The book of history provides a clear picture of the future. This might seem like a comment that makes no sense, but if we think it out a bit the veracity of the statement is revealed. 
History is our record of what people who have come before us have done in a whole host of situations. On a personal, and small scale, haven’t we all received advice and guidance from our parents, guardians and others who’ve tried to help us along the road of life? Of course, we have, that advice and guidance is usually based on their life experiences or lessons they have learned along the way on their journey of life. In other words, the historical record of their lives has informed them and they pass that on to us in the hope that we will learn from the information and act accordingly to improve our lives, avoid difficulties and be better prepared for the future.
On a larger scale, the history of world events has made it quite clear that there will always be evil lurking in the wings of human existence, ready to pounce and take advantage of the weak. This usually means a dictator or tyrannical government that seeks to control all of the levers of power and then extend that control to other nations or regions of their part of the world. 
The historical record is replete with vivid examples of this and has led me to describe the default operating position of the human race as “Tyranny” or living under a tyranny.
The consolidation of power in any one person or group of like-minded people has almost always led to death and destruction for those who were not part of the group in power. Let’s see; the Roman empire was powerful and conquered everything by submission or a violent overthrow, the empires of the Middle East followed the same path, the battles of the crusades, and in more modern times the first and second world wars and in particular the Nazi’s are all examples of the same principle. 
The rise of the communist governments has resulted in the deaths of millions of people, both from within the host country and without. The paradigm is the same and makes my point obvious; the default position of humanity is tyranny. For whatever reason we seem to be destined to live under the thumb of the strong man, the despotic ruler, the king, the dictator or the chairman of the party.
No matter where in the record of human endeavor we look we see the pattern repeated. It wasn’t until the end of the 18^th century that we saw the first glimpse of a break in that age-old condition, the rise of the American experiment.
The concepts of freedom and liberty of the individual were voiced by a few unique people who not only voiced these concepts but, brought them to life, committed them to written documents signed in a blood oath and thrust them onto the world stage and into the face of the tyrant. Many of these revolutionary visionaries paid the ultimate price for holding these concepts, un-heard of until that moment in time.
The forefathers of the American Experiment appeared in the historical record at a time when the ideals of liberty and freedom were framed within the bounds of the existing tyranny, wherever it was found. Liberty was only allowed to the point that it enriched the tyranny or provided other benefits for the limited few who ran the tyranny. Anything beyond that narrow window was violently crushed.      
The forefathers of America saw liberty and freedom in the way many members of the human family have probably felt it and yearned for it over the eons of human existence, but never had the ability to see to fruition. They did not have the power, wealth or unity to stand up and take their liberty.

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In that moment of providence, the forefathers appeared, joined forces and struck out for humanity in a way that had never happened before. The result was the first true freedom movement, America. 
Now, in accordance with modern sensibilities, I must say we can all find the fault in these mortal men, men of their age and customs. They lived as the custom of their time dictated, engaging in practices we find to be abhorrent today, such as slavery, and I do not make an argument for such abhorrent practices, but we must view these men in the context of history, warts and all.
The actions they took to break the chain of the tyranny and free the human race to pursue its greater potential, is well worthy of respect and admiration in spite of the weakness of their age and its practices. In fact, I believe a case can be made that their actions to free humanity from the grip of tyranny, led directly to the ending of slavery in America and in many parts of the world. The very presence of freedom and liberty is contagious to all men and women of good will. It seems inevitable that the movement they created and saw flourish changed the understanding of human interaction. Once freed from the bonds of the tyranny how could anyone see other men in bondage and not be moved to remove the shackles. It is only freedom and liberty that can do this.
It is this review of history and the birth of the American experiment in freedom and liberty that reveals many lessons for the future and provokes many questions.
To fully address this set of questions and deal appropriately with the revelations of freedom we must understand how they apply to us today in our world. This requires us to understand where we are going and how we are getting there. 
Our current state of affairs in America and in the world is giving us clues as to where we are headed. When combined with the lessons of the past we can see a picture of a potential future taking shape, and if we look closely we may not like where we are headed. The moment of the American Freedom has lasted over 240 years but does seem to be threatened by human nature and the pull of the tyranny.    
In recent years we have seen the rise of tyranny. A poll in 2016 of young Americans reveals that over 50% of people under age 30 see socialism as an acceptable from of government. These are the people who will control our destiny very shortly. If the right charismatic socialist leader comes long promising this mythical vision of the perfect socialist America, these young people may vote our democratic republic out of existence.       
The current vision of the modern tyrannists, including but not limited to: the Antifa movement, the democratic socialists, the Venezuelan failure and the classic communists still in existence consists of a united world, all operating in peace and harmony, sharing in all resources equally where every person is part of the same “in” group and everyone benefits. 
This is the stated belief in their type of government, and on its face it sounds attractive to many people, but we have only to look to history for an educated guess on how it is going to turn out; the same as it turns out every time this type of tyranny is tried; utter failure, death and destruction and misery for all.
That truth aside it seems the seeds of our own destruction have been sown, the Constitution contains the frame work for legal dismantling of the system we have all known, the rights we all enjoy also provide the mechanism for us to vote away our beloved freedom. This has always been there, but it never seemed as though anyone would actually do it.
The rise of the socialists in our American family and the mainstreaming of those beliefs by our media, Hollywood, universities, and the Democratic party’s embrace of them make it clear that our survival as a free nation is at stake.
The take over would not be violent, at first. I see the election of a majority of democratic socialists would first be heralded as the greatest step forward for equality and true justice since the defeat of the British on America soil after so many years.
This joyous occasion and rise of Socialism would be followed by a string of new “enlightened” laws designed to level the playing field for all Americans. The borders would be flung open to welcome anyone who ever dreamed of being an American but were prevented from doing so by the old, bigoted guardsmen of capitalism, then the large, evil corporations would be raided and claimed by the people’s state. The CEO’s would be jailed for their crimes against the people and the companies would be reduced to providing their wares for free so everyone could benefit from them.
Next, we would see the prisons emptied of anyone who was jailed on charges that the new enlightened leaders felt were unjust, this would make room for the new prisoners, those of us who resist these changes. The taxes would jump to 90% of income to ensure the new government had the funds to properly redistribute the money properly and finally, in an effort to keep us all safe, they would confiscate all private guns. 
I know I’m leaving out a lot of other really great things our new socialist American government would enact to make our lives better, but you can fill in those things yourself. 
In the end we would be left with a new future, free from the greed of capitalism, free from rule by the rich and the corporate elites; free to grow and become the greatest nation on earth.                                 
Anyone who resists this new order would be dealt with harshly. This is where the government sponsored violence would start, of course for our own good.
I would give it about a year before we would be fighting in the streets over food, water and toilet paper like all the other socialist experiments. But make no mistake at that point we would all be equal; equally miserable.
I hope I have painted a picture for you of the potential future we all face. It might be bleak, but it doesn’t have to be. There is still time to save ourselves. Unfortunately, those of us who don’t want to move towards the utopia of the left are much like frogs in a bucket of water on the stove. We won’t do anything until the water is boiling, and by then it might be too late. 
Choose now, make your voice heard now, vote. If you don’t, others will and in America those who vote make the rules and choose the direction and path to the future. 
I have been CHASING JUSTICE throughout my career friends. My goal is to be THE VOICE for the voiceless. Reach out with your own stories and thoughts on justice…  JPanagro@Americaoutloud.com 

Listen to Lt. Joe Pangaro Weekdays 3 PM EST
on his show ‘Chasing Justice’