A lifetime ago, when I was going through infantry training at Camp Pendleton, there was a young man from Alabama, who would wander around saying, "Die, Die, Die, We're all going to Die". He had that southern accent which made it sound cute, but at that time and place (1969-Marine Corps) it wasn't something that many of us really wanted to hear or acknowledge. It was a real possibility.

It's funny how things happen, And I don't mean funny Ha-Ha. A good current example is how the Bill of Rights to our Constitution is disappearing. The Fifth Amendment has been lost in the blizzard of rhetorical terrorism called The Patriot Act. It's just gone. Anyone can be arrested with a terrorist label and they too will disappear, gone into our newly spawned Gulags, never to be charged, never to see the inside of a courtroom and never to be free again.

The First Amendment is being subverted and rewritten. The "press" is so afraid of being accused of subversion that they no longer ask meaningful questions and allow newsmakers and public officials to say anything with no real questioning of their presented facts. The press is so cowed, for any number of reasons, that they now report entertainment news: because that way they won't have to put themselves on the front line of this battle for freedom of speech. The Freedom of Assembly has been removed to a fenced in area far from any notice. The religion clause of the First Amendment is being rewritten, so that we as a nation will now have an official religion.

If you don't believe that, just take a look at the recent workings of the Missouri State legislature to designate Christianity as the official religion of that state. What they mean of course is Evangelical Christianity and they don't care if you believe or not. Because that's just the way it's going to be. This rules out such religions as The Latter Day Saints (the born-agains view them as a cult) and the Catholics (the Pope is thought of as "the whore of Babylon") and there are a couple of others; Jews, Moonies and Scientologists, that have no real standing in that community. So if you think this is just an assault on not believing, you would be wrong. This is an attempt to give U.S. an official state religion.

The Fourth Amendment has been ripped from the Constitution by a man who believes He is in direct communication with the God of the aforementioned Religionists. Its just gone. There are many people who tout the word Privacy and don't really understand that it is a one word description of the Fourth Amendment, But that is gone also. I have heard a number of sheep bleat the phrase "I have nothing to Hide." But that is a hollow sound from a group that is being used to stampede the U.S. to the abyss of totalitarianism.

I tried to explain some of this to a man I know and his statement was, "I'll just take my guns and head for the Hills". My response was immediate. "The Second Amendment is a mirage. It vaporized when Homeland Security appeared." His reaction was typical; " They'll have to pry my gun from my cold dead hands!" No they won't! They (the government, our government) will only have to arrest you, assign you to the Gulag and then confiscate your property. Remember that the Fifth Amendment was superseded by The Patriot Act. I would like to point out that the Militias and Survivalists have all but disappeared. They are not gone, But they have learned to keep their mouths shut and bury their guns. They too see what is happening and it really scares them. They could so easily be accused of trying to overthrow our government and persecution to them is a real thing.

Yes, the personal liberties of our Constitution are virtually a thing of the past. Brought about by a group of people whose desire is for their gain of money and power. The cost is to the rest of U.S. who believe in the principles of this great nation. However, we are not among the Chosen Ones and any hope of liberty for U.S. or our children has been relegated to history when the Phrase "We The People" stood for all.

No, things do not happen or play out the way we often think they might. The young man I spoke of before. did die. He hung himself in his cell at the Norfolk Naval Brig in August of 1969.

Michael Sherer