|
For those who would be free... work at it
by Bruce Humphrey 5/1/06
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. That's how Thomas Jefferson defined the responsibility and the duties of those who would be free. What he was saying is this: Freedom is not a static thing, not something that, once won, will hold steady. Freedom is something that will surely be lost if you don't defend it, simply because other forces at work want things that limit your freedom. Such a concept doesn't apply just to other countries, other forms of government, other religious orders. It applies to your own government and the people who work for you as public employees, as well. By serving political contributors, which is to say the wealthy, government must take sides against the commoner - and it does so with the aid and blessings of media, which are themselves very wealthy and interested first and foremost in increasing the wealth of those who have it. The result is less power to individuals and more to the government; less self-determination by individuals and more authoritarian dictates from public employees; less privacy for people who just want to be left alone and more intrusive activities and rooting around in personal affairs by government; less money for wage-earners, more fat-city lifestyles for our employees; less time for personal pursuits, more time and inconvenience spent kowtowing to government rules and demands. Reading and believing the above list of absurd transgressions against us does not solve anything. It is up to you and me to stand up to the rich and powerful and bring Justice For All for a change. We inherited the gift of freedom. Thousands of our youngsters have died in battlefields throughout the world, and are dying still, to preserve that freedom. And here we sit, letting that freedom sift away to a greedy government/media/corporate society. If we aren't willing to find out what government is doing and then write a letter or an e-mail, make a phone call, or vote - if that is beyond us, then the great men like Jefferson and the thousands upon thousands of warriors who who gave us our freedom have lived in vain. It's time for you to get off your chair and get the job done. |