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Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty

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The United States of America is the greatest country in human history because it is the only nation ever founded on the noblest political principle possible: the principle of inalienable individual rights. But today this principle is undergoing an all-out assault by the enemies of liberty, and the United States is being destroyed in the process. This book presents, in terrifying detail, just how far the destruction of American liberties has gone. Bovard presents a wide range of examples of the arbitrary, viscious use of government power against defenseless citizens, and of the cost in death and ruined lives that this power produces. It is shocking to discover how far the destruction of freedom has already gone in America. Any person interested in protecting liberty ought to read this book.

Do you think the institution of government is generally good? Do you think that politicians have your best interests in mind? Are you a believer in the idea that important decisions should be made by a government authority?

If you truly believe in the sanctity of government, Lost Rights could very well change your mind for good. You will discover that government abuses run far and wide, from police harassment, to IRS intimidation, to government censorship of television and radio.

These abuses are far worse than many people realize. The American public has become too apathetic, too vulnerable to political rambling, and too accepting of abusive, coercive government rules and regulations.

James Bovard provides an excellent account of these government abuses. This book is well documented and convincing. It will change the minds of many liberals.

A guaranteed eye-opener for anyone. This book catalouges atrocities that reveal how far we've come from the ideas this country was founded on. The book uses inflammatory language to sway emotions, but even when wary of this, you can't help but be swayed. Read and become aware of our rights and how they are being violated.

For the most part this book is a laundry list of crimes. Bovard slams home hit after accurate hit against government agencies and laws that blatantly violate the Bill of Rights at the expense of our social, civil and financial welfare. He covers everything from global politics to gun control. If you have a "special interest" it's probably listed in this book.

Some might not like the thesis-like approach of "Lost Rights". It's a dry read, weighed down with foot notes. Don't read it for entertainment because "Lost Rights" won't provide any. Some chapters are so technical and shoot for such detail that I had to skip over them to avoid falling asleep. But the book as a whole is a very eye-opening look behind the scenes of our modern government. School teachers would do well to include "Lost Rights" in their civics corriculum. I also recommend it to Republicans who think their vaunted GOP has been fighting the good fight against DNC socialism for the past fifty years.

This book should and will produce a certain level of anger in the reader, because Bovard succeeds in showing to us many examples of how the government has gradually taken away more and more of our rights. I strongly recommend this book to anybody who doesn't believe that our government has gone as far as it already has in destroying our liberties. Anybody who believes that "it doesn't matter if it doesn't happen to me" should read this book as well, if just to open their minds to the abuses going on every day in this nation. I applaud Bovard for his effort, and hope it does not go ignored.

One thing about Bovard, he makes an assertion, talks about the issue then drowns you in examples. I see where anbother reviewer has criticized Bovards use of anecdotal evidence saying that it is the weakest evidence. This is nonsense. When you are citing examples of goverment incompetence and abuse ther is no other kind of evidence other than by example. These are the cases that prove the point. I don't think we can do double-blind governemnt tyranny studies. I would be interested to know what kind of eveidence that reviewer would consider to be acceptable. Perhaps if the Army Corps of Engineers declared a puddle in his backyard to be a wetland and bulldoze his house - oh but that would be just another anecdote. Help me out here.

In addition, I think the other reviewer missed the point of whole book. Yes, Bovard cites files lawsuits but he also cites plenty of examples where judges have ruled in favor of the plaintiff, then cited examples of what can only be judicial incompetence or legal ignorance. The courts today are far from being the protector of our rights even if the occasional judge does do the right thing, and Bovard cites enough examples of that to prove that he indeed gives credit where credit is due.

But to the book, with Bovard's judicious use of examples and what we find is tat he builds a powerful case against the federal and in some cases local, governments. The examples he uses are all true and he by no means cites every example, but he sure cite enough to show a distinct pattern. An indisputable pattern.

What more powerful evidence can there be but to cite the facts of government abuse of citizens and the abrogation of the rights. There it is in black and white undeniable and irrefutable.

I also don't agree that Bovard is a champion of government regulation of the S&L's. I think the point Bovard made in the book was that the FDIC was insuring these S&L accounts and along with that insurance should have been some rules much like when you buy auto insurance, the insurer has the right to require certain things of you like having a drivers license.

I think What Bovard is saying here is that stupid regulations and failure to force the S&L's to behave responsibly as a condition for the FDIC coverage was the root of the problem. What if someone said to you in Las Vegas to bet as much as you like and not to worry, that someone else will cover your losses while you will keep you winnings. Imagine anyones behavior after being made an offer like that. Thats is basically what happened with the S&L's. If the S&L wanted FDIC coverage they should have had oversight. No oversight - no FDIC. Would you put your money in a non-FDIC bank? Maybe, maybe not but at least you would aware of the risks.

Overall Bovard makes a powerful case that no one can really challenge on the evidence. I would look forward to someone reviewing this book and citing a few examples that disprove his assertions. Yes I will accept anecdotal evidence.

Several years ago, my many friends from Norway, Sweden and Denmark often laughed when I used the word 'freedom' to describe life in the USA. I could not understand why they considered this country so repressive. After reading 'Lost Rights', I understand. My European friends could see our government for what it was and now Mr. Bovard has exposed the truth for the rest of us. Upon concluding Mr. Bovard's fast paced work, one must ask, "has the great sacrifce of life by the men and women who died to create and later to protect our Constitution been in vain?" Unfortunately, if the trends outlined in this well researched and extensively annotated volume are not soon reversed the answer will most certainly be a sad 'yes'. It should be hard for anyone to read this book without mourning our Nation and wondering how much more abuse of the Constitution we will allow before taking steps to reclaim our "lost rights".

This book proves it. The government is no longer "for" the people. They have become an end in themselves wishing to usurp total and complete control over us all. This book proves they have no concern for your rights, only their own desires. Though Bovard may not have meant it this way I see this book as a call to arms for all true patriotic Americans. It's time the politicians began tasting some of the fear and oppression they have been handing out for so long. If you can read this book and not feel some of the same you must care little or nothing for your liberty.

Bovard's classic eye-opener belongs on the shelf of every American. Rather than serve merely as a warning, this book serves as a slap in the face. The violation of rights that this book documents (with stellar scholarship) and explains are not things that are about to happen -- they are things that have already happened and are happening all around us. Want to know "what's the problem with big government, anyway?" Just read this book. It is easy to read, even if it is not easy to accept. Bovard is a great writer and takes polemics and journalistic writing to a new level.

Buy this book and read it. Let it make you really, really angry about where we are. Read "Common Sense" by Paine and read the Constitution of the United States to figure out where we were. Then read "1984" by George Orwell to figure out where we're heading. Then read "The Road to Serfdom" by F A Hayek and realize why we're heading there. Then read "For A New Liberty" by Murray Rothbard and a host of other books to figure out what you can do about it. Then do it.

With Lost Rights, James Bovard follows the increase in the size of the federal government in the 20th century and demonstrates how, with each successive layer of new laws and bigger government, the citizens are being coerced in ways that would make the Founders roll over in their graves.

With a style that masterfully intersperses meticulously documented incidents with his own dry, acerbic and often mocking wit, the author demonstrates how an overabundance of laws are increasingly written, not by Congress, but by bureaucrats and regulatory agencies, who see their jobs as a way to tyrannically impose their personal ideologoies on American citizens and business with little regard to the cost or burden. And all too often, the rules they write have the express intention of favoring one party or destroying another.

Bovard gets to the root of governmental expansion. Namely, overstating a problem is the fast track to more fame, more money, and more power for many politicians and bureaucrats. They have every incentive to exaggerate a problem, foster new legislation, and boast about being proactive. This goes on perpetually until nearly every area of life is subject to some kind of government oversight and regulation. And it's so pervasive, most have become immune and oblivious to it.

The author shows, in one frightening anecdote after another, how the government intends to prevail against the citizen one way or another. The outcome of bureacratic hearings are predetermined. Citizens going up against the IRS are presumed guilty and are subject to property forfeitures until they prove otherwise. Citizens who have property (especially cash) seized by police under the thinnest of pretexts stand little chance of ever getting it back, and the procedural cost of doing so negates the effort.

These are just a few of the injustices detailed in Lost Rights that will leave you shaking your head in disbelief and seething in anger. Others include the abuse of teachers unions and their disdain for parental involvement, the futility of the war on drugs and pornography, the failure of public housing, the subjugating effect of government subsidies, and the power to destroy that comes with the power to tax. To be fair, Bovard does inform the reader parenthetically that some of the most egregious abuses of government have been rejected by the courts.

Time after time, Bovard shows that the best governmental intentions go awry and the realities rarely live up to the promises. Government also has a knack for not anticipating the secondary (often negative) consequences of their policy proposals. Bovard calls for us to start judging government programs more by how effective they have been rather than the flowery rhetoric that always accompanies a new proposal.

For those who favor a more laissez faire government, and want to know just how corrupt, inept, and coercive our government has become, Bovard is a treasure. He convincingly makes the case that the more laws we have, the more injustice increases.

Bovard's one weakness is a flaw common among libertarian advocates and that is he weighs the benefit of every policy on a "net good" basis. If government intervention in a problem doesn't result in an appreciable postive change, the government program should be cast aside. But such a conclusion doesn't examine whether, in the absense of the program in question, would the problem be even worse? Such suggestions also ignore political reality. Right or wrong, people expect the government to "do something" about perceived problems whether it will be effective or not. The solution is obviously to have a more informed and skeptical populace. If everyone in America read this book, it would be a good start.

Bovard's style can be a little too bombastic and bellicose for some who might be of a more left/moderate persuasion. He opens himself up criticism by seeing the world in a very binary fashion with almost no shades of grey. Many will say he's throwing the baby out with the bathwater every time he sees injustice on the part of government. But for the most part, his outrage is justified, as well as infectious, and his anecdotes are faithfully documented.

One of the saddest, and all too real, insights Bovard comes to is about the drama that unfolded in Waco, Texas in 1993 at the Branch Davidian property. Bovard concludes, and I believe he is correct, that the show of force at Waco was intended primarily to send a message, "Obey the government or else." Only after the fact did the FBI admit most of the justifications made contemporaneously for raiding the compound were completely fabricated.