Only the Self-Reliant Remain Free

An interesting essay by Terence P. Jeffrey:

Who had more freedom?

Was it the pioneer who rode horseback across the Midwest, settled in a wide-open space without paved roads, grocery stores or hospitals, and had to build his own home, cultivate his own food and educate his own children?

Or was it the less-adventuresome brother he left behind in an Eastern city who lived next door to a hospital, across the street from a public school and kitty corner from a grocery store — but in his later years could only get to work if he rode a public transit line and if the transit line ran on time?

I vote for the pioneer. He was not dependent on government. His brother was.

Self-reliance and freedom are inseparable. Americans once knew this in their very souls. Now, coaxed by those with a socialistic vision of government, we are beginning to forget it. We are becoming ever more dependent on government and putting our freedom at risk.

It is as simple as that.

The Census Bureau recently published some remarkable data. As of the end of 2011, it said, there were approximately 151,014,000 who received one or more benefits from the federal government. That was 49 percent of the population of the country, which then stood at 306,804,000. [read more]

So, true. America needs to get back to what made this country great: self-reliance and innovation. It’s what socialistic countries don’t have and that’s why most don’t have productive economies.