The general consensus of most Americans; or rather what we have been trained to believe, is that We the People control our own destiny and that the government is run by the people and for the people.
The question that has been in the front of my mind as of late is;
“Are we and have we ever truly been free?”
As children we are told what to do and trained in the way that we should go. We are told that as long as we live in our parent’s house we will do it their way and that when we are adults we can have it our way but, as we grow up we learn; rather quickly, just what a whopper of a tall tale that is.
Reality is, there is a price to pay for everything and Freedom is not cheap.
Seems this Freedom that everyone talks about is the most precious commodity around and the supply and demand tends to run rampant. The fact that Freedom is in such short supply; growing shorter daily just like all of our natural resources, increases the demand for it and; just like fuel prices, bumps the cost up and up and up.
It is said; “Freedom isn’t Free”, in honor of all of those serving and having served in the U.S. armed forces.
I will and can agree with that sentiment but, I wish to take it a step further. I am more inclined to state that the idea of Freedom as has been given to us under the terms of Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness isn’t real either. While we have these concepts set in the proverbial stone of the Declaration of Independence as unalienable rights they are not, for all intents and purposes reality.
The reason is simple:
As stated in the Declaration: “...to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
We the People have lost track of the real American Dream.
Our government is supposed to derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed”.
Have we given that consent? The truth is, YES by complacency.
It says it right there is the words of the Declaration, “...mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed”. If that’s not complacency by definition then I don’t know what is.
Now of course it is prudent to make note that our forefathers were speaking of King George III and in so doing many of them likely didn’t consider the implications of what this Declaration might or could mean to us here in the 21st century.
Were they speaking of our generation(s) when they wrote the words, “...
Right of the People to alter or to abolish it” in reference to destructive government?
While I would love to say yes, the reality is that they were likely only considering the persecution that they and their constituents were under at the present time; way back in 1776.
Now fast forward 235 years later...
Our elected officials refuse to cooperate on a bipartisan level usually based on their religious views and they damned sure aren’t representing the people in most cases.
Am I Tea-Partier?
No; not a chance, because that’s a farce too.
The Boston Tea Party was about taxation without proper representation: meaning that the taxers of the tea (the British government and the East India Company) were not the representatives that the Boston Tea partiers had elected.
We; and I use the term loosely, elected our representatives and therefore any taxing that they do to us is by default authorized by us, their constituents. That said the “Tea Party” of the present era is a complete misnomer and a distortion of the facts that they themselves profess to fight against.
Our Freedom is dwindling away on a steady stream of disillusionment and complacency.
The American dream no longer exists; if it ever truly did, and our unalienable human rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness live only in the hearts and the heads.
So the moral to all of this:
The only true Freedom is found in the heart and thoughts of the free thinker. These are the people who dream the dreams that actually change the world. This is the true Freedom that Sir William Wallace was touting. It is not the myth of Freedom, the freedoms that really don’t exist that our “elected” leaders continue to tease us with like the proverbial carrot on a stick.
The only true Freedom is in the heart, the mind and the soul.
As Sir William Wallace touted:
“You can take my life...”
Freedom may one day be truly reached for our world but only through a moment of enlightenment, not by a season of entitlement. I hope I’m here to see it when that day comes and then I will truly celebrate Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as a real and tangible thing rather than simply a pleasant thought.
Only time will tell the tale...
As I Breathe,
~C
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I would love to hear your comments and thoughts however, please remember that this is MY blog and I wouldn't be hateful or bash you on your blog...constructive comments are always welcome.