Lee letter: Forms of government

Liberty means freedom, and as Americans we’re making decisions through ignorance.

Socialism: government control of all production and distribution of goods. It’s a form of controlling your life through money, food, clothing, housing, health service, etc. Which slowly leads to:

Totalitarianism: government has complete control over the people where one political group has the power especially under the leader of the party — dictatorship.

Both of these types of governments have no tolerance for any other viewpoints but the party’s.

To shut up other points of view they start by: Argue (no discussion); Shout down; Defame and Belittle — both name-calling. If these tactics are not successful, they turn to: Violence to silence the opposition.

Another way to do this is to use government agencies and the media to go after them by party politics — IRS, anti police, selective truth, selective accountability, Justice Department, etc.

In reporting there are two ways: 1. Commentary — their opinion of the news; 2. News reporters — present all the facts.

In an old movie I watched, there were some lines that hit home. “Wisdom is first cousin to freedom. Freedom is what we strive for.”

And I say: Ignorance is a poor excuse to enslave a nation.

This story was originally published November 7, 2016 at 11:43 PM with the headline "Lee letter: Forms of government."