Rules by Which America May be Reduced

A wise man once said that those who fail to study history are doomed to repeat it. The study of American history has been corrupted for decades now, and as a result we appear to be treading the same path. This is made clear if we independently study our history and look at the reasons behind the revolution.


In 1773, in an attempt to show Parliament and the British people how their actions were serving to alienate the colonies, Benjamin Franklin wrote a document Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One. In reading this wonderful piece of comedic literature I was struck by how our current government is repeating the actions which caused us to break from the British Parliament and Monarchy.

I make no claims to possessing the brilliance of Mr. Franklin, but for the love of my country and the desire to see her remain strong, I am compelled to emulate the great man and list out the ways in which we are now working to reduce our nation.

The first and most important rule is to divide the people, and therefore the nation. A people bound together by common goals, common beliefs and common sacrifices will not be divided. Therefore, in order to achieve your goal of division you must make people focus on their differences instead of their similarities. You must convince some that they are owed the fruits of another’s toils.

To further divide the people you must have two sets of laws and rules, or at least apply them differently. If taxes are levied on the people, these groups must be exempt. If the favored group behaves badly, it must be the ill favored group who bears the cost. This will ensure that the favored group shows superiority and contempt while animosity builds within those ill favored. Do not, under any circumstances, promote true fairness and equality for this will undermine your efforts of division.

You must give no credence to any complaints offered by the people. Instead, no matter how peaceful their objections may be communicated, you should always assume that they are on the verge of violence and treat them as such. A good idea in this instance is to consider them as a terror risk and list them as more dangerous to the country than any foreign threat. The real benefit of this plan is that you may, if real care is taken, turn your suspicions of revolution into reality.

Next, you must take care to avoid the approval of the people in any political appointees. Should the people believe that their government officials are honest, and have the best interest of the people and the nation at heart, this will only serve to strengthen the bond of the people to their government. As a result, you must select people unqualified, contemptuous of the masses, elitist and, if at all possible, openly corrupt.

To drive the wedge even deeper, should anybody complain or otherwise speak out, you must make them the villain. Investigate them more thoroughly than you would any criminal and expose every mistake they have made in their past. Call their character into question and make their life such a hell that no other will dare to take such a stand in future. This will close off a critical outlet for the people and make them even more desperate and angry.

Another very important rule is to take more and more of the people’s money and flagrantly waste it. Take from the hard working people and give large salaries to the officials they despise. You must also use the money to prop up those in the government’s favor, again serving to divide the people. Constantly remind the people that the government knows best how to spend their money while simultaneously wasting it on programs the people do not support. It is also best if you can use the people’s money taken through taxation to institute and fund government programs which will take their liberties as well. This will prevent those left in poverty through punitive taxation from taking comfort in their freedom and liberty

Make the people ashamed of the greatness of their nation. Paint her in the worst possible light both domestically and abroad. As patriotic pride is squelched, individual ambition and determination will decrease as well. This will assist in the destruction of the economic foundation thereby expediting the division of the people.

Most importantly, deny that you have any culpability in the discontent of the people. Take no responsibility and give no acknowledgements to the legitimacy of any complaint. Should you do this, should you follow these simple rules, the nation will become divided, the states will break apart and you will be freed from the bother and necessity of ruling a great nation.

Cross-posted at Spinster POV.