Our Freedoms Are Unique Among Nations

But, too much Freedom breeds complacency.

We Americans take freedom for granted. Why not? We haven’t had to defend the freedom of our citizens since the War of 1812! We fight with and for other people around the world, and we convince ourselves that if we don’t stop authoritarian movements like the North Vietnamese, or the North Koreans, or even the Sandinistas of Nicaragua, that they may eventually be at our borders. So our young men, and more recently our women too, go out and fight to the death to preserve something that has become second nature. And for that amazing sacrifice, too many of our spoiled rotten citizens hold our military in contempt!

Fighting wars has become politically incorrect, because, I guess, some people are convinced that freedom is indigenous to the human spirit and can never be revoked. And the truth is, since the War of 1812, American freedom has been ubiquitous

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So what happens when a cultural system of governance, a social habit, becomes second nature? With so much freedom to make your own decisions, to work or not to work, to practice birth control or not, to be religiously devout or not, to be courteous or just rude, what effect does that incessant lack of responsibility do to human beings?

Is freedom like paint, where over time it erodes and peels? Is it like skin, that grows old and wrinkled and less attractive as when it was young and taught and tender? Is freedom a jacket that we wear, but can be removed? Is it just an idea, that has no tangible presence except that when it isn’t present, life is more often unbearable?

People all over the world acknowledge the “idea” of America, that the government belongs to and works for the people, is unique among nations. That is why so many people immigrate here if they have the opportunity. They see the great abundance we enjoy: the fresh food, the great healthcare, the widespread availability of schooling, training and advancement. They see the integration of races, religions and sexes. They know how America has, for generations, been the critical parent of the rest of the world, standing up to the Nazis and the Communists of Russia, China, and eastern Europe. We have created an era of peace unlike any other in the history of mankind.

But all good things must pass, or so they say in history books and literature and in social conversations around the world. No dynasty in the history of mankind has survived more than a few generations. One after another, they all start to crumble under their own weight. They slowly erode into the landscape of history, just as they reach their peak of success and excess.

The Kingdom of the Pharaohs, the Aztec and Mayan Dynasties and the Roman Empire, all gone, all ashes in between the layers of turf that coat the planet Earth. Will the Era of Freedom, the American Dream, the post World War Era pass on under the relentless decay of self inflicted traumas from racial, ethnic, gender and tribal conflict?

It is apparent that we have passed the peak of our personal freedoms. There are far fewer of them now than just a decade ago: Freedom of speech is nearly gone. Since the inception of politically correct speech, we all have to be very careful about how we discuss religion, work or anything controversial, because much of our language, many simple words, are now classified as ‘triggering.’

We cannot travel with impunity anymore. It is no longer rare for people to be detained at the airport after being searched for weapons, or contraband.

We cannot run our businesses any way we want anymore. There are all kinds of laws involving employee rights, salary equality, and sexual discrimination. Laws that interfere with how, who and for how much business owners can staff their company.

We cannot just rent or sell our property anymore without worrying about how we word advertising, how we interview candidates and what we allow renters to do with our property.

The hull of the Unsinkable American Dream Ship is starting to feel the effects of two hundred years of rust. And the waters we are navigating are never going to stop lapping at our weaknesses, our complacency and our arrogance.