Define Freedom

As I sat down after Church this Sunday morning to write my weekly article for the Gem State Patriot, I opened my e-mail and came across this delightful Op-Ed by one of our supporters from the Kevin Miller show. It is not often that I get such a well-written essay from one of our supporters but this one struck me as something that should be published. This grabs the essence of what many conservatives are thinking these days as the venomous rhetoric continues to flow freely from the liberal media who have propagandized their audience with lies and platitudes of freedom since the election of Obama. They have literally corrupted the minds of half the country with misinformation as they continue to lie to their listeners daily.

So who gets to define what Freedom is? Well, the Merriam Webster Dictionary defines freedom as the quality or state of being free: such as a: the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action: liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another : independence: the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous: unrestricted use: ease, facility: the quality of being frank, open, or outspoken: improper familiarity: boldness of conception or execution. 2 a: a political right b: franchise, privilege. As you can see by definition Freedom has many different meanings with much of the difference defined by what media you choose to participate in.

I believe that Americans are conflicted not just because of the propagandized media but because they have a very limited knowledge of our Constitution and what rights it actually gives us. So let us start with the public’s knowledge of our constitution beginning with the first amendment.

Amendment 1: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof: or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to partition the Government for a redress of grievances

How many Americans understand this first article? The answer is very few. A 2023 Annenberg Civics Study from the University of Pennsylvania found that many Americans have very little or limited knowledge of our constitution. When asked questions about the First Amendment: (77%) named freedom of speech – (40%) named freedom of religion (33%) named the right to assembly – (28%) named freedom of the press and less than 1 in 10 (9%) know the right to petition the government.

As many as 53% of Americans believe that free speech means that social media companies like Facebook gives them the right to freely express themselves on Facebook pages which is a private company and the 1^st amendment does not apply to them. Everyone should remember the controversary during the Covid Pandemic about censorship much of it instigated by agencies of the federal government. Federal agencies inserted themselves in these social media companies for the purpose of influencing and censoring comments on these platforms. If Americans don’t understand their rights, how can they make good decisions when it comes to choosing their elected representatives. What I will say in defense of those who are not well schooled in their first amendment rights most are very aware of their second amendment rights which is the protection of the first amendment. The proof of this is the wide spread owner ship of firearms as there are now over 300 million guns in the hands of American citizens and that number grows each and every year. So I guess you could say that even though they may not understand the 1st amendment a good many of them do understand the second one.

The liberal media pomelles Americans every minute of every day with their opinions and lies and all too many of their listeners believe they are telling them the truth. We haven’t had a real news media for several decades as it has been consolidated to the point that 90% of what is broadcast over our airwaves and social media is just so much hogwash. So when I get an essay like I received this morning from Neil Parker about a neighbor with a blue sign in his front yard which says “WE CHOOSE FREEDOM” it proves my point that there are too many Americans who are misinformed. The residents who posted this sign are democrats and the sign is posted because of their choice in where they get their information. So I would like to thank Mr. Parker for his essay and hope there are many more like him out there who are not afraid to express themselves and understand that we are a country under siege lead by a propaganda machine. If we don’t win this next election and bring Trump back for another 4 years as Elon Musk has said at the Butler Pennsylvania Trump rally, “Get everyone you know, and everyone you don’t know, drag them to register to vote. If they don’t, this will be the last election. That’s my prediction.”

While writing this article I have been listening to Fox News which has become a bit more liberal since Rupert Murdoch turned it over to his sons. They are interviewing Tampon Tim Walz the Democrats choice for Vice President. This is a man who will say or do anything to win this election. He was radicalized many years ago and admits to having visited China between 12 and 30 times depending on which version of the truth you want to hear. Unfortunately, Mr. Walz likes to lie and has said so many things that were untrue it is hard to distinguish when he is telling the truth any more. Unfortunately people like Walz are locked in to the belief that their way is the only way. Many Democrats are still shaking their heads trying to figure out why Kamala picked this self-proclaimed Knucklehead from Minnesota.

We are only 30 days away from the most important election in our history and if Americans make the wrong choice, I fear that Elon Musk’s prediction will come true. I only hope and pray that Trump will win and we will all be given another chance to Make America Great Again.

“We Get the Government We Deserve”