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@ http://www.webleyweb.com/tle/libe166-20020325-08.html
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> 166
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> THE LIBERTARIAN ENTERPRISE Number 166, March 25, 2002 Blubbery
> Bully-Boy
>
>
> Review: The State vs. The People
>
> by Sunni Maravillosa [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Special to TLE
>
> Don’t bother with this review - go read this book! Yes, that gives
> away my feelings on The State Vs. the People, but it isn't often
> that I think as highly of a book as I do this one. Written by
> Claire Wolfe and Aaron Zelman, TSVTP documents the rise of the
> American police state in very clear, detailed fashion, moving
> swiftly through eleven chapters (and six appendices).
>
> Wolfe and Zelman begin with a specific definition of "police
> state", then apply it to the current situation in the United
> States. Each chapter focuses on one aspect of potential state
> tyranny, including obedience, thought control, the justice system,
> and gun control. Comparisons to known police states--mostly Nazi
> Germany and the Soviet Union--are plentiful, and impeccably
> documented. Each chapter closes with a concise list summarizing the
> most important points from the chapter, usually organized around
> two or three themes. As an example, the chapter "Thought Control:
> Lies and Language" closes with two statements summarizing why and
> how the state engages in thought control, then expands on them
> under the subheadings of "Lies", "Manipulation of Language", and
> "Consequences". If one were really pressed for time, one could
> simply read these information-dense distillations. However, to do
> so would be akin to taking a bite of chocolate and getting an
> intense, brief hit rather than savoring its full, rich flavor in a
> delicious cake. TSVTP is well worth a careful, thorough reading.
>
> Lest you get the wrong idea, the contents of the book are
> disturbing for anyone who cherishes freedom. TSVTP meticulously
> documents the existing and encroaching tyranny we must try to deal
> with to live. It's depressing to think about, yet the book itself
> is not depressing to read. Despite the numerous footnotes (most of
> which are worth reading) and citations, TSVTP is not an academic
> tome. Nor is it a libertarian screed or rant. To be sure, it is
> uncompromisingly, passionately pro-freedom, but in such a way that
> all but the most rabid statist can read it and find value in it.
>
> Chapter Two, "Learning to Obey", is an example of how well-
> researched TSVTP is. Rather than relying on a typical psychology
> textbook summary of the Milgram experiments on obedience to
> authority, the authors apparently read the original research. They
> understand the studies he (and others) did on the topic, and
> accurately summarize the conditions under which blind obedience is
> most likely. In doing so, Wolfe and Zelman provide readers with a
> deeper understanding of the concepts involved, as well as tools to
> help resist authority figures. This depth of coverage permeates the
> book, yet does not weigh it down. The references also make it easy
> for the interested individual or skeptic to learn more.
>
> The book is not without flaws, however. Typos are usually minor
> annoyances, but in a few cases make it difficult to understand a
> sentence. Footnote foibles (incomplete footnotes, or notes marked
> on one page but appearing on another) are more common, and appear
> to be due to typesetting challenges rather than author error. All
> can be fairly easily corrected when the book comes out in a second
> printing, which it well deserves.
>
> A more substantial potential stumbling block for many libertarian
> readers is Wolfe's and Zelman's contention that America is not yet
> a police state. Indeed, after reading page after page documenting
> how American atrocities preceded Hitler's or exceeded those used
> in the Soviet Union, one may wonder how they can advance such a
> claim. According to their definition of "police state" (which is
> not so specific as to be ridiculously restrictive), we aren't there
> yet. But, as they readily grant, we seem to be heading there.
> Their focus is on the totality, and within that framework, Wolfe
> and Zelman are correct.
>
> In the chapter titled "Can We Be Free Again?" Wolfe and Zelman
> deftly peg daily life for many Americans:
>
> "The result of this bastardization of Western traditions, this
> perverse mating of Polizeistaat authoritarianism with the rhetoric
> of liberty, is so far neither freedom nor a total police state. It
> is a kind of dreary everyday drone in which we tell ourselves we
> certainly must be happy, as long as we have a well-paying job,
> nightly entertainment, and food on the table." (p.443, italics
> present in original)
>
> Perhaps to the dismay of some, they don’t offer specifics on
> taking action. That’s the province of other books, however--for
> example, Wolfe's own 101 Things to Do 'Til the Revolution and Think
> Free to Live Free. That said, however, there are ideas in here,
> such as in the aforementioned discussion of obedience to authority.
> In "Can We Be Free Again?", Wolfe and Zelman offer sound advice,
> such as:
>
> "Even where we can't directly turn aside the might of omnipresent
> government, we can strike many blows against tyranny. The first
> thing we can do is to determine to be our highest selves,
> regardless of what the powerful do around and to us. ... This is
> not a mere character- building exercise. This is resistance to
> tyranny at the deepest level.
>
> "Second to thinking like a free human being is conducting your
> life as a free human being. ... For each individual this "living
> resistance" will mean something different." (p. 455, emphasis in
> original)
>
> I generally resist giving pro-freedom books to apolitical friends.
> Most libertarian books are so far removed from the framework of a
> typical American ("sheeple") that at best they will not be
> persuasive, and at worst, may actually reinforce the notion that
> libertarians are "extremist wacko kooks". The State Vs. the People
> stands with The Discovery of Freedom as a book that is wonderfully
> suited for sharing with the general public, as well as
> libertarians.
>
> Read this book. Talk about it and share it with others. In The
> State Vs. the People, Claire Wolfe and Aaron Zelman have created a
> book that will resonate with any American concerned with the state
> of the country. It's past time to energize all available
> opposition to the encroaching tyranny.
>
> The State Vs. the People, by Claire Wolfe and Aaron Zelman. Trade
> paperback, 517 pages (including appendices). ISBN 096423047,
> www.jpfo.org/tsvtp.htm published by Mazel Freedom Press, $19.95,
> postage included.
>
> The State vs. The People, by Claire Wolfe and Aaron Zelman
>
> Is America becoming a police state? Friends of liberty need to
> know.
>
> Some say the U.S. is already a police state. Others watch the news
> for signs that their country is about to cross an indefinable
> line. Since September 11, 2001, the question has become more
> urgent. When do roving wiretaps, random checkpoints, mysterious
> "detentions," and military tribunals cross over from being
> emergency measures to being the tools of a government permanently
> and irrevocably out of control?
>
> The State vs. the People examines these crucial issues. But first,
> it answers this fundamental question: "What is a police state?"
>
> Order from JPFO NOW! http://www.jpfo.org/tsvtp.htm
>
> Next to advance to the next article, or Previous to return to the
> previous article, or Table of Contents to return to The
> Libertarian Enterprise, Number 166, March 25, 2002.
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