Dangerous Freedom
The underpinnings of this country's birth, our Constitution and the lives we lead has been our fierce and unrelenting protection of, and commitment to, our Freedom.
No other country's Constitution recognizes and protects individual freedoms from encroachment by its own government with such fervor. And right now, as we speak, no other country may be as divided as ours over those Civil Rights, as many in this country believe Socialism, big government, and the "greater good" should take precedence over our individual Rights and a small, unobtrusive federal government.
Why are we so afraid of being free? Why are we afraid of personal choice and responsibility? Why are we increasingly intolerant of other's way of life, speech, and thought?
The very nature of Freedom is dangerous. Why? Because our freedom allows people to make their own decisions, to choose how to live their lives, and to express themselves in whatever way they see fit, which means people can get hurt or upset. It allows them to have as many "...here, hold my beer..." moments as they choose, and no matter how bad or good those decisions are, they should be able to make them without interference from the hulking giant that is government, with one caveat...
Shall do no harm.
What exactly does that mean? As a rule, your Rights end at the tip of your nose. If you're at home and want to crank the stereo, go ahead. But if the loud music crosses the line of your property and disturbs your neighbor, this is doing harm. You must turn it down. Simple.
In what other ways is freedom dangerous? Well, if we adhered to the Constitution and did not allow the government - which has been insidiously turning Socialist for years, growing ever bigger - to encroach on our freedoms under the guise of safety, our lives would be filled with "ifs."
- If you want to jump off a cliff with a blanket for a parachute, you could. It's your choice. Bad choice, high risk, but your choice.
- If you want to run a business that only allows a certain clientele, it's your investment, your risk, your choice. Are you ready for the backlash from a free populace that chooses not to enter your establishment in protest? Can your bank account afford to carry your bigotries and the lost business?
- If you want to do drugs till you die? Have at it. Your choice.
- If you want to rail against people of different colors and creeds? No matter how despicable that sounds, it's your choice. Most won't agree with it, but it's your Right to be a bigoted racist. It's also everyone else's Right to turn away from you.
- If you only want to associate with a certain type of people? Your choice. And to those who would want to stop you, they should remember Mensa, The Little People of America, etc, groups who have memberships that only apply to those who pass their standards.
It's all supposed to be your choice.
And I ask you... Do you really want the guy across the street telling you how you must live? By whatever self-righteous moral compass he believes you should be following?
Why would you allow this? And why do you feel the need to control other's lives with the hammer that is 'big government?' And pray tell, what will you do when that same 'big government' turns its sights on you, on your way of life, on what you say and think and believe?
Freedom is dangerous because it implies we must risk people violating the public trust - doing harm before we can respond. Or would you rather live in a society that had a Minority Report accounting? Where innocents are thrown in jail because the Government believes they may do something wrong?
Yet we continue to oppress people who choose to live their lives the way they want. We make laws against "hate speech," because we - the general populace - don't like it. And when we pass legislation that accomplishes this, we pat ourselves on the back, though what we've really done is driven the tyranny train farther down the rickety track of Fascism. The only speech that is not allowed is speech that incites violence towards others.
And where would our Founders stand on today's society? Our Founders would be appalled. Actually, our Founders would probably be arming themselves.
We should protect free speech, even knowing people may abuse it, because when you start down the road to oppressing speech, others become afraid to speak their mind, afraid of the attacks, and with this, good people with good intentions and thought-provoking ideas are silenced by the majority - which is again, nothing more than tyranny. And it's taking place right now in our country. Vicious, vitriolic, and hateful attacks against people concerned about free speech, about parents concerned about schools teaching Critical Race Theory, about people asking questions about the truths and lies of covid.
We should protect the Second Amendment. Allowing the Second Amendment to be repealed would mean turning over complete control of our lives to the Overlords - our government, the military, the police forces, and local governments - once again, tyranny.
Freedom, Liberty, Independence, Self-governance, or Sovereignty - whatever you choose to call it - is who we are. It is the accepted personal risk we take to live our lives how we choose, without interference from the government.
Protecting these principles protects us all.
Protecting the First Amendment means you can say whatever you want, without the government smothering you, smearing you, and silencing you. But it also means having to hear and listen to viewpoints and language you don't like or agree with while risking the danger of someone stepping over the line and calling for violence.
Protecting the Second Amendment means you can protect yourself and your family from personal harm and from a tyrannical government which is showing its true colors right now, as we speak, with Beto O'Rourke and others calling for confiscation. But we do this with the risk that bad people will have guns.
Protecting the Fourth Amendment means you can rest easier knowing the government, the military, or the police shouldn't be able to bust down your door and murder your family, just because they 'think' you might be a risk.
Freedom is dangerous. It means waiting for someone to commit a crime before we can act. It means you can't legislate people's moral conscience. It means you can't put people in jail because they 'might' do something. This means bad things will happen, and we have to live with it. But as Ben Franklin said, "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Our way of life may not be perfect, but it is far better than the alternative... a tyrannical government that legislates us into submission, and if need be, by force at the muzzle of a gun. Don't believe me? Just ask those living in Russia, China, Cuba, Venezuela, Hong Kong, and other Socialist/Communist countries, while reminding yourself...
Our way of life may not be perfect, but it is far better than the alternative... a tyrannical government that legislates us into submission, and if need be, by force at the muzzle of a gun. Don't believe me? Just ask those living in Russia, China, Cuba, Venezuela, Hong Kong, and other Socialist/Communist countries, while reminding yourself...
Amen Brother .
ReplyDelete