Red1Bangarang

On this Independence Day, I've been reflecting a bit about the nature of what freedom and independence means to me. 249 years of freedom. It's all a lie. We have been free since the first humans walked the earth. 249 years does not cover it. Whether you call it God given rights, or natural rights, it existed long before any government was even thought of. Many think freedom is doing, behaving, or believing whatever you want. Whatever makes you happy. It's a false idea. Happiness is fleeting, and so is your freedom if that's your guiding principle. Freedom is being able to be able to do the right thing, for the right reasons. Not a selfish right. What many don't realize is that rights come with responsibility. If you neglect your responsibilities, you end up losing your rights. But you don't actually "lose" them. You instead pass off both your responsibilities and your rights to and immoral irresponsible government. They are no longer rights. They are permissions you must ask or pay for from a government who does not know you, and couldn't care less about freedom, you or your family. It has hardly peaked in the past decade. I'm not going to mention names because smart people get real stupid when names get mentioned. People are fallible, and you can't  make an argument they aren't. People suck, people change, and people die. Principles are forever. They should be the foundation you build your whole view on. Not saying you can't change over time, you probably should as you mature and learn new information. But, if your ideas change based on the issue, the person or the time, they are only ideas, opinions or emotions. They aren't principles. Principles do not die. You may die for principles, but the principles live on. People everywhere have lost themselves in themselves. And the result has been a collapse of the types of societies that have made a flourishing world made by a principled people. I get that it's almost impossible for people to understand what we have, because they've never been places where it doesn't exist. But those people have put us on the precipice of losing everything. They either know and they want it, or they are ignorant of how things could be if we keep failing ourselves and our country. I wish they knew the cost coming due. But I sincerely hope they never find out. It's not to late to stop the slide. Freedom is a gift by God you have been given, that you have to earn daily by your actions. The government might disagree. But given the freedom to do what is right is powerful. If we did what is right, the government wouldn't have anything to encroach upon. Once we hold ourselves to these standards, we would hold those we elect to those standards. Fraud and corruption would be unthinkable. Freedom is just a word. It means absolutely nothing if I isn't backed by action and principles. It is Independence Day. I like the lake, beer, blowing up fireworks. Is that what Independence means? What did we claim Independence from? Easy answer, but... What did we claim Independence FOR? Are we still living up to those principles? It doesn't seem to me that we are. So why are you celebrating? What have you done to advance it? Are you making sure your children and grandchildren get to live with the same Freedom? If you aren't, it's not Freedom. It's a privilege. It is Independence from tyranny, not Independence from responsibility.