Can you imagine freedom?

The less freedom we have, the less people are able to imagine what freedom feels like, and therefore the less they are willing to fight for its restoration.

We see this every day. The people who complain that there are no jobs, but never realize that the tax increases, voted for by politicians they elected, are what caused those jobs to never be created in the first place. The people who complain that the price of gasoline is through the roof, yet never realize that most of what they pay for a gallon of the go-juice goes to taxes. The people who turn down jobs because “they don’t pay as much as I’m getting in unemployment”.

For over 50 years, we’ve been trained to these attitudes by the educational system and the media. The work of those two…august…institutions is nearly complete.

If you want a glimmer of the future we are rapidly striding toward, picture Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy or Soviet Russia in the 30s–with TV to be sure the message gets into every home. If that’s too hard, try Max Headroom or the works of William Gibson. Picture any totalitarian regime you care to think of, and elements of it are in the early stages right here and now.

Time is short for those of us who would rather fail on our own than survive with Nanny watching our every move lest we skin a knee.

We need not only to imagine freedom, but to teach the concept as best we can. Teach your kids, teach your spouse, teach your friends. We need to fight for our freedom in ways small and large. We need to fight for it every day.

This is too important to leave to politicians. Even those who are the most conservative or libertarian simply do not seem to be able to imagine a world in which governments do not have much say in the lives of the people.

There is no recipe for the restoration of freedom. Each of us will simply have to cook our own “freedom stew” out of the ingredients at hand.

And remember, it’s hard to cook without breaking some eggs and making a mess.

One thought on “Can you imagine freedom?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *