Independence Day Delusions

[Snarkoleptic]

“Necessitous men are not free men.” - FDR in his Economic Bill of Rights Speech

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/07/04/independence-day-delusions

Is Our Nation Really "Free"?

According to the watchdog organization Freedom House, in terms of political and civil liberties the U.S. is tied for 44th freest country, after UK, Chile, Japan, Portugal, and most of the Scandinavian nations. The organization's 2016 synopsis states: "The United States received a downward trend arrow because of the cumulative impact of flaws in the electoral system, a disturbing increase in the role of private money in election campaigns and the legislative process, legislative gridlock, the failure of the Obama administration to fulfill promises of enhanced government openness, and fresh evidence of racial discrimination and other dysfunctions in the criminal justice system."

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A Free Market? Corporations Are Free to Subjugate Consumers

Corporations assume the freedom to deny their customers the right to fight back against corporate malfeasance. A New York Times report notes that companies have found a way to "circumvent the courts and bar people from joining together in class-action lawsuits," by inserting individual arbitration clauses in consumer contracts.

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Freedom from Want? Poverty Keeps Getting Worse.

It's shocking to learn that nearly two-thirds of Americans don't have the savings to pay for a $500 car repair. It brings to mind the poverty of the 1930s, when FDR included "Freedom from Want" as one of the four basic freedoms to which we all have a right. Today, apparently, most of us are deprived of that right.

Real Freedom

In "Common Sense," Thomas Paine spoke of our "common interest [to] mutually and naturally support each other." Freedom and security, he noted, is the design and end of government.

This means freedom for the greatest number of us, not just for the self-centered individuals who see community as an impediment to their taking of our nation's wealth.

[yeoman6987]

1. Our freedom of speech is a premium

Most countries don't have that at all. We are very fortunate to have that.

[Snarkoleptic]

2. One of the pillars of free speech is the freedom of the press.

This is where much of the "Land of the free" rhetoric falls apart, as we're ranked 30th.

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press-2014/press-freedom-rankings

[Just reading posts]

4. As someone points out in a recent post about restrictive "hate speech" laws in Sweden.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027976669#post13

[Nye Bevan]

3. Scottish Police: we are watching you online and will investigate any "offensive comments"

Police in Scotland have announced that they intend to investigate “offensive comments” made on Twitter and other social media, prompting a huge backlash, with one columnist describing the move as a “terrifying” lurch towards George Orwell’s thought police.

The controversy began when outspoken British TV host Katie Hopkins made a couple of jokes about an Ebola victim who arrived in Scotland being sent to a hospital in London.

“Sending us Ebola bombs in the form of sweaty Glaswegians just isn’t cricket,” Hopkins wrote. In a second tweet, she stated, “Glaswegian ebola patient moved to London’s Royal Free Hospital. Not so independent when it matters most are we jocksville?”

Though the jokes were obviously tasteless, thousands of people signed an online petition demanding Hopkins be arrested for inciting “racial hatred”. A second petition, signed by a further 25,000 people, called for Hopkins to be charged for her “racist tweets”. Hopkins’ detractors claimed that the tweets were “racist,” apparently inventing a new race of people (Scots) in the process.

http://www.infowars.com/terrifying-scottish-police-to-investigate-offensive-comments/

And the UK is supposedly "more free" than the US?

[Just reading posts]

5. The hell with that. "1984" is supposed to be a warning, not a training manual.

[Snarkoleptic]

6. Welp, at least they broadcast their intentions.

Here's a post I did in 2013...

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4197595

My second career finds me selling fabricated stone surfacing- granite, quartz, marble, etc.

In a moment of snark, I updated my FB status to say I was a "street level rock dealer". I mean what the heck, my friends have a sense of humor...right?

A couple of weeks later, I awoke and noticed that my garbage bags had disappeared form the curb overnight. I searched the internet for (something like) "Why would someone take my garbage bags from the curb?" and was only half surprised to see that the authorities troll Facebook looking for infractions of the law. One of the search results referred to Facebook as "Law enforcement's favorite new toy" (to uncover criminal behavior).

I believe my little joke was scooped up in some NSA keyword search that was then referred to the local authorities. The whole episode made real for me, what was previously an abstaction. This episode has made me feel like an idiot for reading about all of the NSA stuff and then allowing myself the luxury of fun within the reality of spying. This seemingly harmless joke has led me to feelings of anger, paranoia, shame, fear and mistrust as well as to question whether our government has nothing better thing to do.