Quality of life

I’ve been back in the US for three weeks now, which is almost twice as long as my trip to England, and yet I can’t help but draw comparisons and get annoyed at how far this country has slipped from ‘the land of the free’. When I first came here I felt that it was more open than England and had more opportunities. Indeed when my wife and I got married we decided to stay in the US because of this very reason. The house prices and cost of living in England far outweighed that of the US. On our trip I was astounded to learn that prices had remained reasonable in the UK and yet here food prices have all but doubled in the few years I have been here.

The thought of moving back is there, but I still love this country despite all its faults, and I’ve already sunk my roots in. To me it does not really matter where I live and I have discovered that I am not particularly loyal to any one country. What I am loyal to though is an idea. That Idea is freedom and self liberty, the ability to do what you want and to make what you want of yourself. That is why you see me supporting Ron Paul and trashing the establishment. This ‘establishment’ has grown like a fungus on the statue of what used to be a great idea of liberty. Lately all you see is the basic shape with the moss growing all over it. I’m sorry that it looks ugly as I strip away sections of it, but truth is truth, and I will show it to the world for all that it is, the good, bad, ugly and the upsetting truths about where we are and what we have done.

One of my old work friends said it best when he said that he’s from ‘the party of leave me the hell alone’. He was for all intents and purposes a conservative and voted so. And yet he did not care that his neighbors were gay. He said that so long as they were not intimate in front of him that it didn’t particularly bother him. ‘What you do in your house is none of my business’ he would say, and that ‘if they could find a preacher who was willing to do the service, I don’t care if they get married either’. This coming from a guy born in deep eastern Kentucky, really has a lot to say about freedom and not being prejudice. He embodies all the great things about the appellation culture. Recently I went to a firing range with him and he let me try out some of his rifles.

As you can see that is another sport I enjoy here that I cannot do in the UK. Though in the UK you are treated like an adult everywhere you go, and can even drink in public places including on trains. Unfortunately here we now have ‘sobriety checkpoints’ which awfully represent the checkpoints of Nazi Germany during its heyday.

So it does not matter where you live, so long as you stand up for what is right, and make the most out of life for yourself and the ones that you care about.

As for me, I’ll stay here as long as I can. I’ll defend liberty in any way I can, and teach others who are willing to listen. Eventually a time will come to either fight or to shrug. I suggest you read Atlas Shrugged so that you can point out the looters on both sides of the political spectrum. There is a virtue in selfishness and you should always take care of yourself first. Never allow yourself to become a victim of ‘the system’ and never tie your own chains.

The quality of life is whatever we make it, so make it a good one, and ask yourself the question ‘what is freedom?’