The term police state describes a state in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic and political life of the population. A police state typically exhibits elements of totalitarianism and social control, and there is usually little or no distinction between the law and the exercise of political power by the executive.
The inhabitants of a police state experience restrictions on their mobility, and on their freedom to express or communicate political or other views, which are subject to police monitoring or enforcement. Political control may be exerted by means of a secret police force which operates outside the boundaries normally imposed by a constitutional state.
In a free society:
1-Police agencies respond only to evidence of planned and actual criminal activity.
2-Police officers keep the peace; they do not investigate citizens and activities unless there is some reason to investigate.
3-Police do not investigate citizens' attitudes toward the central government, only their action.
4-Citizen dissent is lawful and police agencies do not investigate citizens' attitudes toward the criminal justice apparatus.
We know that the beginning stages of a police state exist in the United States when:
1-A leader is brought into power through illegal means
2-A national catastrophe is used as the pretext to begin a war and institute extraordinary restrictions on constitutional liberties
3-Citizen dissent is held to be treasonous
4-The constitutional separation of powers is abrogated by a power-mad executive branch which controls or intimidates the other two branches of government
"The new laws are rather perfect instances of what I have previously called "anarcho-tyranny" - a form of government that seems to be unknown in history until recently. Anarcho-tyranny is a combination of the worst features of anarchy and tyranny at the same time.
ReplyDelete"Under anarchy, crime is permitted and criminals are not apprehended or punished. Under tyranny, innocent citizens are punished. Most societies in the past have succumbed to to either one or the other, but never as far as I know to both at once."
"The result of anarcho-tyranny is that government swells in power, criminals are not controlled, and law-abiding citizens wind up being repressed by the state and attacked by thugs."
All quotes from the late, great Sam Francis. Oh, but he was an eeeeeeevil racist, a naziwhowantstokillsixmillionjews.