From the outside, your freedoms look pretty good, and that's because they are nicely packaged. You know how that works; it's all about the wrapper these days. And they're broadly outlined in a Constitution that was written back in horse and buggy days and now are applied to a high tech society. But, that old Constitution looks good and is revered by many and held in the same esteem as the Bible. Rights, or freedoms, even sound good when you hear them read aloud, like the right to keep and bear arms. Right, arms. Is that, uh, a single shot musket, or a submachine gun? How about the right to free expression, like speech and press? Try that one on for size and see how it fits. Freely express you thoughts and see what happens, even if that right is protected by some vague law. And, you how the right to worship as you please. Uh, huh? Put a big metal statue of a bull in your yard and start worshiping that in public and see what happens to you. Here's the upshot of it all: All rights, or freedoms, are relative and not absolute. You don't have an absolute right to do anything but die. Wait! That's not right either. If you blow your brains out in a fit of depression, you could be prosecuted for first degree murder . . . were you still alive to be prosecuted.
These things are somewhat reasonable, but it gets worse than that. You have the right to move about freely, right? Well, just partly right. If you travel and drive a car, you must have a registered car with insurance and a license to drive it, and if you cross state lines, you might be subject to checkpoints which determine if your vehicle is mechanically correct, like it's equipped with air pollution equipment not required in your state. Weights and measure change from state to state, and so do traffic regulations you must abide by. What this means is, you're nowhere near being free as a bird. You have a right to ownership of property, but that too is subjective. You can title it in you name, outright own it (owe no money on it), and still be subject to a bevy of restrictions as to what kind of buildings you may have, how they are constructed, and lots of other petty requirements. And if you don't do these things, they fine the crap out of you. And even once it's built, the government will assume they're in partnership with you and demand taxes on it. Yeah, sometimes big taxes.
I could go on and on about living in America, but the more I point out to you about freedoms, the more you'll see how restricted these rights really are. Did the thought ever cross your mind that you are the government's meal ticket? They extract money from other sources, but you're the main target. Government is notorious for being unfair about taxation, leave big loopholes for the rich, let the poorer classes off easy on income tax, and stick it to the moderate wage earner big time. And the U.S. government isn't the main culprit here; it's the states and localities digging into your pocket these days through property taxes and various other levies. And there's a great propaganda machine in place here that convinces you that all of this is fair, it's just the ticket you must buy to ride this great train to freedom. In effect, what it is, dear citizen, is a ripoff. Your freedoms are strictly limited, the government does little to protect you against even worse corporate ripoffs, and that makes you the turkey.
Does that sound to you like a well functioning democracy? Uh, no, but don't worry about it. This country hasn't been a democracy for a long time. It's a system run by and for the vested interests, the top tier of society, and it's a ripoff for almost everyone else. And apparently, you like it that way, or are willing to tolerate it. The good news is that this won't last forever or even for much longer. It won't end with a revolution of the oppressed masses, but it will eventually die from bloat . . . you know, greed. This is what has brought down most great empires, rot from within. If you start sniffing the air, you'll smell it. It's already here, and that means it's just a matter of time before the beast finally dies.
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