This blog was archived from July 4, 2016.
Oh Happy Independence Day, America! Amazing that an entire year has gone by and my thoughts are still very much in sync with my post from last year. Freedom..or the illusion of it. I almost want to just copy/paste the entire post from last year because we have only gone downhill as a nation.
It's fighting. It's this side vs that side and we are tearing one another apart. Could we be more divided as a country right now? Just look at our options for presidents. Trump. Clinton. Can these two be any more on the opposite side of the spectrum in their views?
America has paid the price of freedom in its own blood, both here on our own shores, and abroad throughout the world. Don't we all know that Freedom is not free, never has been, never will be. The origin of “freedom is not free” is credited to retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Walter Hitchcock, from the New Mexico Military Institute. It is meant to express gratitude for the service of members of the military, implicitly stating that the freedoms enjoyed by those living in democracies today are only possible due to the risks taken and sacrifices made by those in the armed services. It conveys respect — specifically to those who gave their lives in defense of our freedom.
Many would argue these days that we are not free. We are given this pretty illusion of being a free society, but what we really are... is free within the laws that govern us. We're on leashes... loose leashes in some states, some a little more restricting than others. You aren't free to just live as you please. Please. Try collecting rain water tomorrow. Try living "off-the-grid" like so many who try and fail within the first month.
In a 1941 Message to Congress, Franklin Delano Roosevelt tried to explain what it means to be free. He outlined the "four essential human freedoms":
The first is freedom of speech and expression. The second is freedom of every person to worship. The third is freedom from want. The fourth is freedom from fear.
Uuummm... if these freedoms listed above are essential, then no wonder the depression rates in this country have SKY ROCKETED.
You think you have freedom of expression? Hardly. I can't count any more the amount of FB posts I've had removed or missing from my timeline because they were "controversial" posts with doctors and nurses admitting they are only taught to push vaccinations and not actually taught about the ingredients or even the safety of them. Twitter is now monitoring posts and YouTube will damn near have the police show up to your door if you post anything that the leftists don't agree with or deem "racist". The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments Act gives the government license to spy on us. New techniques such as iris scans, license-plate recognition, GPS devices in pharmaceutical products, and facial recognition technology may invade our privacy. Drones are flying over our homes. The National Security Agency is building a data center big enough to store every email, text, phone call, web search, and video in the United States. With the Electronic Communications Privacy Act on its side, the government is authorized to take anything it can get. (- See more on: www.alternet.org )
If you wanna know what we really are celebrating, the chart below would be the perfect description:
There is no blame any more but our history.
To sum it up quickly so you can get back to your hot dogs and burgers, America was born from British rebels. They knew what it was like to live under the British, to be taxed up the ass, so they rebelled. They rebelled against the tyranny of the British. But when they became a country of their own, they stole land from the Natives, unlawfully, gave them a small portion, later found that the small portion they "gave" to the Natives had gold, they wanted the gold... hence the term: "Indian Giver". Then they get this idea that their land is blessed by God. Google: MANIFEST DESTINY. You will want to throw up. They would go to other nations they felt were in darkness, and they felt it was their God-given right to relieve these people from their darkness. They slaughtered hundreds of thousands of people, all over the world. They make up rules as they go along, they're always inconsistent. As long as it works for them, they change up the rules as they please. It turns out, the once oppressed now became the oppressors. They became the tyrants they fled from. In the end, they will run the families. Family units will be broken apart because they want to dictate how your children will grow up, think, and be. As long as you give the sheeple their football games, their "holidays" every now and then, they sit back and think, "this can never happen to me." Too deep for you on this holiday of bbqs and beer? I digress. America is getting what's been coming to it for a long time. We are all fighting for a land that was never ours to begin with. It was stolen. And perhaps all this bullshit happening these days was already a long time coming for this nation. Sadly, but we just have to keep powering through.
How is this the land of the free? My cousin was in town from another country just visiting and didn't even want to take her children to a movie theatre in America. Why? "Some maniac can come in and shoot up the place!" That's what it's come down to. We are all just living in fear. Waking up tomorrow wondering, "Gee, which country was bombed this time? I wonder where ISIS is going to strike next? Every time I am at the airport now it's like, "is today the day? Will your flight be crashing in to some historical monument in the name of some god and someone's hatred for this country? How has it gotten to this? This is no longer the America, or world, that I had wished to raise my children in.
There is no advice this year. None. Just to love your children. Love your families. LOVE. I am still counting on the BRAVE in this country. Those who continue to rally and speak out about injustice. Whether it's losing "friends" because of controversial posts that just shine light on a subject, physically standing out and protesting at city halls against the insane bills that are being passed under our noses, posting videos, blogs, links, anything... it's a brave act these days seeing as how day by day those rights and freedoms are being taken away. Can I still even wish those I love a "Happy Independence Day"? You know what!? YES. I hope you all have an amazing Monday off work. I hope you get to sleep in, even for a little. I hope you get to enjoy the day so much that you tell yourself at the end of it all, "How can I ensure that days like this can still be celebrated in this once great nation?" I say pop open that bottle, get yourself some of your favorite things to snack on, and surround yourself with fantastic company. I'm gonna go ahead and get festive because I can either 1) live in fear today or 2) live in love. As incredibly corny as that sounds, I like to think that at least I still had that choice. You know, that illusion of choice that I have every day. ;) That can't be taken away any time soon. <3 Cheers everyone, stay brave, you REBELS you! :)
**And wait, if you choose to have a happy day today, do not Google "Manifest Destiny." Google that sh*t tomorrow, and then you can cry about it and want to poke your eyes out of your sockets with a big WHAT THE HELL AMERICA!!?!?
So that's that! And there I am, once again, a big glass of red wine and bigger dreams.
Sterling Cab...this wine is a powerful expression of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. With it's deep, decadent flavors, representative of the cool vintage and distinguished by it's dark profile. Aromas of black plums and cherry pie are brought out by layers of spice cake and caramelized vanilla. Such an easy cab to drink.
All content and images copyright Talia Likeitis ©2016 and cannot be used without expressed permission.
Photo by: Jeff
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