Introduction

"How you have felt, O men of Athens, at hearing the speeches of my accusers, I cannot tell; but I know that their persuasive words almost made me forget who I was, such was the effect of them; and yet they have hardly spoken a word of truth." The Apology of Socrates

Long ago, when the Roman Empire was the superpower of the world, a book was created by the order of Emperor Justinian during the 6th century. The book, which came out in the year 535 A.D. was entitled The Institutes of Justinian. It was a book on the Roman Law that was much shorter than the entire digest of Roman Law. Before the reign of Justinian, little, if any effort had been made to codify all the existing Roman Law. The Institutes was a textbook for all people who wished to gain an understanding of the workings of Roman Law. Why, you ask, is this important today?

One part of the old Roman Law dealt with the law as it pertained to persons. The most basic of these legal principles is this:

"The chief division of the rights of persons is this: men are all either free or slaves." 1

Slavery has been an institution throughout the history of the human race. What about today? In America and no doubt in other countries of the world, people are told from childhood that they are free. But just because something has been drummed into your head all of your life mean that what you have been mentally conditioned to believe is true? For example, at one time people were led to believe that the earth was the center of the universe and everything revolved around the earth. However, a fellow named Galileo, who was an Italian astronomer and physicist, took the time to study things for himself and guess what? The data that he collected combined with his mathematical calculations proved that the earth was not the center of the universe. Galileo deduced that the earth rotated around the sun, not the sun around the earth. But the religious and political leaders of that time taught people that the earth was the center of the universe. Needless to say, Galileo was hailed before the Holy Inquisition, and in October, 1632 the court issued a sentence of condemnation and forced Galileo to abjure. His remaining years were spent in exile and his heresy suppressed by the authorities. As a song by the Indigo Girls states: "Galileo's head was on the block - the crime was looking up for truth." But we all know today that Galileo was correct - the truth was on his side. This is but one of many historical examples how power corrupts the people who exercise it. In the case of Galileo, those in power took the position that nobody would interfere with they way their subjects were conditioned to think since childhood. There is nothing new about religion and politics combining forces to make people conform to a certain way of thinking. Power and truth have collided throughout history. Today is no different.

To the people who take the time to read this book, I was like everyone else when it came to being mentally conditioned into thinking I was free, and for many years I believed it. After all, do not most people have a good standard of living? Do not most have plenty to eat? Do not most have a television and other electronic gadgets for entertainment? Do not many people have automobiles? But are these the measures by which we determine whether or not we are free?

After being gored by the system several years ago, like Galileo, I decided to study things for myself. I am a carpenter, not a lawyer or politician, but I did run for U.S. Congress in the year 2000 elections as a third party candidate with the Libertarian Party. The fruits of my research will now be presented. I've done old book searches and have studied a lot of old press. I've also studied a lot of U.S. Supreme Court cases, including the Dred Scott v. Sanford decision of the 1856 term of the U.S. Supreme Court. That was the slave case that helped stir things up just before the civil war. I understand slavery and how it works. After you read and study this book, so will you.

The truth is not always pleasant, especially when it offends the people in power in both religious and political circles. After all, we should never forget what happened to Jesus Christ. He came and bore witness to the truth 2000 years ago, and in the end the political and religious leaders of his day murdered him. I guess they didn't like anybody interfering with the way they conditioned people to think either. It would seem that when it comes to mass deceit, we've been stuck in a rut for thousands of years.

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