This Flag Does Not Fly.

June 28th, 1940

A little island sitting off the coast of France is suddenly rocked by the sound of German bombers attacking it's main harbour. Two days later a Nazi invasion force took control over this little "Jewel of the sea". And so began 5 years of hard Nazi rule over the people of that little island. Food was scarce and times were tough. People had to survive on what they could find and by helping each other. Of course, as is almost always the case, there were those who only wanted too help themselves.

The Germans had instituted a program that rewarded people who turned in neighbours, friends and even family members that dared to go against the word of the occupying forces. Being a small community it was normal that everyone knows what everyone else is doing. This was a goldmine for those who would exploit such information for their own gain. Those that had been "snitched" on were often sent to a prison camp in Europe. This would become a death sentence for many of them.

1945 to 1991

Jump forward several years and you have the former Soviet Union. During the period of the cold war it was common practice for you to "snitch" on neighbours, friends and family if you suspected they were talking or thinking against the party agenda. All it took was one discreet phone call and suddenly your neighbours would disappear. You may also find that you have a little something extra in your rations as "thanks" for your loyalty to the party.

August 2009

"What has any of this got to do with me?" I hear you shout.

We look back on these events and think of them as wrong, as the tools of a totalitarian state. That could never happen here in the land of the free right?

I wouldn't be so sure.

A recent blog entry from the Whitehouse is asking citizens to send anything "fishy" they see or receive concerning the current healthcare bill. Seems fairly harmless at this point right?

At first glance it may seem so however I want you to consider this. We can see from the two examples above that this is a tactic used to suppress the ideas of anyone that disagrees with the ruling class. Is this really going to be any different? What are they going to do with the information they receive? Is it the information itself they are interested in or is it the names of the people who are spreading the information? Is this not a direct attack on the first amendment?

These are all questions that we need to ask. Sure right now they are only asking that you send information received via email or on the web on this one subject, but how long will it be until this becomes a common practice? And how long before it extends to more than just emails and web content.

For those that wish to take advantage of this wonderful new service you can forward any emails or websites to: flag@whitehouse.gov


"Rat out your friends. Snitch on your neighbours. Fabulous prizes to be won"



There is one last thing I would like to add. It's an addendum to the occupation story. Those that did feed information to the Germans were forever marked as collaborators. Once the occupying forces were defeated this people lives suddenly became less pleasant.

New Gallup Poll Information Added

You can now get the latest Gallup Poll results straight from The Common Free Man. We have added a widget to the site that will give you a daily update on everything from Presidential approval to the current evaluation of standards of living.