Freedom Is Dying in America

Freedom is dying in America. This may seem like an alarming statement, but some may agree with this sentiment. America is a remarkably un-free nation. America’s government watches its citizens, its companies track people’s data, and so much more. The American state likes to promote itself as a free nation, but it is nothing of the sort. Before a proper analysis of America’s freedom is made, one must have a basic understanding of what freedom is.

One interpretation is that freedom is having the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Other things can be added to that, but it can stay there for now. There are several things in America that infringe upon people’s freedoms. There is income inequality, racism, a rising fascist movement, and so much more. These things infringe upon people’s freedoms.

A System That Causes Homelessness Is a System That Infringes Upon Freedom

America has a large homeless population. An economic system that creates a large population of homeless people is not an economic system that upholds freedom. The existence of private property infringes upon people’s freedom to live in a quality home. Holding an arbitrary price for shelter over people’s heads, knowing that they can’t afford to pay, should be considered wrong.

If people are struggling to survive, then they don’t have access to their freedoms. From this perspective, one could say that most Americans are not very free at all. If a person is surviving from paycheck to paycheck then they don’t have the freedom to pursue their dreams in life. That person is not free.

Complex Infringement

America infringes on people’s rights in all sorts of ways. America uses a system that puts a paywall between the public, and everything they may want or need. The American working class is not a free group of people.

If working-class individuals decide they want to, for instance, try and use art to express themselves, they first would have to pay for the materials. Furthermore, they would need to check if the colors they want to use aren’t owned by anyone and they would need proper space to create that art. All of these are commodities that are bought and sold. The commodification of everything has led to a mass infringement upon the freedom of working-class Americans.

Wage Slaves

The American working class does not have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Their time is being taken up with multiple jobs. They survive on the scraps and tips from their bosses and customers. The American proletariat is not living life and pursuing their dreams. They are stuck in dead-end jobs and feeling completely unfulfilled. They are by no means “free.”

Education is becoming more expensive, along with everything else, because of aggressive inflation. Systemic racism has infected the entire socioeconomic landscape so everything is worse if one is a minority, especially the Black community.

Freedom for the Rich, and Wage Slavery for the Poor

America’s GDP was $23 trillion in 2021. Imagine if even a fraction of that wealth went to domestic humanitarian efforts. America could fix homelessness in a year with that kind of money. Yet, nothing ever happens to help the millions of Americans who are suffering. This is the status quo of America. Freedom for the rich, and wage slavery for the poor. Millions are suffering, but only the rich can live healthy, fulfilling lives. They have the resources to explore their passions and make connections. This is the way it is today, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

Let’s start with something like debt. Debt forgiveness for student loans is a great way to get the ball rolling on revitalizing freedom in America. Rent fixing, higher minimum wages, racial reparations, and more affordable housing, could all work too. The point is it has gotten so bad in America that literally anything would help right now.

America Could Do Something Good for Once

Universal healthcare, education, or universal housing would change the way Americans live their lives forever. It’s not like America can’t pay for it either, its GDP was $ 23,000,000,000,000. That is a lot of zeroes. Some of that wealth could change the way millions of people live their lives in this country. Americans could truly be free, in the way the American state says they are.

Written by Kenneth Mazerat

Sources:

CNBC: 44% of Americans work a side hustle to make ends meet — but it may not be an efficient way to earn more, says expert by Carmen Reinicke

Statista: Gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States from 1990 to 2021

Vanity Fair: CORPORATE AMERICA WORRIED THAT EDUCATING WAGE SLAVES MAY HURT MORALE BY BESS LEVIN

Featured and Top Image Courtesy of fourstuarts’ Flickr Page – Creative Commons License

First Inset Image Courtesy of  Stephen Melkisethian’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License