifted from a free society, but grasp the true nature of the current system. Sadly, even many libertarians and others who acknowledge how far we have drifted from a free society fail to understand the nature of the current regime.

Some engage in the delusion that all it will take to restore our liberty is replacing a “liberal” Democrat with a “conservative” Republican or vice versa. This delusion is encouraged by the mainstream media, which exaggerates relatively minor squabbles between the parties into major ideological clashes. The rarely spoken truth is that the establishment of both parties support the welfare-warfare police state; they just disagree on how best to manage the federal leviathan. Those who still believe there is a serious difference between the two parties should ask themselves why there is such a remarkable similarity between the foreign, civil liberties, and even economic policies of the Bush and Obama administrations.

Many libertarians and conservatives recognize that simply replacing a big government Democrat with a big government Republican will not solve what plagues our country. Even so, they too still misdiagnose the problem as being “socialism.” Given the large role government plays in modern economic and personal life, this may seem an accurate label. However, technically it is quite inaccurate, as socialism describes a society in which government directly owns the major sectors of the economy.

Since government does not own the “means of production,” America cannot accurately be described as socialist. In fact, the description that best fits modern America is fascist. While this description might strike some people as extreme or even kooky, anyone who considers the historical definition of a fascist regime sees that fascist may be the most accurate label to define the current American system.

Under a fascist system, property is nominally held in private hands and the economy is officially “free.” All appearances to the contrary, however, the economy in a fascist system is carefully controlled by government through a labyrinth of taxes and regulations. This government control is usually exercised for the benefit of an economic elite that works to perpetuate the power of the existing political class. Other characteristics of fascist systems include a militaristic foreign policy and a police state that abuses our civil liberties.

Only the willfully ignorant could deny that America’s foreign policy is militaristic, and we have already seen the myriad ways in which modern government abuses our civil liberties. A fascist system also singles out critics of the regime for harassment. From stopping scholars who are critical of America from entering the country to harassing journalists whose works displease the current administration to siccing the IRS on organizations critical of the current administration’s policies, government harassment of their political critics has become increasing common. Just like acknowledging the nature of the problem is the first step in an individual’s recovery from alcoholism, acknowledging the fascist nature of modern America is a necessary step toward restoring American liberty. This is why John W. Whitehead’s Battlefield America: The War on the American People is so valuable. Eschewing over-the-top hysteria in favor of pressing facts and analyses, Mr. Whitehead demonstrates the fascistic character of the current American government.

One thing that makes Mr. Whitehead’s work particularly valuable is the way he draws comparisons not just from history, but from dystopian fiction, to illustrate how America has lost its way. References to popular works of fiction such as 1984, Brave New World, and even the classic Twilight Zone episode, “An Obsolete Man,” provide a familiar point of reference for many readers and help open their minds to Mr. Whitehead’s arguments.

One thing that I am particularly happy about is Mr. Whitehead’s recommendation that those opposed to the current regime engage in some form of nonviolent resistance. I also endorse his recommendation that individuals seek out alternative sources of news and information and avoid what are all too often government programs that emanate from the mainstream media.

Battlefield America: The War on the American People is valuable because it does not turn away from naming the true nature of the American regime. I hope this book finds a wide audience. However, I would caution readers of this book to avoid the understandable temptation to become hopeless upon learning the magnitude of the challenges faced by the liberty movement. The very fact that books like this can still be written and published shows that we have not lost all our freedoms.

Thanks to the Internet, it is easier than ever before to spread the message of liberty and plan ways to challenge state power. John Whitehead’s work should motivate us all to redouble our efforts to reclaim our freedoms."
Dr. Ron Paul
January, 2015

"Battlefield America: The War On the American People"
by John W. Whitehead, Ron Paul.

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