What Happened to America?
We’ve been taught since were young children that we live in the freest country in the world. We grew up quoting the pledge of allegiance that talks about how our country has liberty and justice for all. That all sounds great, but is it true anymore?
When I was young, we had to pay taxes, but other than the occasional traffic stop and fine, the government pretty much left us alone to live our lives as we saw best. I know we didn’t have the freedoms that existed in the late 1800’s when people could do what they wanted with their property and the government did not steal part of their income every year.
Back then if a person wanted to go into business, they just put a sign up and they were in business. They also got to keep all of their profits and did not have to file papers with the government every year.
Now, we cannot even have work done on our own houses without asking a government bureaucrat for permission to do it. We can’t open a business without getting permission from someone who has no stake in our business.
If we lose money in business, that is all our problem and we suffer for it. However, if we make money, Uncle Sam is there with his hand out to collect money that the government didn’t help to earn.
A person can’t leave the country without filing the appropriate paperwork to get a passport. Anymore, we can’t spread manure without getting a certification from the government. People can’t even cut someone else’s hair without having the proper license!
The government regulates what we can buy and what we can’t buy. A farmer can be put in jail for selling a willing customer milk from a cow. Water heaters cost a lot more because of government regulations. The government even keeps tabs on how much of your own money you try to draw out of the bank.
Americans have their phone calls and emails listened to and evaluated by government agencies. Our bank accounts can be frozen in a heartbeat without us ever being convicted of a crime. We have IRS agents targeting certain individuals and the EPA fining people whenever they feel like it.
If you think we still live in a free country, then you obviously don’t know what being free means. Being free means you have the right to do what you want with your own property as long as you don’t harm another person while doing it. It means that only you need to know where your money is and what you are doing with it.
I really yearn for freedom again. I want to be solely responsible for my well being and success. Shouldn’t I be able to make my own choices about what I put in my body. I want to be able to decide what happens with the money that I earn. I don’t think that is being selfish, I think it is just being free.