Are We Free?

Recently, there is much discussion over the concern of losing our liberties.  I, too, have written about the importance of the coming election in relation to protecting our freedom.  All of this is based on the assumption that we are, or at least have recently been, FREE.  Is this a correct base for our arguments and protests?

Are we free as Americans?  There are degrees of freedom and the answers would vary depending on what issue is being considered.  But, in general, we have long ago surrendered various aspects of being free.  At some point in the past, our elected officials usurped power over us and once they got away with it, additional attacks on our rights and liberties have been common place.  Based on the writings of our Founding Fathers, this was an issue from the very beginning.  Americans were warned about men in government lusting for more power and control.  Benjamin Franklin stated that we have a Republic, if we can keep it!

Well, we did not keep it pure for very long.  Americans have been guilty of sending people to Washington who had no desire to protect us from those who have gradually stripped away at our freedom.  The United States, presently, is so far from the freedom we started with that it would no longer be recognizable.  We ask government for permission to do just about everything that pertains to life and the pursuit of happiness.

We are required to have a social security number as individuals or a taxpayer identification number as a business.  We need a license to operate a business, get married, drive a car, hold a rally in a park, etc.  We ask permission from the building and zoning department to build a house or change the house we have.  We get fined if we do not wear a seatbelt.  We pay taxes for just about everything we do.  The government controls the airwaves, the waterways, the sky and highways.  They tell us where we are allowed to go in the national forests and parks.  We are charged fees to use public lands.  We are prohibited from using our own land if some rare insect is found there.  Our churches ask the IRS for permission to operate with tax favors.  Our leaders tell us what we can and cannot say.  The first two of the Bill of Rights have been trampled at every opportunity.  This list could go on and on, but you get the message.  We are controlled from cradle to grave. 

The master hoax has been to convince us that we are still free while our public servants have turned us into their servants.  They no longer represent us and humbly serve, they seek the prestige of power and authority.  Once they have a taste of being master, they are found doing whatever it takes to maintain their position.

Conservatives are targeting the Liberals in this and coming elections, but our problems did not start with Obama, Pelosi and Reed.  We have been asleep for generations and only now are the masses beginning to awake and take notice that America no longer follows our Constitution.  We bought the lie that it is a "living document" whose meaning changes with the seasons.  We accepted "a wall of separation between church and state."  We were told that any form of gross behavior is protected as a freedom of expression, under the first amendment.  Yet, when political opponents speak out, they are at risk of being investigated by the FBI and IRS as intimidation.  When we buy a gun, Washington must give us permission.  Unborn babies are routinely murdered with no consequence, but if you shoot a spotted owl, you can go to jail.  Not only are you not allowed to enter our public forests and cut down a tree for firewood, without permission, but in many places you must get a permit to cut down a dead tree in your own yard. 

What is your definition of freedom?  As I look around, we have already lost freedom according to mine.  This election is not about keeping our freedom, it is about stopping the avalanche of attacks against the threads of liberty that still hang from our tattered flag.  We are no longer freemen, we are just a little more free than many in other nations.  As we are now watching, we recognize the blatant, full-frontal assault against what liberties that remain.  We are now told that we "must" purchase health insurance or be fined (unless you gain favor with Obama).  We are told that we "must" bail out banks, car companies, Fannie Mae, insurance companies, unions, pension plans, foreign counties and their banks; or the world economy will collapse.  When we say, "NO", they do not seem to hear and they vote "YES" anyway.  Their arrogance tells us that we cannot find out what is in the bills they are passing until it is too late.

The tail is wagging the dog!  Finally, the dog has begun to bark and bite.  On November 2, it will time to start chewing on that darn tail full of flees and blood sucking tics.  Turning this monster around is going to be very difficult, but it is possible.  We do it by winning over one disheartened Liberal at a time.  We do it by properly teaching the next generation the truth.  We do it by taking responsibility for ourselves and our families.  We stop looking for government to meet our needs and wants.  We hold Washington accountable to us.  America can once again become the land of opportunity.  The concept of the American dream can be revived.  Dig in and get to work!  It is time for the frog to jump out of the frying pan.