Book review: Lies The Government Told You: Myths, Power, and Deception in American History

"Lies The Government Told You: Myths, Power, and Deception in American History"
By Judge Andrew P. Napolitano

Judge Napolitano’s goal in this book is to make us aware of the eroding freedom we as Americans are experiencing more and more each year. The Judge wants this book to prompt us to react: to abolish the federal income tax, to prohibit imminent domain, to impose term congressional limits, to abolish the Federal Reserve System, along with many other things. His premise is that government has broken its promises, lied to us, and deceived us, all for their personal benefit.

Each chapter of this book addresses a particular lie we as Americans have fallen victim to over the years; from the fallacy that “Every Vote Counts” to “Everyone is innocent until proven guilty.” I found many of the chapters interesting. I learned things like how our electoral voting system works, or how much freedom has been taken away from us by the Patriot act, or how the war on drugs is in many ways very similar to the time of prohibition in America. All good reading, although a bit technical in places.

While I did not agree with Judge Napolitano on everything he wrote about in this book, I do think that it is informative. Many of the things he writes about are things many of us have seen as problems for years.

If you are interested in politics, law, or the U.S. Constitution, you will enjoy this book and it will give you plenty to talk about. You will also discover things you will disagree with. In some areas, the Judge seems to have an ax to grind. I assume he has been damaged from personal experience. No government is perfect, and Lord knows our government has made a lot of poor decisions and that we have and have had a lot of flawed leaders. You will have to read it and decide for yourself. Maybe that’s the evidence of true freedom.

Reviewed by Ron Aguilera