Freedom - A non-renewable resource.

Freedom is taken for granted by most Americans today. Only the aging seem concerned that liberty for the individual is disappearing at a rate guaranteeing servitude to most of the U.S. population within a few decades. The younger generation do not seem to notice the gradual erosion of individual liberties, often supporting the removal of freedoms as a convenient way to force change that appears for one moment in time to be a reasonable solution to society's ills. This writer is a British born American that in the span of three decades has witnessed the whittling away of personal liberty the United States was renowned for. It is saddening to watch complacency destroy liberty, a non renewable resource that allowed mankind to emerge from its tyrannical feudal past. American people in general do not see a problem with the direction our political leaders and government are taking our country. Many retain an attitude of so long as they are not too adversely affected, why worry.

Back in the early seventies I was on an American Airlines flight from the U.S. to England when an American man sitting in the seat behind me was shocked at being asked by the flight attendant to complete an entry questionnaire ordered by British immigration. He objected, saying he was an American citizen with freedom to travel wherever he chooses. As a British citizen I was surprised that an obviously intelligent person would believe he was free to travel anywhere without being controlled by officialdom. It wasn't until I came to live here that I understood that Americans were used to being free to do many of the things people in other countries could not.

Over the years, the erosion of personal freedom in America has been startling to me. I am now a replica of that man on the American Airlines flight. Every time I see a Click it or Ticket sign, Keep off the Grass sign, or public recreational area closed at dusk order, I wonder how the American people allowed such petty restrictions on their liberties. Now every American is treated like a would-be criminal, or even worse, a potential terrorist. My wife and I are subjected to being on the irrational No Fly List. Whenever we fly, which is almost never nowadays, we are vetted by the List. Phone calls are made, computer keys are pressed, more calls made, and the computer summoned again and yet again before we are allowed to board with honest apologies from boarding staff. I believe half of Americans are now on some sort of official no-can-do list. Sad! What happened to our liberties?

At some point in the loss of personal freedom you also lose the ability to object to the loss. Try objecting to insulting and degrading behavior by an airport Transport Security Administration agent. We are past that point in America now, and no one is objecting. Again, sad.

Everyone knows that the infamous No Fly List is so flawed with bogus entries as to make it useless as a security measure. Yet it is still restricting individual liberty.  Branding people for no reason, and in some cases, restricting air travel completely. And few are objecting because it is not adversely affecting them personally.

Everyone with a brain understands that banning guns will not stop killings, crime, or make America safer. Yet government still wants the ban anyway. And many of  those surveyed support the ban. Why?

A man once told me that he thought all guns should be banned from public ownership. He said they were too dangerous and were not necessary. He said he didn't own one and didn't trust his neighbor to have one. He was so sure he was right it was a waste of time trying reason. He didn't own a firearm but he was an avid motorcyclist, he loved them. He was outraged when I suggested motorcycles be banned because they were dangerous and unnecessary.

Personal liberty was deemed so important to our founding fathers that they guaranteed it could not be removed by government, even highlighting some liberties that they knew for sure would come under attack eventually. For the world to lose freedom's cornerstone, the American people must be duped into believing someone else's freedom is not as important as one's own. If government were sure the American people would support a gun ban they would push for a change in the Second Amendment to the US Constitution. Or, they can devalue personal liberty to a point that you lose the ability to object, then remove all freedoms. This is the way our government is removing freedom. Like the frog being slowly boiled alive, most of America is unaware it is happening.

Look around and try to identify those you would trust to protect your freedoms and you will see how precarious the situation is.

Can you trust your government? Can you trust law enforcement? Can you trust the courts? Can you trust elected officials? Can you trust the media? Can you trust the church? Can you trust your neighbor? Can you trust family members? Can you even trust yourself?

To keep your own personal liberty it is necessary to protect other people's even if you don't think them necessary or important. Every freedom lost is one too many for everyone's personal liberty.

That is what I think. What do you think?


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