The Dying Ember of Freedom: A Most Disturbing Trend

Freedom in the United States has always been a light that burned so bright it could be seen from even the farthest reaches of the Earth. Our citizens had always been active participants in expanding and preserving freedom. We abolished slavery, fought for women’s suffrage, and stood side by side during the civil right movement. Yes, at one time it seemed we knew what freedom was and embraced it with our very beings. But times have changed and now that once raging inferno is now no more than a small dying ember with barely a glow left. During this election season it seems that Americans are going to flock in record numbers vote against freedom.

            Perhaps though it isn’t freedom we now shun but the responsibility that walks hand in hand with freedom. In a free society each and every one of us is responsible for the freedom we have. We are free to succeed and we are free to fail. One of the harsh truths of freedom is that we are responsible for our station in life based on how we have chosen to govern our freedoms. Yes, there are things that happen beyond our control, but we still have the freedom to choose how we will react, and we have the freedom to prepare or not to prepare for such events.

Handing this responsibility of freedom over to the government is at the very heart of Barack Obama’s campaign. Tens of thousands turn out to hear Obama speak his platform and they cheer when he speaks of taxes, health care, and education. I listen to the same words, but I do not cheer. I wonder why we are so eager to hand our responsibilities over to the government. I wonder if we cherish freedom as we did just a few years ago. I wonder if we even still understand what true freedom is or the magnitude of responsibility that exists in a free society.

I hear people almost in tears of joy speak about how Barack Obama is going to educate their children. They talk about his policy of starting more early education programs and his talk of a college education being a right. Do these same people realize that as a parent early childhood education is their responsibility? Do they know it is their responsibility to save for a college education or to seek out scholarships or loans? We seem to have forgotten that “Mom” and “Dad” are more than just titles, they are full time jobs, and that our children need us, not the government, to teach and provide for them.

I hear Barack Obama supporters cheer when he talks about taxes. I hear them almost giddy over comments like “spreading the wealth”. We as Americans like to think we are hard workers and we have the right to keep our earnings. But Obama and his supporters don’t seem to have a problem reaching into the pocket of others to take what they have earned. When did this become acceptable? Some with call this “leveling the playing field” or “helping working families”, but is this anything other than the redistribution of wealth? Have we forgotten that each of us is responsible for our own standard of living? If we want more out of life we have the freedom to obtain what we want on our own. It may take some time and effort, but at least we will have earned it.

These are just a two of the numerous policy stands of Barack Obama that work to shed the American citizenry of responsibility and in the process shed us of our freedoms. The answer to success in a free society isn’t a secret. If each of us accepts the responsibility of freedom and uses that freedom wisely we will find ourselves in a much better place than government control. It isn’t too late to rekindle the fires of freedom and though the road to success through freedom may be longer and take more effort it will be that much sweeter in the end because we will still be free.