Shackles in the Land of the Free

Numerous statesmen have cited the United States of America as the prime example of a free society, recounting the American founder’s courageous struggle to secure their own liberty and build a nation in which they could live as they wanted. America prides herself on her heritage of freedom, on ancestors’ heroic sacrifices, on government by the consent of the governed…how strange it is then, that modern America, the so called “bright beacon of freedom for the world,” is willingly relinquishing its freedom. We’ve all studied the famous words of Patrick Henry, “Give me liberty or give me death!,” but today America’s citizens surrender their liberties without a fight, without a condition, without a question.

To whom is it then that America gives up her freedom so quickly and willingly? It is no encroaching foreign nation, but rather a much more subtle entity within American borders that has the potential to destroy the USA much more efficiently than an international threat—our own Federal government. Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Hamilton—the geniuses we credit with the construction of our prosperous country’s foundation, stressed limited government and strict separation of powers between local and federal government. They prized the decision-making of the individual over that of bureaucrats, emphasizing the dangers of a centralized governing body out of touch with those it represents. Current American politicians and government officials pretend to revere our founding fathers and their ideas, but our country’s current leaders have strayed so far from their values and vision that Washington, Jefferson, and Hamilton are now no more than bold print names in textbooks and worn faces on our currency. We’ve come a long way over the last 200 years…in the wrong direction.

Most of America’s leaders, beginning with FDR and continuing with Obama, have thrown the founder’s wisdom to the wind, allowing the federal government to gorge itself on individual rights and personal property and vomit back a myriad of inefficient programs that are an insult to capable and responsible citizens. Instead of carrying out the Constitution’s specific six-fold purpose for the federal government, bureaucrats now seem to pursue an impossible utopian society through tens of thousands of tax-payer funded government programs. It’s laughable how the majority of our elected officials, those who are supposed to be intelligent enough to make good decisions in the best interests of their society, continue to work for the expansion of federal authority in the face of its blatant failure in the past and present with poor public services and bankrupt initiatives. Those who share the view that the American federal government is a disgrace often cite an endless list of failed government agendas that waste millions of taxpayer dollars. Facts and figures offer convincing proof of the harms of big government, but we should also consider several simple questions that appeal to common sense. In an age of exorbitant taxes that are poised to increase even more under the Obama administration, what is just? That you spend the money you earn on the goods and services you please or that the federal government take more and more of it to waste on inefficient programs of its choosing? In an era where local and state government authority is squashed beneath the weight of the federal government power, who knows best how to govern your town or city? The people who live and work in your district or overpaid bureaucrats in Washington who make decisions that won’t affect them? In a time period where entitlements are doled out for every imaginable “disadvantage,” do you need government to give you an inefficient solution to every challenge that life brings, or are you competent and responsible enough to discover the best solutions through your own intelligence and hard work?

Common sense answers these questions in favor of the individual, the American citizen. Shouldn’t we then be outraged at this oppressive federal government of ours that has mutated out of control and consumed our precious freedoms? We could be…except for one small thing—ours is a representative government which means that the majority of Americans elected the irresponsible politicians that have overseen the growth of federal power and resulting loss of individual liberties. The sad part is that most Americans didn’t mistakenly cast an ignorant vote and regret their ballot choice shortly thereafter. On the contrary, blinded by enticing campaign promises from liberals and conservatives alike, today’s citizens have bought into the idea that government owes them a living and traded their hard-won freedoms for an alphabet soup of federal programs. Far removed from the Washingtons, Jeffersons, and Hamiltons of the founders’ generation, this generation of Americans has decided that life’s challenges are too much for the ordinary citizen to manage and must be trusted to the much wiser and more capable federal government. This generation has opted for a life of ease in which the government spoon-feeds them all the answers and opportunities rather than one of self-determination in which we discover and make our own.

Never has the shameful state of America been so apparent than with the recent election of Barack Obama. The new and improved Mr. President, champion of diversity, international icon, and oh-so-eloquent orator swept into the White House and with that winsome smile and compelling baritone voice told us the answer to ailing America’s problems—increase the size and power of the federal government by socializing and regulating free enterprise. The crowd went wild and the world awarded him the Nobel Prize. The problem is that today’s Americans, disillusioned with the Bush administration, embraced Obama’s vague “change you can believe in” without researching its true nature and consequences. Younger Americans, especially those in the college or just beginning their careers like me, jumped on the Obama bandwagon just because it was something different. The charismatic young senator from Illinois appealed because he seemed new, promised to break the mold, could deliver a good speech, and looked great on TV cameras. After eight years of Bush being cast internationally as a bungler, America sought a more popular figure head. They found him and foolishly put superficiality before reason, electing a man who is now doing irreparable damage to the land of the free in the name of reform and progress. The election of Obama indicates that the majority of Americans no longer understand the value of their freedoms. Some are ignorant and don’t realize that expanding government destroys individual liberties. Others recognize the trade-off between big government and personal freedom but prefer a mediocre life of ease facilitated by the government to the rewards of hard work and self-determination. Both scenarios spell disaster. The current trends of American leadership engender a society that seeks excuses before taking responsibility and depends on others to fix their own problems. The once-admired freedom fighters who founded our country weren’t willing to let others make decisions for them, spend their hard-earned money, or dictate poor solutions to life’s challenges. Are we? America had better wake up because the state of this union is appalling.

One of America’s Presidents understood the value of freedom, the perpetual threat of tyranny, and the high stakes we face daily.

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” Ronald Reagan