“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
I’ve often heard that quote from the late President Ronald Reagan, but never have they seemed as clear as they do now.
Almost on a daily basis, we’re bombarded with startling new reports about the erosion of our individual liberties. From the freedom of assembly to protections against unreasonable search and seizure to our right to keep and bear arms, every area of individual liberty seems to be under attack from the Nanny State.
The attacks on our freedom don’t stop there.
Congress is now considering a number of different proposals that pose a very real danger to all of our economic, political, and social freedoms. These proposals include:
– The cap-and-trade bill would limit emissions from certain industries and create a scheme where many companies would have to purchase carbon permits. These costs would ultimately be passed on to the consumer. The measure has been called “the biggest tax in American history.” – Sweeping health care legislation which would provide for an effective government takeover of our health care system, at a 10-year cost of well over $1 trillion. – The Clean Water Restoration Act would expand the scope of the Clean Water Act to allow federal regulators to dictate the use of any land with even the slightest amount of water on it. The Heritage Foundation has said it represents “the most dangerous federal intrusion on private property rights in existence.”
Needless to say, the escalation of intrusive behavior by the government, particularly at the federal level, into the lives of private citizens is happening at an alarming rate.
With Independence Day coming up this weekend, I hope that we all take a moment to consider how severely our freedoms are being eroded by an overreaching national government.
– James Quintero