My Howl

My parents were of the last generation to have a shot at the American dream,
and as time has passed by we have foolishly given away more and more – more rights, more liberty, more freedom – until we reach the point where we can not recognize ourselves.
To replace these freedoms, we have begged for greater dependence, as we take on new masters who tempt us with shiny things.
All we have to do is give up a little more.

And, of course, we do.

We no longer believe in making our own decisions, placing our fate in the hands of those who claim to know what is best for us, even though they do not know us.
We are told who we can fall in love with, what we can and can not have with our homes.
We are told where we can and can not send our children to school, and what they are allowed to study when they get there.
We are told not to believe in science, and if we do believe in science, what science we should believe in.
We have turned our government over to oligarchs and their puppets, our economy to plutocrats.

And then we ask for more.

We ask our government to provide more and more for us, while asking them to do so for less and less. We ask for regulation, yet complain when those regulations go against our desires.
We design our systems to enslave the feeble minded, suppress those who seek self-reliance, and punish those who desire to spread good fortune on their own to others.
We reward those who accept the system as their master, break down those who wish to go it on their own, and savagely dismantle those who devote their lives to teaching others how to fly.

We spend money on things that offer little to no return, and that guarantee future payment at higher levels in order to maintain the status quo.
We have embraced, celebrated, championed, and promoted stagnation.
The very stagnation that is dragging us down.

But I digress –

What ever happened to self-reliance – the thought that all one needed was a patch of land and a trade to ply, and they could survive, even thrive, despite it all?
How did we lose sight of the American dream, the bond of family reliance, and the safety of faith and community support?
When did making our mark in the world go from the fruits of our labors to the golden gift of what others built.

I am no stranger to tough times. I have been on the bottom of the barrel of life. I know what it is like to lose direction, to be forced to start over.
Searching for a way out, I was forced to go to a place I did not want to go.
Asking for a step up, a way out, a new direction, I was turned away.
I was too moral, too eager to seek the path of redemption over the promise of comfort.
I chose freedom over servitude.

And I suffered for my convictions.

This can go on no longer.

We must demand accountability.
We must work to restore the principles of liberty, and break the bonds of slavery that have brain washed those who sit and suckle at the well of servitude.
We must place self-determination, personal freedom, and individual choice back at the center of our destiny.

The government knows not what is best for me, or for you.
I know what is best for me.
You know what is best for you.
We all deserve a chance at the American Dream.