Then and Now, Answering the Question About Freedom.

I've recently been asked by one of the younger generation, word for word, "If we're not free, then where are the chains?" He looked around and gestured to the stores, where he could go to and buy whatever he wanted. So I asked him for ten minutes of his time and I would show him where the chains are. I invite you to read what I told him about being truly free then, and how we aren't now.

On a trip down memory lane for me, I explained the weekly routine of my father. Monday, he would get up and go to work. He would drive the vehicle to a fuel station and gas up, like we do today. After work, he would go home to a hot dinner.

Tuesday he would go to work again, but that was his fishing day as well. After work, he would go to a huge lake and cast his line into the water. He would usually bring home two or three catfish swirling in a bucket of water. They would get cleaned, cooked and served for all who wanted it.

Wednesday after work, he would go to the bar and light up a pipe filled with orange leaves, mint leaves and home grown tobacco and play a few hands of poker with the guys. He would win or lose a few bucks, tell the common jokes of the day, then go home to his family and it was still early enough in the evening for family time.

Thursday, he went straight home and tended to cleaning his rifles and guns and educate his children on their safe handling. He drilled them over and over in gun safety and gave hunting tips.

Friday was a good day. It was payday. He would collect his weekly pay, take his wife shopping. They would load up on groceries for the next 7 days, which would keep everyone fed till payday.

Stay with me here, It will all make sense soon enough.

Saturday, he would take his boys hunting. Wild Hog or a six point buck or better. They would clean the animal, carve the meat as skillful as any trained butcher in a meat shop, and smoke the rest of the kill to add flavor to the weekly menu.

Sunday was family fishing day and camping. Out to the woods and down by the river. Everyone had a great time, and then they went to Church that evening, gave thanks to the Lord for everything they have. Then Monday it would start all over again.

At this point, they youngster, who said he was twenty, pointed out that he could still do all of that. I nodded, then I asked him to listen to the differences now. He agreed and waited, impatient.

The Monday drive to work takes a Driver's License, registration, and vehicle taxes for the plates. That's just to drive it to the gas station and fuel up, with 18.5 cents on the gallon going to the Federal Government as pure profit. My dad didn't have to get a Driver's License until decades after cars came out. There was no registration and no tag plates. No vehicles taxes. He paid nothing of the sort to do this. Now, can you go get a car without a permission slip from the States, paid for many times over in different forms, and drive it without going to jail? He shook his head no.

The Tuesday fishing day, my dad paid nothing for a fishing license. They didn't exist. All he needed was the pole, line and bait. Today, if you're caught fishing without a paid for permission slip, is it all right to keep on doing it? I got another head shake no.

Wednesday after work, can you go to a bar and gamble in an unregulated, non-licensed poker table for even a few pennies without being arrested for illegal gambling? Or do you need to travel to a location where others had to pay for permission to set up 'regulated and taxed' gambling parlors? Can we gamble now, here, for a quarter with a hand of poker without getting into trouble if a law enforcement officer were to know what we were doing? Again, he shook his head no.

Then I asked him if parents were to hand their children a pistol each, unloaded and ready for cleaning, to teach them how to safely do it as part of their education, would the Department of Human Services send a social worker to investigate them to 'keep the kids safe' from an important education in firearms? Can you stay out of trouble for that if it's reported by a stupid neighbor who merely doesn't like your kids playing too close to his house? Again, another head shake no.

Can you find me an employer who pays by the week instead of every two weeks, because the paperwork is too expensive because of government regulation demanding their fair share of every hour you are compensated for? Can you find any slew of employers out there who won't pay the Federal taxes and let you handle all of your money up front? Another head shake no.

Then I asked; Can you go hunting without the permission slip paid for called a hunting license, your name and address taken down, and the animals you shoot need to be counted so you don't go over a minimum? He shook his head no again. I reminded him that my father paid for none of that. Didn't have to. It wasn't regulated and sold back to him for a dollar amount, or get fines or go to jail.

Finally, can you go camping anywhere you want, or do you have to go to designated 'camping areas' where they are patrolled by Rangers who do more to see if you paid your fees and permits than to give an awesome demonstration on how to build a proper campfire? Can your whole family go fishing without paid permission? Again, another head hake no.

Then I told him without hesitation. It's not freedom to have to pay for every step of your life or face legal action without the proper documents. Soviet Russia made people pay for every step of their life, one permit at a time, one license or another, and we are almost just like them on that account. There's your proof young man. You're not free, because to do any of those things without proper papers would land you into a heap of trouble with the authorities, so forgive me if I say we are no longer a free people. Chains do not have to be visible to bind you.