Tyranny Is The Cost Of Freedom Without Responsibility

Greetings my fellow Americans!

At the risk of further examining what will probably seem obvious to most regular consumers of AFNN content, I’m going to start this piece with a famous quote by President Ronald Reagan:

“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.’” (1982)

I’d also like to make it clear that I’m under no illusion that universal personal responsibility on this big blue marble of ours has been, or will ever be, possible, as long as we remain human beings of a fallen nature and subject to the wiles of omnipresent temptation.  That said, I think that, if the American experiment has proven anything, it’s that it is possible for humans to collectively reap the social benefits of a civilization premised on individual responsibility, when enough of the members of that society both ascribe to, and practice, the rigors of holding themselves ultimately accountable for how their lives turns out.

And before the “What about American slavery?” question can be used to derail the aforementioned notion by the holier-than-thou who believe they can summarily judge, and pass sentence upon, not just all those alive today, but also all who have lived in the centuries and millennia before this world was graced with their self-proclaimed omniscience:  Using the forced labor of anyone, who has accumulated no debt in deed to another, or to a society, for profit is morally wrong.  The prescient Founders of America both recognized this and proactively codified steps toward eliminating what was still a commonly-accepted practice for the times from the imperfect world into which they were born, unlike many present-day “civilizations” who still rely on this practice yet garner little or no political, academic, or media attention.  But demonization is what happens when the enemies of a person or nation are allowed to exploit vices unchallenged and suppress the virtues which far outweigh those vices.

I’m not sure we can necessarily look back on a particular date, or generation, and say that it stands out as the sole nexus between our foundational self-reliance and penchant for true independence and our 21^st-Century culture in which rights to never be offended or feel uncomfortable are being asserted, and violations thereof duly punished.  It does seem we’ve greatly accelerated toward the latter over the past 20 or so years, though that acceleration would not be possible were it not for the more gradual degeneration of our American societal mores and standards.

Again, we are all fallen humans, and I think at some level such cycles of degeneration and regeneration are bound to happen.  Why we were created such that these cycles would happen, and that the pain and suffering of so many seemingly innocent souls would be inflicted during those periods of degeneration, is a question only God Almighty can answer.  I do believe these cycles would be less violent and destructive if we could learn to more willingly accept the words “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.”

Anyway, back to the original premise of this article, which is the Cost of Freedom.  Just what is freedom, anyway?  Is it the ability to do what one wants, whenever one wants or chooses?  Or is it more about the autonomy of discerning and choosing for oneself the best path?  Is it both, or neither, of these?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Regardless of the answer to the above, I do believe the ability of humans to be truly free within an earthbound society or civilization is contingent upon the general level of knowledge, acceptance, and practice of its members of “thy will be done.”  When we can generally recognize and welcome that we’ve been put here for a purpose, and that it’s a purpose we cannot fully understand, we ironically tend to realize that our fortunes and destiny are tied more to our own self-maintenance and maturation than the actions of others, and willingly take more responsibility for who we are, and are becoming.  By being more responsible for the choices we make for ourselves, and for the consequences which result (good or bad) from those choices, we accumulate more knowledge and freedom to make those choices for ourselves.

Conversely if, through ignorance, poor education, or outright rejection, one views freedom as entitlement to do whatever one thinks or feels in a moment, regardless of consequences (especially to others), as well as entitlement for those activities to always produce positive results, can this ever truly be freedom in any liberating or lasting sense?  Sadly, I think many people, especially in our younger generations, as well as elsewhere in the world, ascribe to such a conception of freedom; because of its lack of grounding in reality, this foments disappointment as well as jealousy of what they perceive as others being able to unfairly aspire to what they themselves are entitled—unfair in the sense that these others were able to enjoy these fruits by means other than personal responsibility, self-discipline, hard work, etc. (by the color of their skin and/or gender, for examples).

Enter those who claim to be “here to help:” How many rulers-turned-dictators and/or government agencies and bureaucracies (and even some “private” corporations) have assumed power through the millennia to right the perceived wrongs of human society, especially as regards “freedom” and “fairness?”  What did/do all have in common to assume, and then remain in, power?

Firstly, they all needed a populace of relatively unenlightened and dependent “subjects” to believe that the former could actually cure said societal ills if just allowed to take care of these for them; and secondly, to never actually solve, cure, or eradicate anything (especially on the bureaucratic side), perpetuating both their existence and mission to “right the wrong.”  As these self-proclaimed vigilantes of freedom, fairness, equality, equity, etc., further establish themselves in power over those willing to abdicate any personal responsibility for their situations, and rather reap whatever benefits of victimization may come their way by virtue of their earthly saviors, the former’s human lust and greed eventually take hold, and general tyranny results.

So, what’s the message here?  We cannot truly be free if we do not take personal responsibility for producing the situations which enable that freedom, and hold ourselves personally accountable for the situations we produce for ourselves with the choices we make every moment of every day of our lives (hint:  doing nothing is a choice in and of itself).  And this all needs to be done in the framework of a world in which seemingly bad things happen to seemingly good people, and in which many other fellow humans do not already know about, or will not accept, this responsibility while expecting to reap its benefits.  We don’t know why it has to be this way, but it does.

So, let’s get busy being truly free.  God bless America

If you enjoyed this article, then please REPOST or SHARE with others; encourage them to follow AFNN

Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@AFNN_USA
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/afnnusa
Telegram: https://t.me/joinchat/2_-GAzcXmIRjODNh
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfnnUsa
GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/AFNN_USA
Parler: https://parler.com/AFNNUSA
CloutHub: @AFNN_USA