The Statist Quo The Statist Quo

The early American republic is not discussed much in American history, at least not in high school. You might get some of that time period in a college history class, but it doesn’t seem to be a big topic in popular history. Why is that? Maybe because it’s easy to see how the Founding Generation didn’t live up to their high-minded ideals and pretty rhetoric. Or maybe it’s because early United States history is fraught with rebellions, tax revolts, uprisings and the like.
Either way, it’s a very fascinating period and some of the events then played a major role in shaping the country that would grow to be the biggest empire the world has ever seen, that went from the smallest government on the planet to the biggest government in human history. Shays’ Rebellion is one of those events that provoked a reaction and enabled the machinations of characters like Alexander Hamilton. It even helped push George Washington out of retirement, and played a part in the push for a stronger central government. It’s also a great story in and of itself, teaching us a lot about the people that founded this country, known and unknown, and it also teaches us a lot about America’s true relationship with the men that fight its wars.
However, to understand Shays’ Rebellion, you can’t just look at the events starting in June of 1786; instead you have to understand the economic situation at the time, and also the roots of the Continental Army and the direction it pushed the American Revolution in. Join us as Matt tells the story of the Massachusetts Regulators, who go down in history as the Shaysites.
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Today on TSQ, Matt talks about a very powerful force in American life:  The American Civil Religion.  This is not a new concept, but it is one that isn’t discussed as much as it used to be.  A  civil religion is a phenomenon whereby the nominally secular state takes on things normally associated with organized religion, such as dogmas, holy sites or shrines, sermons, incantations and prayers.  It’s creepy as all get out, and should offend us all, whether we are religious or not.
Robert Bellah’s Article
http://www.robertbellah.com/articles_5.htm
Tragedy of US Foreign Policy Book
https://www.fpri.org/books/tragedy-us-foreign-policy-americas-civil-religion-betrayed-national-interest/#:~:text=the%20National%20Interest-,The%20Tragedy%20of%20U.S.%20Foreign%20Policy%3A%20How%20America’s,Religion%20Betrayed%20the%20National%20Interest&text=Pulitzer%20Prize%E2%80%93winning%20historian%20Walter,foreign%20policy%20ever%20since%20177
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 On this episode, we are talking about a subject Matt has wanted to cover since the day we started this podcast.  The assault on the USS Liberty and the subsequent cover-up by the Lyndon B. Johnson administration.  It was attacked by the Israeli Air Force and Israeli Navy while off the coast of the Gaza Strip, monitoring radio traffic from the Egyptian military.  A total of 34 personnel were killed and 170 were injured.  Heroic damage control efforts by the crew stopped the Liberty from sinking.  It is the most decorated Navy ship for a single action in US history, yet her story is largely untold and unknown.  The Pentagon brass swept the whole incident under the rug; they forced the crew to keep their mouths shut about their ordeal, under threat of court-martial.
This is our humble attempt to do their story justice, and also to use it as an object lesson in how America treats those who fight its wars.Matt rants on history and statues for a few minutes in the beginning, and then we share the story of the day that Israel attacked the United States.
Best full write-up of the Liberty attack.  Timeline
https://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-liberty_tuesoct02-story.htmlIncriminating quotes from Menachem Begin, former Israeli PMhttps://www.wrmea.org/1994-july-august/begin-s-admission-in-1982-that-israel-started-three-of-its-wars.htmlOfficial Liberty Survivors' website, lots of resources
http://www.gtr5.com/
  Write-up of 2007 NSA release of audio transcriptshttps://www.mintpressnews.com/evidence-proves-israel-attack-uss-liberty-orders-kill-americans/198757/FacebookTwitter


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit statistquo.substack.com