As in ‘The Hunger Games’

The irony of the phrase “may the odds be ever in your favor” is not lost on the readers of the Hunger Games trilogy of novels or the film adaption. Despite the grimness of the story, over 65 million copies of the books have been sold. The total box office take so far has exceeded $1.4 billion for the four movies. The dystopian series tackles real issues like severe poverty, starvation, torture, oppression, betrayal and the brutality of war. It doesn’t fit into the standard film making success recipe of feel good fluff, politically correct storylines and happy endings. Each film in the series gets progressively darker, with the final episode permeating doom and gloom. The books and the movies capture the deepening crisis mood engulfing the world today. And they realistically portray the world as a place where there are no good guys in positions of power. The ruling class, in all cases, is driven by a voracious appetite for supremacy, wealth, and control.

Edward Snowden is our modern day Paul Revere, but instead of riding across the countryside warning “the British are coming”, he used the power of modern technology to warn the world “the NSA is watching, listening, and monitoring”. He sacrificed his citizenship, high paying job, freedom, and possibly his life (if the U.S. government had its way) in order to blow the whistle on the blatant destruction and disregard for the Fourth Amendment being perpetrated by the NSA, with the full knowledge and approval of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the U.S. government.

He knew his revelations would result in his persecution, attempted apprehension and ultimate imprisonment, as the corrupt malevolent establishment and their mass media mouthpieces would brand him a traitor for revealing the truth about the illegal malfeasance being conducted at the highest levels of government. He realized true patriotism is sacrificing your life for something bigger.

“I had been looking for leaders, but I realized that leadership is about being the first to act. I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions, and that the return of this information to the public marks my end.” – Edward Snowden

Snowden’s revelations exposed the U.S. government for what it really is, a corporate fascist organization designed to benefit a chosen few while oppressing the masses through debt, currency debasement, and perpetual war, while implementing Orwellian surveillance measures designed to capture dissenters and critical thinkers. The sustenance of the welfare/warfare state requires a dumbed down, passive, distracted populace who can be manipulated and controlled through propaganda and baubles.

Thus far, the vested interests have successfully convinced more than half the population that Snowden is a traitor. The power of propaganda in conjunction with a willfully ignorant public is a potent combination. Even though Snowden’s disclosures have not spurred a revolution yet, they have sparked an underlying dissent that has been growing, as trust in government, politicians, bankers, media and corporate leaders wanes.

“I can’t in good conscience allow the US government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they’re secretly building.I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded. That is not something I am willing to support or live under. Everyone everywhere now understands how bad things have gotten — and they’re talking about it. They have the power to decide for themselves whether they are willing to sacrifice their privacy to the surveillance state.” – Edward Snowden

Snowden worked within the system until his conscience made it unbearable for him to support an immoral, rogue organization bent on trashing the U.S. Constitution at the behest of leaders’ intent on retaining their power, control and wealth through any means necessary. Ron Paul has taken a different, but equally noble path as one of the few patriots who worked within the system, but never became corrupted by the system. He has been a voice in the wilderness for decades, condemning the relentless march towards tyranny that he saw firsthand while in Congress.

The establishment, media and leadership of both political parties have scorned and ridiculed him as ineffective and inconsequential. There was never a piece of legislation with his name on it that passed during his time in Congress. His nickname was Dr. No, as he voted against anything that added to the national debt or took away freedoms or liberties.

This disparagement reveals the fallacy of what constitutes success in Washington D.C., as there are now over 5,000 Federal laws, 180,000 pages of Federal regulations, $18.8 trillion of Federal debt, $200 trillion of unfunded Federal liabilities, and every politician of both parties completely captured by corporate and special interests. There is one ruling party and the appearance of choice is nothing but a farce designed to make the masses think they have a say in the governance of their country.

“We’ve slipped away from a true republic. Now we’re slipping into a fascist system where it’s a combination of government, big business and authoritarian rule, and the suppression of the individual rights of each and every American citizen. When it comes to any significant differences on foreign policy, economic intervention, the Federal Reserve, a strong executive branch, a welfarism mixed with corporatism, both parties are very much alike.  The major arguments in hotly contested presidential races are mostly for public consumption to convince the people they actually have a choice.” – Ron Paul

The vitriol and bile hoisted upon Snowden and Paul expose the weakness of the ruling class, as truth, honesty, personal courage, and sacrifice for a higher purpose are attributes they cannot subvert or buy off. It’s the words and actions of men like Edward Snowden and Ron Paul that provide hope for critical thinking liberty minded citizens. The ruling class knows a lot of hope is dangerous, so they must undermine the messages of these patriots. Ideas matter. Words matter.

These two men have inspired me and an unknown number of other citizens who still believe in the Constitution and will do everything in our power to provoke a revolution of reason, truth and honesty. The odds will never be in our favor. Carroll Quigley understood the odds were stacked against the American people over 50 years ago. The domination of the world by central bankers representing private interests has never been more evident than it has since the Federal Reserve created 2008 financial crisis and the traitorous actions taken by politicians and central bankers in the last seven years.

“The powers of financial capitalism had a far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent meetings and conferences. The apex of the systems was to be the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland; a private bank owned and controlled by the world’s central banks which were themselves private corporations. Each central bank… sought to dominate its government by its ability to control Treasury loans, to manipulate foreign exchanges, to influence the level of economic activity in the country, and to influence cooperative politicians by subsequent economic rewards in the business world.” – Carroll Quigley

Even though the odds are never in our favor, there is still hope. Not everyone has to make the extreme sacrifice like Edward Snowden or dedicate their life to the message of liberty like Ron Paul in order to contribute to the revolution. There are thousands of small acts which will weaken the establishment. Arm yourself. Stop watching and listening to the mainstream media. Take your money out of Wall Street banks. Grow your own food. Barter with others and starve the beast. Reduce your tax footprint. Buy locally and boycott mega-corporations. Build relationships with neighbors and reduce your dependency on the government.

Don’t be a slave to debt. Live beneath your means and accumulate some physical silver and gold. Don’t vote for candidates selected by the vested interests. Spread the message of liberty and freedom to anyone who will listen. Support the alternative media and send pertinent articles to family, friends and acquaintances. Think critically. Do not trust your government. Prepare for the inevitable collapse of this rotten, fetid, corrupt paradigm. Hope, love, courage, and persistence will ultimately win. The tide is turning. Panem will fall. What replaces the existing social order will be up to us.

Reprinted from The Burning Platform.

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