Since nations first formed there never has been true freedom for the majority living in the world. It certainly did not and does not exist in America and the “free world” either to the extent that those using this rhetoric claim. Many in America will say that they live in the land of the free, as if true freedom always existed in America and exists today but that is largely not the case. In fact, true freedom could be called an American delusion.
For thousands of years, nations of the world have been run by monarchies, dictators, aristocrats and those that have most of the wealth. Even when there is the rare Republic like America, a ruling elite soon comes to power that restricts the freedoms of those that did not pay tribute to them.
We can go all the way back to America’s earliest days and see that most freedoms only applied to the wealthy. Only white males that owned property could even vote in early America. The majority had no say in our early government.
I don’t think those living under the rule of the white land owners either by actual slavery or by providing the wealthy some needed service thought a great deal about how free they were. Some of these were free to move on to the American territories but at great cost to themselves and others. The path West to the American territories was paved with hardship and blood. Those that fought for and found some freedom usually got it by taking away freedom from others that were occupying the land. Were natives sent to live in reservations free men?
If there had been freedom in the East, not so many would have risked the dangers of moving West. The hope of a better life and freedom from those that kept them subjugated to being second class citizens in the East help expand America toward the West Coast.
For many, freedom did not exist in early America. We can more forward to the time of the Civil War and also see that freedom did not exist for most in America. What men were free not to fight on one side or the other in the Civil War? And if the Union or the Confederacy needed what you possessed, who had any freedom to stop them?
During the early industrial revolution, wealthy barons barely paid men and their children enough to keep them alive. American history tells us that there was a long fight for reasonable working hours, living wages, and safe working conditions in this nation. There was not much freedom for those working under the robber barons of the early industrial revolution.
Later, in World War I and World War II, the federal government ruled over all in the name of national security. Who had the freedom to say they did not want to serve the government led war efforts? In the Second World War, Japanese Americans were even rounded up and put in concentration camps because president Franklin D. Roosevelt decided that Japanese Americans should be free men.
Afterward, in Korea our “free men” were drafted to fight for a UN police action. Then In Vietnam, millions of American men were drafted to fight and die in an undeclared war and police action because certain politicians said that they must. We were told that America was a “free nation” fighting for the “free world” to stop the spread of Communism, but were Americans free to refuse the decrees of professional politicians being controlled by the military industrial complex?
So what did making men fight for the “free world” do for America in hindsight? Today, North Korea, Vietnam, China, and parts of Southeast Asia are still Communist. And America has now freely adopted most of the Communist platform that we fought against and now America even has a defacto Communist president that does not abide by our Constitution and is being allowed to dismantle our Republic. Men died to keep this “free world”?
I won’t get into the Gulf wars because these men volunteered to join the military. They were free to leave once they finished their enlistment term (unless it was extended) or they were carried out in body bags.
The freedom delusion continues in America today. What can you legally do today that government does not allow? Do you really select and elect your representatives in Washington or does media and money select them? Could you really get any presidential candidate nominated and elected in the 21st century that was not first approved by the power elite that exists to take away wealth and freedoms from average Americans?
Are people truly free, or just being delusional, when government takes almost half of what the middle-class earns in taxes and fees, and then makes half of all Americans at least partly dependent on funds doled out by government? Not to mention all the strings they attach to those funds.
Did multi-billionaires really earn all of their money through hard work or through government favor and destroying American jobs through globalist deals so that these corporations could amass huge profits? What ever happened to the antitrust laws that were supposed to thwart predatory capitalists?
The “free” government that we have, seems to think that if two corporations own most of America in any field, then we are still operating under the free enterprise system. With that thinking, a few hundred corporations can control the whole nation and use mostly foreign labor to underbid and destroy our middle-class. That is mighty close to where we now find ourselves now.
The billionaires and the billion dollar corporations control most of the jobs and wealth in America but you cannot work for them unless you agree to support their globalist and secular humanist agenda. The only freedom they give to those that reject their secular humanism worldview and religion is unemployment.
Where is freedom allowed in the land of the free today? It seems to me that government intrusion is everywhere and most everyone lives under government and corporate tyranny. Even state and local governments are in everyone’s business about everything. The “free people” of America are mostly only free to have delusions of freedom in their own mind. Even those that die and escape the Satanic “free world”system will not be free from their bondage unless they first were made alive in Christ.
I am so glad that I am living in YHWH’s Grace. You are absolutely correct. That is the only place to find true freedom and a resting place where promises will be kept.
A few years ago I came upon the name of General Smedley Butler. A military man that told the truth regardless of the blowback. I was too young to vote for President Dwight D. Eisenhower but I would have been honored to do so. Listen to both of these men’s candid speeches on YouTube.
Thank you for your diligent work and labor of love.
Dorrene
This article makes me think of Romans 13 concerning authority. Guess I’ve always known the closer the world moves to Christ’s return, the more unified the world’s governments will become (and not in a good way for those who follow Christ).
I just try to follow Christ’s examples and look to God for support and guidance. But, I’m just a simple East Texas man, after all.
This looks like a good place to sound off. Maybe Americans have never been truly free but I notice what we have had being chipped away at until the loss of a freedom is accepted as normal and even accepted as being ‘good for us.’ Take pre employment drug screening for example. Who’s the target here? The politicians who run the country and make the laws we live under or business owners, or judges? The point is it is for some of the people, not all of the people and do you really believe hard-core addicts are seeking legitimate employment? I don’t have the statics on how many middle class people smoke marijuana but I can tell you there are plenty of them driving on the road with you probably on their way to work after they stopped long enough to pass the drug screen. So what is the point?
I mentioned cigarette smoking on another thread recently but of course no one wanted to touch it because you don’t approve of it. However, it’s the low income people who are being targeted in the housing projects, not the people who can afford to live in pricey apartments or their own homes. The point again is that if you don’t support freedom of choice for one segment of society you will surely find yourself a target at some time for some thing because the powers will not approve of your choices.
Don is absolutely right about this administration making people dependent on it. I know I’m a citizen of heaven but I’m also a citizen of the U.S. and this is where I have to live for now. I’m increasingly frustrated at the brain-washing the American people have allowed themselves. Before anyone jumps on me I’m not talking about supporting perversions.
Don, you couldn’t be more right. In the course of roughly 20 years working as a Police Officer in a varied stew of assignments, I have seen the RAPID overreach of alleged Police powers in the guise of “security and safety”, the willful aquiescence of the population post 9/11 to comply with same, and, for the umpthteen time, the aggressive militarization of Police Departments EVERYWHERE to “ensure” the “domestic tranquility of the locals, all the while for the sheep to march happily to slaughter. Does anyone here think I am being overreactive in this assessment? Guess what…you haven’t seen what I’ve seen the past couple of years regarding “security measurement” for control of the population if you do. I can’t wait to be disassociated from this “noble” profession very soon. I didn’t sigh up to be a Nazi. Don’t kid yourselfs…every time you are pulled over for a “random” D.L., D.U.I., or city sticker, the only thing that is missing is some uniform asking you in a thick German accent “Let me see your papers”. Free? You are right Don…more right than most people would want to know or admit.