"If We Can Find Out What You're Afraid Of, We Can Label It."

Now it all becomes clear. I always thought my distrust of and resistance to authority was based on my observations of the unjust, hypocritical, overzealous, repressive, ignorant, self-serving, illogical, tyrannical, deceptive, abusive, and arbitrary actions of those in power. But as it turns out, what I really have is a disease called ODD - Oppositional Defiant Disorder.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder is a pattern of disobedient, hostile, and defiant behavior toward authority figures.

This disorder is more common in boys than in girls. Some studies have shown that it affects 20% of school-age children. However, most experts believe this figure is continually changing according to definitions of normal childhood behavior, and possible racial, cultural, and gender biases.

This behavior typically starts by age 8, but it may start as early as the preschool years. This disorder is thought to be caused by a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors. Symptoms of ODD include not following adults' requests, anger and resentment of authority figures, arguing and losing temper with adults, being spiteful and vengeful towards parents, teachers and police.

Children with symptoms of this disorder should be evaluated by a psychiatrist or psychologist. In children and adolescents, the following conditions can cause similar behavior problems and should be considered as possibilities:

Anxiety disorders
Attention-deficit /hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Bipolar disorder
Depression
Learning disorders
Substance abuse disorders

The best treatment for the child is to talk with a mental health professional in individual and possibly family therapy. Medications may also be helpful, especially if the behaviors occur as part of another condition (such as depression, childhood psychosis, or ADHD). Some children respond well to treatment, while others do not.

In many cases, children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder grow up to have conduct disorder as teenagers or adults. In some cases children may grow up to have antisocial personality disorder.

So, it would seem to me that in today's volunteer armed forces, applicants would undergo screening and tests that would reveal ODD or other such disorders before placing military assault rifles in their hands.

However, according to the Obama administration and the Department of Homeland Security, all returning veterans display symptoms of ODD, and any exercise of Constitutional freedoms to voice dissent or engage in protest, is cause for arrest and involuntary commitment to a mental health facility.

John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute said that he had been contacted by numerous veterans who had encountered problems with authorities attempting to have them declared mentally ill. Whitehead attributed the high number of cases involving veterans as a consequence of the Department of Homeland Security’s aggressive campaign to demonize former service members as domestic extremists. DHS chief Janet Napolitano said she stood by an April 2009 DHS intelligence assessment that listed returning vets as likely domestic terrorists.

The New York Times reported on how Boy Scout Explorers were being trained by the DHS to kill “disgruntled Iraq war veterans” in terrorist drills.

The FBI has also gone out of its way to characterize returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan as a major domestic terrorist threat. Whitehead pointed to efforts on behalf of health authorities in the United States to characterize distrust of authority as a mental illness under the label “Oppositional Defiant Disorder.” Veterans are being targeted in police raids to confiscate their firearms based on the pretext that they are “mentally defective.”

Critics have made comparisons to the infamous psychiatric prisons in the former Soviet Union where dissidents were sent to be isolated, brainwashed, and have their political ideas discredited.

An OpEd News article addressed a White House initiative titled "Operation Vigilant Eagle," that criminalizes free speech and targets our nation’s best — our vets. The article states:

Thanks to Operation Vigilant Eagle, a program launched by the Department of Homeland Security in 2009, military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are being characterized as extremists and potential domestic terrorist threats because they may be “disgruntled, disillusioned or suffering from the psychological effects of war.” As a result, these servicemen and women – many of whom are decorated – are finding themselves under surveillance, threatened with incarceration or involuntary commitment, or arrested, all for daring to voice their concerns about the alarming state of our union and the erosion of our freedoms.

All of this makes sense in light of the government's impending implementation of martial law. Veterans, those specifically trained in military weapons and combat tactics, would be the frontline commanders in the event of armed resistance. By labeling them as unfit, confiscating their weapons, and prohibiting them from gun ownership, the government is again showing its hand. As the battle lines are ever more clearly drawn, it now appears that our returning veterans are being put in a position where they will be forced to fire on their former brothers and sisters in arms.