What is Freedom?

      Freedom means different things to different people.  I am sure that for some, the word freedom invokes images of the slave trade early in our nation’s history.  A history that has cost the lives of over 1.3 million people who fought for the defense of freedom.  For others, the term freedom brings to the forefront of their minds the Declaration of Independence, a document created by brave men and women who defied the king of the most powerful nation on the planet, Great Britain.  Whatever your personal feelings are about the word, it is important to place the concept of freedom within the context of our lives today.  And, the reality of the life we live today is far from the ideals espoused in our constitution.

Juxtoposed to freedom is slavery.  Slavery is indiscriminate.  I cannot think of a  race of people who have been immune to enslavement, and contrary to what many people think, not even Caucasians have escaped the whips and chains of slavery.  Consider a review of the Barbary States War.  I also recommend the book Jefferson's War: America's First War on Terror 1801-1805 by Joeseph Wheelan as an excellent historical reference to look into how white men, women and children were enslaved.  

The act of enslaving a group of people is the result of misguided ideology.  It is not necessarily a result of ignorance.  In some cases, maniacal men seeking power have effectively used the tactics of enslavement to build nations and build wealth as a means of securing the power and dominance they had sought after.  In other cases, enslavement was a result of cultural and societal acceptance as “normal” behavior.  Slave ownership of the past was akin to indentured servants and almost everyone during that time was familiar with and acknowledged its place in society.  In fact, some of our Founding Fathers owned slaves at the same time they began rousing the masses for support against England in seeking independence from a tyrannical king, King George III.  There are many ironies here.  

Today, much as they have been for centuries past, human beings are still bought and sold in slave markets.  Every year, millions of women and children are sold into sex slave trades and labor camps with little hope of escape.  The magnitude of human trafficking is appalling and far surpasses the numbers of slaves from our nation’s past.  This is not to discredit the magnitude and harmful impact enslavement has had on the various races of the past, but only demonstrates the dark truth that even today, there are many human beings who literally live in chains.

For the rest of us who do not wake up every morning chained to a bed or locked in a room, a different kind of enslavement has befallen us.  We have become slaves to taxes, technology, and time.

Taxes are a necessary result of a government's rule of its people.  The first Americans came together as a people in the 1600’s and agreed to establish a government for the people, by the people and of the people in the creation of the Mayflower Compact.  In this act, they exchanged complete and total self-reliance for a life that was mostly free.  The Constitution, over one hundred years later, would establish very specific things for which the congress was authorized to take (tax) from the people.  All other taxation was supposed to be left to the individual states by way of the 10th Amendment.  In our society today, we pay taxes or face imprisonment for tax evasion.  We pay taxes to ensure the federal government is able to provide the protections and other services guaranteed in the constitution.  Welfare stops, food stamps stop, defense stops, and a myriad of other programs stop.  Programs so many Americans are now reliant on cannot remain solvent if Americans stop paying taxes.  Working has become a process by which to pay taxes and not a process by which we build personal wealth.  Paying our taxes has become our first responsibility and for the portion of Americans that pay taxes, there are punishments for not being responsible.

Technology has done the most to build us up and make us stronger as well as leave us vulnerable.  The dichotomy of technology can be seen in numersous ways.  The same technology that allows us to see in the dark is the technology that has allowed us to forget how to build a fire without a lighter or a match.  The technology of refrigeration that allows us to purchase our meat from a grocer has allowed us to forget how to hunt for our own food.  Most Americans would be completely destitute due to a lack of basic survival knowledge should a natural disaster, EMP, or other crisis occur.  We work to pay taxes and to buy technology (things) to help make our lives more comfortable but we exchange our personal self reliance and abilities for these things.

Time is everyone’s worst enemy.  There is never enough of it.  We are slaves to the clock.  The world is excessively competitive and idle minutes equal lost opportunities.  We all scramble to pack as much into a day as possible, work, family, friends, entertainment, reading, cooking, etc.. and never feel quite satisfied we have done enough.  There is always something else that needs to be done and again…not enough time to accomplish it.  Not accomplishing things makes us feel like we have wasted time and what a tragedy that is when there is so little time to begin with.  We are slaves to time.  Time is our master

Freedom is truly a relative concept.  Some may find fault in my line of reasoning regarding things that enslave us and I willingly acknowledge the extremity of these examples.  However, my point is to demonstrate the massive reliance society has demanded of itself.

Does that make sense?

We vote to increase taxes on ourselves to provide services we apparently could never have lived without.  What did we do before we taxed ourselves for the service?  The people who work and pay taxes rarely, if ever, participate or take advantage of the services and programs their money is used to fund.  These are also the people who usually have the least amount of time to enjoy the little time they have.  What we have created is a society where the most free among us need only exist, not work.  The most free among us pay no taxes, and receive pay checks, housing, food, and are able to take advantage of the myriad of services available including free health care, educational grants, preferential treatment based on race and so many others.  The money they received didn't grow on trees.  Somebody, somewhere worked hard for it.

Taking something from one person to give to another is not a policy Concept Conservative endorses.

These forms of slavery are a result of socialistic ideals that are founded on one simple rule: those that have give to those that do not. From each according to their abilities; to each according to their needs.  As outlandish as this might sound, our Government has created an environment that has literally enslaved one group of people to another group: those who are forced to give of themselves to others who are required to give nothing or very little.

To be fair, absolute freedom exists only in fairy tales. So long as ‘we the people’ chose to be governed by our peers, we exchange true freedom for the benefits associated with societal gains.  In fact, the application of laws, although benefiting society as a whole, detracts from absolute, individual freedom.  Conservatism seeks governance that has the least amount of impact on the individual without degradation to our society, our communities, and our families.  The moral fabric from which conservatism is sewn envelopes Judea-Christian principles.  Without these guiding principles, it is doubtful the US would have emerged as the world’s only true, global, super power.

Conservatism seeks to remove The People from the shackles of government regulation, government infringement into personal lives, and government decisions that pick winners and losers through re-distributive policies.  Conservatism is an ideology that seeks equal opportunity where every American has the right to pursue their own happiness but is not necessarily guaranteed happiness.  Conservatism opposes policies that promote equal outcomes among all people.  The premise behind this logic is fundamentally flawed and has proven disastrous throughout history. 

The conservative concept regarding freedom is not one based on absolute freedom but seeks a balance that is most beneficial to the individual first and than society.  Conservatism also opposes any law or removal of a law that would be to the detriment of society and the individual. 

Let man do for himself that which is in his own benefit and decide, based on his own merits, capabilities, and desires, how much he is willing to give.  This will result in a natural unification  of benefits and unification of communities and societies vice an artificial utopia that is forced on the people through increased taxes, forced technologies, and the decreased amount of personal time.  People will do naturally for others on their own accord that which the government seeks to impose on people to do artificially.  Concept Conservative believes conserving the rights of the people and promoting rugged individualism is the most natural means in which to increase the freedoms of The People.

 

Launch Date.

After much deliberation, I have decided to launch Concept Conservative; a blog with the sole purpose of bringing to light the benefits of living in a society that promotes conservative ideology and more importantly, lives by that ideology.  I am happy to announce the site will launch January 1st 2013.  

Why the delay?

The fact is, providing you quality content that is worthy of your time takes time and research.  I want to provide you the best product I can and present the truth of conservative ideology and our vision for the future.  There is plenty to talk about of course and I look forward to the comments offered by you all.