The Illusion of Freedom: The Need for Action in Today's America

By Matthew Hayward

Agreeing with the following video during the Bush administration would have made me a left-wing nut job. Now I am just an American that believes in the rule of law.

This Fourth of July, I celebrate being an American who believes freedom is based on government limits. Liberal or Conservative, I don't care what you call me; I just want to live in a society and country where I can have faith in my elected officials and have a functional process to remove them when they have lost the people's trust. Sadly this is not that Country.

America is so far from being a true Democratic Republic that it is disgusting. We live in the illusion of a free society where markets are manipulated, interest rates set, and competition legislated away. We live in a time where if given a choice, more than 50% of adults in the US would vote to throw out all elected officials if given the option to do so. Unforchantly not everyone is allowed to vote, and those who only get to vote for a couple of federal representatives. Those representatives make deals to trade away all our freedoms so as to bring bribes to their voters.

We live in a time where we passively accept the loss of our privacy and liberty, not knowing or believing there is anything we can do to stop it. We escape into material conveniences and unhealthy food and habits. Instead of facing the economic realities and geopolitical strategies, our so-called leaders are at the helm of, we close our eyes and tell ourselves it’s not that bad and we can't do anything about it anyways. Out of fear and pathetic laziness, we sit back while our country commits atrocities with our sweat, blood, and children's lives.

Absolutely everyone can play a role in shaping this country and the world. Knowing the limit of one's ability to influence and cause change is impossible. Please take a couple of hours each month after first taking care of yourself and your family to learn how to get involved and make a difference. Learn that showing up for a rally once in a while has a different impact than making phone calls, donating money, going door to door, and handing out information. Please just do something; you can’t possibly think that everything is okay and there is nothing to be upset about. So do something about it!

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