I came upon a few paragraphs Ernst Zundel had jotted down regarding "Constitutions adopted and/or imported by some countries" and what effect such "importations" had on the native people they were grafted upon:
". . . the words were adopted, but the population had little connection to the true inner meaning of these words, because they were the thoughts of Jefferson, Washington and others - thoughts far removed by tradition, culture and language from other countries and times.
"Kemal Ataturk apparently gave the Turks a carbon copy of the ruling and founding document and concepts of Switzerland, including Cantonal government. Turkey certainly never became Switzerland as a result.
"The Constitution of the former Soviet Union guaranteed in its text every conceivable freedom for Soviet citizens - and delivered, or lived up to, none. Cynicism, lip service, double-think and double-talk, backed up by raw power of Secret Police and bayonets, were certainly the order of the day.
"Germany was 'given' its governing "Basic Law" - not a Constitution, as many tend to think! - in 1948-49 by the Western Allied conquerors. This new Allied-chosen provisional government could merely accept and ratify draft legislation - almost always to the detriment of Germany. All the new "German" government parties, leaders etc. came out of regulations promulgated by the Military Occupation Government of Germany at the time - a military "junta" made up of Soviet, French, British and U.S. military representatives.
"The Germans have been chafing under those Allied-imposed and promulgated rules ever since.
"Most constitutions of today were not drafted or arrived at by consulting the majority of citizens. They are tools and mechanisms imposed by oligarchies with power."
Keep that in mind in light of a recent letter I received from a proud Argentine activist by the name of Guillermo Coletti.
Coletti, one of the North America based South American activists, has a news service called ARIOGRAMA - this might be of interest to those of you who like to watch the South of the Border action, or who like to receive news and commentary in Spanish.
Coletti here:
IDEOLOGICAL PERSECUTION IN ARGENTINA
Many of the readers of my reports have asked if the Constitution of Argentina guarantees freedom of the press. The answer is yes.
The Constitution of Argentina is more than inspired by the American Constitution - it is almost an exact Spanish translation, so big was the influence of early Americans on the Founding Fathers of Argentina.
The freedom of the press in the South American country is additionally strengthened by many international treaties to which Argentina signed. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is one document that comes to mind.
The 18th Article of that Declaration is an unequivocal guarantee to the common man to manifest his ideas without fear of persecution. Of course, these guarantees were all endorsed by people from the Left and others (such as Zionists) at a moment when they were the greatest beneficiaries of such liberties.
Now that the political climate has changed to their advantage - meaning they exercise a disproportionate influence - their rhetoric has changed a bit. Now we hear them talk about "anti-discrimination", "anti-hate" and "responsible speech".
All these benignly depicted concepts are basically forms of propagandizing restrictions to liberties otherwise taken for granted by most Westerners - obviously, wrongly taken for granted.
In my opinion, one good thing can be said about the intellectual obscurantism of our days: the obscurantists are no longer pretending. No longer they are being seen as all-out-defenders of the liberties of man.
Is this understood?
The answer is: freedom of speech is guaranteed by the Constitution of Argentina - but nobody cares. In America the right to keep and bear arms is also guaranteed by a Constitution but . . . try to exercise it to the fullest!
In the last week two cases of in-your-face type of ideological persecution have shaken those Argentinians who still believe in the modern concept of liberty.
Suarez Mason, about whom I have written before, is now the target of another possible criminal prosecution. The action has been demanded by the AMIA (Association Mutual Israeli Argentina).
AMIA claims that Suarez Mason engaged in discrimination when he said that he tries not to socialize with Jews. AMIA does not feel that they have to prove in which way Suarez Mason interfered with any Jewish individual's right to earn money or having access to education or housing. They have used their influence once more to slash the way of life of a country that has been traditionally most generous to Jews in times of problem. I would like to add that the state of Israel is responsible for . . . repeated acts of disregard for the National Law.
The second news involves (Ret.) Admiral Emilio Massera who stated in a radio interview that he respects his former boss, (Ret.) Lt. Gral. Videla for all the actions taken in the war against the Communist armed insurrection of the 1970's. Massera may be facing charges of advocating violence.
No leftist has ever been prosecuted for explaining (bragging) about methods used against the government of that country.
Just this week I was visiting a Communist book store in Los Angeles that carries a large inventory of Communist literature printed in Argentina. Some of the slogans I read in those books said things like "Death to the National Oligarchs", "Death to the Generals", "Death to all Fascists". That speech is protected like a sacred cow."
Replies and comments may be sent to bcoletti@usa.net
Snail mail address is:
Guillermo Coletti
P.O. Box 61221
Pasadena CA 91106
USA
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Thought for the Day:
"One precedent creates another. They soon accumulate and constitute law."
(Junius)