“Is
security so dear, or wealth so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains
& slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take;
but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” –Patrick Henry,
paraphrased
Liberty
Already Dead?
On June 9, 2013, Edward Snowden did the unthinkable: he
revealed the NSA’s spying activities on the American public. This act forced
open the once willingly-blind eyes Americans have lived comfortably with for so
long. We are spied upon, from every imaginable angle, by our own government.
What’s funny is, Snowden is praised and demonized for
this action by the very public he purports to be trying to help. Why? We wanted
to believe we were still in America, the one that works hard, to the bone,
lubed by blood and sweat. Truth is, that isn’t the land we live in anymore.
Land of Slaves?
Before we were smacked with Snowden’s irrepressible truth,
Occupy Wall Street attempted to steer us towards the realization on our own
starting on September 17, 2011. With some success, OWS opened us up to reality.
Unfortunately, it slammed so many messages at once that its landscape became
non-traversable. The public didn’t know how to let all the new knowledge sink
in, and thus, OWS went largely ignored.
A 9% unemployment rate during the Occupy movement sparked
some to realize that the majority of Americans are cannon-fodder for “the
elite.” This was the backbone of the many messages OWS held; but it just wasn’t
enough to keep the movement going forward.
With a job market that seems unable to sustain the
ever-growing labor force (mostly due to boomers being unable to retire, ever), both Occupy Wall Street and
Snowden want us to believe that this is the governments fault. Oh, and the
bankers. Let’s never forget how evil the corporate “banksters” have become.
You! You! You! And
the No-Blame Game
“You keep taking our rights!” “You don’t have the ability
to do that according to the constitution!” “You let corporate lobbyist tell you
what laws to make!” It’s all true. Corporate America and the US government
enjoy self-indulging each other with a lavishness most lovers never equate to in
their lifetimes. One second though…how did they get to that point? Let me
guess, it was just magic, or that’s just rich-business as usual, right? Wrong.
The American people got fat, lazy, and dependent on the system. How many years
has it been since you wrote (emailed?) your state’s Representative or Senator?
The President? The mayor of your city? The fact is, the antagonists are all
there; but there are no true protagonists in this story. There are no heroic
patriots.
Who Deserves
Freedom and Liberty?
We want to think there are…ourselves, whether
individually or as “the 99%.” I detest this theory. Our forefathers didn’t
build the Constitution for the lazy, the scared, or the system-dependent man.
They built it for men who would protect it, by being bold, daring, and willing
to lay their life down for liberty. These are the men who now own the wealth,
not because they were born to it…but because the rest of us wouldn’t reach out
and take it.
In 2000, there was an actual paradigm shift in wealth
across America. The dot com era hit us like a locomotive train, and some new
risk-takers became millionaires before this new bubble deflated.
Those risk-takers, once again, reached into the fountain
of wealth and landed careers (and/or money) that would last a lifetime. Once
again, the majority of the population wanted to stay safe, not take the risk,
and came out no better or worse at the end.
America and
Nature’s Law?
Life is a risk. Life owes nothing to you. Life eats the
lazy and scared. Quit blaming the government for your woes when they pay your
food-stamps, unemployment, and other amenities. Stop blaming the banksters.
They don’t care about your poverty-level yearly income.
YOU are responsible for your own destiny and happiness.
Our forefathers worked for every dime (or grand) they found themselves
enjoying. They earned it by working, hard. To the bone. Lubed by blood and
sweat.
What are you doing right now? Sitting on the couch eating
potato chips bought with those food-stamps you demanded your government
provide, so you don’t have to work? Or are you picking up the tool of a trade,
carrying it, learning how to use it while you deal with every obstacle that
tackles you, until you wield your tool with a professional level of
proficiency?
The United States is messed up right now…but remember,
you’re part of the system that let it go bad. It’s your choice: Fight for the
freedoms you’ve lost. Keep those you still have. Or let them all slide out of
your grasp and memory. Do you really deserve Freedom or Liberty? Whatever you
decide to do, stop bitching about how it’s all set up against you.
