Liberty and Sacrifice

Why is personal freedom such a big deal? Those of us born in this country have grown up with it our entire lives and sometimes I believe we take it for granted more than almost anything else. It doesn't mean as much to us as it should because we don't understand life without it. I am taking a world history class this semester and my eyes have been open to the incredibly rare treasure that is individual liberty.

The fraction of human beings that have ever enjoyed the liberties that we enjoy in this country is incomprehensibly small. Why is this? Why were so many governments incapable of realizing the prosperity that comes with this freedom? Why?? I think because of one, corrupt and selfish men, and two, that it was literally considered absolutely crazy. History teaches us that governments never trusted their own people. They never believed they were capable of self motivated productivity. Because they are inherently lazy, stupid, and selfish they could never be left to their own devices.

There is a reason why history books sometimes call our country a great experiment. The freedoms we fought for were never before granted in such abundance to any other people to ever have lived. How could such a society possibly survive? Well, as we know, it didn't just survive, it thrived. It became the largest super power the world has ever known. A beacon for hope to all other nations. The promised land. And all of this because of one simple principle- individual liberty.

It is because I value individual liberty so much that I revile liberalism so much. Liberalism seeks to limit our personal freedom, and does so through propaganda and taxation. Most of the time, people don't even realize it. Liberalism believes that adopting a superior moral conscience is more important than preserving individual liberty. The collective is more important than the individual. That is why you are told what you should do all the time by them. Don't turn on the A/C, don't drive SUVs, and don't even think about trying to make too much money. Oh, and of course you are "free" to do whatever you want, but if we don't like what you are doing we will just tax the heck out of it. What kind of liberty is this?

The propaganda machine put in place by our White House seeks to convince us that all of this is done under the noble principle of sacrifice. We have to sacrifice or wants, our lifestyles, and our freedom for the greater good. I reject this. It is as un-American as socialism. It is an insult to our constitution and to our founding fathers. It scares me to death to think about what possible roads this thinking can lead to. No one seems to even flinch when our President roles out the most massive spending plan ever conceived and then tells us that we will need to make sacrifices. Wake up, people!

How is this happening? Because of fear. That is why anyone ever gives up any amount of liberty. We have been successfully convinced that we are incapable of solving our own problems (remember the whole lazy, stupid, and selfish thing?). What choice are we then left with but to surrender our liberty to the The Federal Government so as to save ourselves? From bailouts to regulations to taxation, it all boils down to the principle that Obama and his liberal gang subscribe to and live by- that this country would be better if they had more power and we had less.

I don't think we fully realize the terrible, and actual, sacrifice we are making by surrendering our liberty to them. Forcing people to do what you think is correct is never worth the cost of them losing their liberty. I don't care if you want a Prius, don't drink from plastic water bottles, don't drive SUVs, refuse to participate in capitalism, and want to give all your money to the government. But as soon as you think that I should be forced to do any of those things, either by law or by taxation, then you and I have a serious problem. We are blind to what is happening because we still think of bondage in terms of chains and whips. Yet, unchecked, the type of bondage we are willingly (even gleefully) submitting ourselves to now could lead to much worse. As for me, give me liberty or give me death.