“And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free….”
–Lee Greenwood
I’ve italicized a key word in that famous lyric. Once upon a time, Rush Limbaugh introduced me to that song and I was moved by it. It felt so pure and patriotic and soaringly inspiring. I still think it’s a pretty darn good song, on the whole, but I do have a question: how is it that one can “know” one is free simply by dint of being an American? Does being born in one country automatically make you free, regardless of anything which might ever happen there? Is that logical? The more I began to consider that question, the more skeptical I became of that lyric. Now it seems almost the opposite of what it used to, to me. It feels more like a cynical taunt than a grateful revel.
As we move into the second half of this year 2008, having passed our independence’s 232nd anniversary, I encourage you to think carefully about what it means to be free. Think about what indicators to look for that your freedom is changing; that things are moving away from you, leaving you behind. I haven’t yet read the book “They Thought They Were Free” but I intend to. I did spend some time sifting through the various web pages devoted to it and reproducing bits of it; here are the best ones I found.
The University of Chicago Press (official book publisher page)
similar excerpt plus “14 defining characteristics of fascism”
How can you truly know you’re free? Joe Sobran has famously said that “Freedom is coming to mean nothing more than the right to ask permission.” That sure isn’t freedom. Do we have to ask permission to do what we want to, nowadays? In an increasing number of matters, the answer is… yes, if we want to avoid being hassled about it later. Those who take the time to study the laws carefully will often tell you that you don’t technically need permission, but that’s of little consequence for most of us who have neither the time nor the inclination to delve at length into the niceties of the law (I do, however, appreciate their efforts and sometimes join them in their studies).
Tags: "Lee Greenwood", "Milton Meyer", freedom
