Liberty or Tyranny, Where Do You Stand?

This post if from a friend of mine. Him and I disagree on a lot of things, but we do agree on liberty. You may see post on here from time to time from him.

  I am a retired Firefighter. I am writing because I believe

 that our country has taken a wrong turn, and most refuse to see the truth. Furthermore, as a union member, you may be a pawn without your knowledge. Most people in America still have the perception of America as a land of liberty, but this is rapidly becoming only an illusion.

I stand with Firefighters for Freedom, and any other individual/organization that embraces freedom. And, I oppose any individual/organization insofar as they desire for and seek power/force over others and act to thwart freedom, liberty and individual rights - the very cornerstones of the founding of America. The instant that power/force is used against one’s own convictions and/or possessions (property rights) the principle of liberty is no longer respected and all are at risk of the whims of tyrants. Good intention is no consolation, and evasion of truth is dishonest. That is, evasion of the contradiction that force against one for the sake of another is still called liberty…it is not. That brings me to the current issue, as presented on Firefighters for Freedom; the current alignment of unions with socialist organizations.

There is a new “liberty” today in America. It is the demand that entitlements be provided to individuals by society; those who demand that their existence be provided for as a free meal ticket…but by whom? Society?  But what is society but the aggregate of individuals? So let’s not talk of the meal provider as some nefarious, unidentifiable and endless money tree. Ultimately, it is the individual who has a gun pointed at his head forced to give up private possessions to the demand for “free” entitlements; social security, healthcare, minimum wage, etc. Forceful demand is the antithesis of liberty. That is self-evident.  It is a breach of the principle of liberty. Consider, is it right that property rights reside with the producer, or that personal property be forcefully transferred from the producer to the non-producer? This is the hallmark of socialism and the direction of this country – the violation of individual rights and the principle of liberty.

I am not suggesting that those who work as Firefighters are non-producers, they provide a valuable service, and sometimes at great personal risk. But the facts are that, first, your pay does come from tax money, from those who do produce with personal risk of time and capital, and so therefore there is an obligation for fire departments, with the support of the union, to be fiscally accountable. Second, today our unions stand with organizations who demand unearned entitlements. Is this what YOU are about? All I ask is that you do the research and see if this is the case with your union. Do they stand with organizations that support force for the unearned? If so, stand up for your convictions and declare yourself a socialist. If not, stand up and oppose it. There is no middle ground. You either support these associations of your union, or you don’t. You either stand for liberty, or you allow the violation of individual rights. And silence is complicit acceptance.

Mike Nelson