Do We Deserve to be Free?

On a sunny, cool morning in Philadelphia, in 1776, the continental congress adapted the declaration of independence of the United States of America. The delegates who signed this document knew full well that by signing this document, they were placing their lives and also the lives of their families in danger. This danger was obviously far outweighed, in their opinion by the vision of a country where men and women could live free of English tyranny. This declaration would frame the foundation for a country where people would be guaranteed that their God-given rights…the most fundamental rights of existence…the rights that they were born with, would never be infringed upon by any government!

With the ratification of the bill of rights on December 15, 1791, the Constitution of the United States guaranteed that the rights of the people as stated within this Bill of Rights would not be infringed upon. American citizens now had the undisputed right to worship as they pleased, speak out against the government, retain the right to be confronted by accusers and to be presumed innocent until proven guilty by an accuser and most importantly, to bear arms so as to always have the means to overthrow a tyrannical government. These are the ideals of a brave people. These are the ideals of an informed people. These are the ideals of a strong, honorable people, who’s moral tenacity, supported by their values and principles justified their right to freedom. In short…Freedom is not free! The King of England for instance, upon receipt of the American declaration of Independence, did not simply smile and proclaim; “so be it!” A free society and specifically our republic, requires its citizens to employ independent responsibility, social integrity and the fortitude to remain informed and aware of the activities of their elected government representatives and to actively participate in the process of a government “of the people, by the people and for the people.”Have we regressed to a society of ignorant, uninformed, lazy, complacent dolts who take our freedom for granted? Do we deserve to be free?

Our current federal government has, within a few short months taken control of private lending institutions, driven two American automobile companies out of business, created an untraceable, historically colossal national deficit that realistically may not be possible to repay and is rapidly encroaching upon our rights that should be protected under the bill of rights.