Freedom is what they say so many soldiers died for. Freedom, or Liberty, is what the Founding Fathers wanted so desperately to obtain from England. But is this really a free country?
I read a very disturbing article today that sounded like something right out of a communist nation: it's illegal to videorecord police officers on duty in 12 states.
When it becomes a crime to report a crime, you know things are screwed up. As critics of these police-protection laws say, if you could record non-police in a public area, why can't you record the police?
This is a dangerous trend, and a tremendos loss of freedom. Are we really a land of the free?
I suppose for all the illegal immigrants coming in, it is a land of the free. Free healthcare, free schooling for their kids. Tax-free wages. But what about the rest of us? What freedoms do we enjoy in the United States that aren't enjoyed elsewhere in the world?
People here like to declare "America: Love it or Leave it." But is it really that simple? What if your name got put on a no-fly list? Guess you won't be flying out. Can't afford a license for your boat? Guess you won't be sailing out. Can't afford an ID card, guess you can't walk out (you need an ID to enter Canada or Mexico). Could you swim out? Would it be possible to brave the coastal waters of the United States? The Coast Guard would probably stop you if you tried, because very few people can swim a frickin' ocean.
So you're stuck in the land of the free. What can you do here you can't anywhere else?
Can you own a home? If you get approved for a loan. Or maybe inherit a bunch of money. Or save your money for years and years and then pay cash. Those are some big "ifs".
Can you drive a car? Assuming you could afford one, that is. Well, you can drive a car- if you register it, get licensed, and follow the rules. Driving a car "is a privilege, not a right" they like to tell you in Driver's Education.
Rights? There's the bill of rights- part of our constitution. Like the Freedom of Speech, the Right to Assemble, or Right to Bear Arms. Oh, wait, that Arms-thing only applies to militias. Or you have to have a permit if you leave your private property in some states. Assembly? Well, I suppose you can always meet your pals at the mall- assuming no curfew has been established due to some emergency. But if you want to protest, you have to have a permit. Freedom of Speech? You can talk to yourself as much as you like, but try posting something on the internet, or shouting out in public, and there are laws that limit what you can and can't say.
Are you free to die? Maybe not. Congress and Nobama recently passed a Healthcare Act requiring you to have medical insurance (not free insurance- no, it's a mandate you buy insurance). That sounds to me like the government can force you to stay alive, hooked to machines, getting medicines pumped into you. Then again, maybe it's the Freedom to Live they don't like- their National Healthcare could easily result in involuntary cessation of treatments. Against your will.
So what is free? Well, we're sure free to suffer at the hands of our new, hopey-changey, socialist government. No, wait, we're not. That would imply we have a choice. The devilcrats don't make any bones about it- you will comply, you will obey.
Are we Free to vote? We sure are. It's the one freedom that we still do have- as do many oppressed peoples around the world. Will this freedom be exercised? Will we exorcise ourselves of the blight of socialism this November? Our will we continue to let our liberties erode away?
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