April 2006     

We Need a Ruler

By Fred Gielow

How much does it cost? How far is it from here to there? How old are you? What time is it? Are we going faster than the speed limit?

Are we gaining, or losing, freedom? Do we have more, or less, freedom today than we had fifty years ago? What's the rate of freedom gain, or loss?

Everything is measured, calibrated, sized, and delineated; and these valuations are essential in day-to-day life. But wait, there's one commodity that has eluded measurement. It's one of our most treasured possessions, but there's no scale, no value, no gauge to assess how much freedom we have. Some think we have a lot; others think we have far too little, but without some unit of measure, it's impossible to say unequivocally.

Are we gaining, or losing, freedom? Do we have more, or less, freedom today than we had fifty years ago? What's the rate of freedom gain, or loss? These are all important questions, and crucial to those who cherish the liberty and freedom bequeathed to us by our Founding Fathers.

There are some parameters we should be able to agree with. Private property is fundamental to freedom. So is the idea of equal justice under the law. So is the right to own and use a weapon for self protection; the free exercise of an individual's religion, unfettered individual speech; a press able to publish findings, without government censorship; certainly, low taxes; and minimum government interference in individual affairs. And, of course, there are others.

Thanks to a recent Supreme Court ruling, however, private property is not as secure as it was just a few years ago. Equal justice under the law is being eroded by the idea of special rights for special groups, and our very concept of the "law" is being transformed into a kind of putty, that can be molded at will. The law said only a man and a woman can marry, but some didn't like that, so they simply ignored the law, and were rewarded with no adverse consequences. An illegal alien used to be considered illegal, but now our government looks the other way when immigration laws are trashed. Many of our elected officials wish to seize weapons from the citizens, thereby rendering the public defenseless.

I am free to exercise my religion, as long as it doesn't interfere with the wishes of Michael Newdow and/or the ACLU, both of whom seem to have a personal vendetta against Christianity. And, judges and courts around the country are ruling, again and again, against the free exercise of religion, using as an excuse "the wall of separation between church and state."

Folks like to think they have free speech, but try speaking about homosexuals from a church pulpit, and some government officials may visit you to discuss your "crime." (It has already happened.) The press remains free, but that's because it's an instrument of the Left. Nowadays, politicians who suggest lower taxes are castigated for wanting to "harm" the children, people on welfare, and anyone else who sucks at the government's tit. And, the thought of reducing to a minimum government interference in individual affairs, is now laughable. The U.S. citizen is controlled and managed, and dominated by government, as never before in American history.

It seems to me that the Left is inching ever-onward, toward its goal of socialism and world dominance - sometimes with help from the Right - and with each "advance" our freedoms become marginalized, restricted, and ignored. I just wish we had a measuring stick to document the degradation, so people would be better able to comprehend the results, over time, of the culture war we're now battling.

Fred Gielow is the author of "You Don't Say," and is involved in property rights activities at: www.youdontsay.org.