Something to Think About: Free-dumb 1

When you open your eyes and look around, it is not hard to see that you do not have so much of these “American freedoms” that you would like to believe. Since I was a kid, I have been told the narrative that we live in a free country and it is the best country in the world. You would never want to live somewhere else, because they have harsher and controlling governments, less than wonderful medical care and schooling, plus poverty and less than accessible means to live.

Something to think about:

In the small town I live in here in America, there is a neighbor down the street from me who decided to take a very small building and turn it in to a medium sized building to be his home. He started working on this project and he was making tremendous progress, all by himself. The noticeable change was impressive enough that I remember being pleased. In my opinion, if you can take something worn down and make it better, that always trumps demolition or letting a property rot and fall down. Of course, the local government had to get involved once they saw this progress because this homeowner did not have their permission to make these changes. So, yes, they halted his progress, fined him, inspected all his work, required him to explain his plans and apply for permits. Just so I am perfectly clear, this man owns this land and the building on the land, even though he pays taxes to “own” this land, he must also get permission from people who do not own or contribute to his home in order to make his home a better place to live.

In the small town of Masatepe in Nicaragua, people that live there build their homes and change them as they please, to their own liking without a permit or a fine.

WHO IS FREE?

Definition of freedom: (Taken from www.Dictionary.com )

1. The state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint:
2. Exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.
3. The power to determine action without restraint.
4. Political or national independence.
5. Personal liberty, as opposed to bondage or slavery.
6. Exemption from the presence of anything specified (usually followed by from)
7. The absence of or release from ties, obligations, etc.