The Freedom Papers - an Introduction

This article is one in a series titled, "The Freedom Papers," a work dedicated to sanity. Therefore, may it be a thumb in the eye of mainstream media, subjective science, lazy religion, agenda philosophy, lobbied politics, elitism, and those that would abuse mankind with them.

Imagine this scenario…

You go over to your friend’s apartment to hang out. He has a huge penthouse overlooking the city, and he has invited you to a swanky dinner party. You grew up with this friend on the same streets, and although he is now much more wealthy and powerful than you, he has always been a great, down-to-earth kind of guy. A real gem, who never seemed to lose sight of his roots. Plus you certainly don’t mind sharing in the finer things now when you two hang out! You used to be really good friends, but as of late your friend has become distant like he is hiding something from you. Actually, now that you come to think of it, he has been acting really weird. He has been saying a lot of erratic and contradictory things while trying to convince you that everything is okay. It seems a funny thing now, since you have never asked if anything was wrong to begin with; after all, he always seemed to have it together, and you have never had to be his keeper in the past. Well he has been losing weight and looking a bit haggard these days, but you’ve just been chalking it up to work stress. But it’s coming in waves now as you realize the last few times you have hung out, he has had ‘friends’ over that he introduced extravagantly as ‘professionals.’ They have defended his actions and the strange behavior and have helped to explain why he was normal and why you were crazy to question them. As you enter the kitchen, you notice that they are all here tonight. Oh well, ‘I’ll just have the bartender make me a new friend’ you say as you get your scotch and head for the couch. You have this weird feeling as someone joins you and explains that there is a perfectly plausible phenomenon making you anxious about your friend, but it’s something that you are experiencing; it’s your problem. After a long soliloquy, you finally have a chance to ask a pointed question, but your old pal comes in and alerts, ‘dinner time!’ You sit at one end of the table, your friend at the other, and all the experts in between. There is so much c hatter about everything and nothing all at once that you question whether any dinner guest is even being real with themselves at this point. You want to bail, but your friend has talked up the meal all week, and it’s better than fast food and whatever’s on basic cable at your house. And finally several waiters in tuxedos and white gloves come out to serve dinner. Your friend stands up and with his glass raised exclaims that you, as the honorary guest, will be served first! Okay, this is still weird, but it is nice. Then the large silver tray comes down in front of you, and the lid comes off with a cloud of steam and…

It’s a giant piece of crap—garnished with a mint leaf.

Literally, a piece of feces. Dog feces, if you’re not mistaken (based on the smell). You look up, and everyone is staring at you. After an awkward pause, each expert takes their turn— one explaining the nutritional properties, another that it is a delicacy in China, that ‘you can’t knock it until you try it!,’ that most third world countries would be happy to have it, that it is psychologically strategic, that it will make you rich, that it is an honorary dish, and lastly, ‘why just last week my wife told me to eat it and die!’ But tell me friend… are there enough experts at that table to convince you to eat that turd?

This country is facing an economic and financial crisis that would bankrupt most countries’ IMAGINATIONS. We’re facing a political floundering of career politicians owned by special interest groups, the likes of which we haven’t seen for a century. We’re facing environmental and biological hazards that are jeopardizing our health and destroying our planet. We’re facing a disparity in wealth distribution that the lords of the dark ages would envy, and we are fighting a war of morality and decency everywhere we turn. We have a problem! And I am tired of listening to our government tell me everything is going to be alright. And I am tired of the government’s friends telling me that I am the crazy one. And frankly, I am tired of the taste it is leaving in my mouth.

A nursery rhyme for the future children of America:

Republicans are Red,

Democrats are Blue,

Who really cares?

We’re all getting screwed.

One of the greatest fallacies facing American politics today is that ‘it is what it is.’

I wouldn’t call myself a typical American; I mean, I make barely over minimum wage, have an average car, an average house, and I live the typical ‘American experience’ as it were. I am also a white male of average height and weight. I highly doubt that I am smarter than you or that anyone could pick me out of a line-up. I guess what I am saying is that in almost every way I’m pretty darn average. Except for that one thing… I am freakishly devoted to the American idea. I love America; it was my first love. At this point it is crucial to point out that I don’t like where America is or where it is going, but that doesn’t diminish my love. Just because the most special thing in my life has turned wayward and away from greatness doesn’t mean I just go find a new home. If anything, it means I need to love it more than ever, and save it from itself. To help remind it that it was once good- great even. To remind it that it is worth saving and that it is important. The truth is: the survival of America is absolutely essential to the future of the world looking like the future instead of a repetition of the past. But it’s not as simple as picking ourselves up by our bootstraps and dusting ourselves off is it? No; we are in a pretty deep, really large hole, and the toughest road is ahead of us yet.

If you think that America is okay, and that what we are doing is acceptable, I want you to stop reading right now. Do not insult me or yourself by reading another word; step away from the paper and put your head back in the sand. If you think that we’re doin’ alright, you’re part of the problem and although you are not harmless, you are worthless in the task before us to effect a real change in our country so that we will still have a country tomorrow.

That being said, I don’t think I have to point out to you that we have a problem. The problem with our problem is that it isn’t just one problem. We have a pile of problems, and I use the word pile because they are interconnected, but they don’t form a giant ring or labyrinth of conspiracies that are all secretly aimed at destroying our country. It is an amorphous blob of many problems, most of which exacerbate the next, and they are further aided by mass negligence and carelessness. There are too many guilty parties to name, not the least of which being a wildly apathetic populace. With political leaders as inefficient and frankly incompetent as ours are, I hardly think that they could have forged out such a plan of wreckage when most of the time they’re just trying to keep their pants up. I am sorry conspiracy theorists; your government isn’t smart enough to conspire. It can’t even see past the end of its nose, much less orchestrate an elaborate scheme. (Yes, that is a stab at career politicians whom I don’t believe have any of our best interests in mind when they make decisions). I think it goes without saying that politicians in every age are capable of immoral or backwards deal making. But when they are allowed to do it in the light of day and don’t even care who sees it, you cross a line that exceeds the limits of ANY political process. We have a giant political problem where special interest groups, corporate powers, and flat out wealthy people are puppeteers of political leaders, whose decisions are controlled by the flow of money… and the tugging of strings. Does anybody else see a problem with a handful of people influencing the decisions of political leaders who are supposed to be working for all of us? I am pretty sure that’s how the Russian government worked. And when it comes to Russia I’ll take the vodka, but you can keep the rest. A few people making all of our decisions sounds like the land of the downtrodden and the home of the dictator. That hardly sounds like the land of the free and home of the brave. But alas the great fallacy: “it is what it is.” We are told, “that’s just the way politics ‘work.’” There is just one problem with that political pundit – politicians work for us. They aren’t kings and dignitaries, and they sure aren’t our overlords and we there surfs. THEY WORK FOR US! And the beautiful thing about America is that they are replaceable, and we get to elect them. It is We the People who get to decide “what is,” as long as we don’t let anything stand in our way of course.

I dream of the day when the blue collar man and the hippy can see eye to eye on a just wage, and a cleaner world. I dream of a day when people mean what they say, and their actions are indicative of that. I dream of a day when our politicians are moral people of integrity first before they ever decide what’s good for me. I want people to give a damn, have a broad perspective, and vote their own consciences. Instead of this broken system where we are continually choosing between the lesser of two evils. I want no less than the expectations of the bold men who founded our nation. And for an American to ask to live in a free America… well, that shouldn’t be too much to ask. This is my commentary on where we came from and how we got here, and how we will choose our destiny through action or apathy.

Look for next week's installment: What's the Big Idea?