Freedom's Vector

America is a wonderful story. Its birth certificate, the Declaration of Independence, was penned by Thomas Jefferson who portrayed it as a country of free and equal people, even as its father, George Washington, attended to its bloody delivery on the battlefield, against all odds. James Madison wrote its strategic operating plan, the United States Constitution, and appended individual rights, the Bill of Rights, for each of these free and equal people. By the standards of 18th century civilized man it could have been christened American Utopia: ideally perfect; socially, politically, and morally.

Well…almost. The blacks who were counted as only three fifths of a person did not think this infant was legitimate. The native Americans thought this birth certificate was a forgery. And still do.

It took 80 years and 624,511 of us dead in the Civil War to make the black man whole, and free, and equal. Before he paid the price with his own blood, Abraham Lincoln, number 624,512, the namesake of the ancient father of Western Civilization, made this young America legitimate. His Gettysburg Address was a two minute testimonial to unity, freedom, and integrity.

Looking back at the conception of Jefferson’s founding document, it is apparent that the intent he honored with his unalienable rights was that of a people who would be free and equal in opportunity in the name of human dignity. We are fortunate to have had a succession of nine wise, if imperfect, elders; Supreme Court Justices, who could refer our political miscues back to Madison’s operating plan for correction, as needed.

We should assess the degree to which we Americans are free, have equal opportunity, honor human dignity, and have followed our strategic operating plan. Let’s try to make that assessment in the spirit of love and respect for the better virtues of an America that has served us so well. We will do this following Immanuel Kant’s three great questions of life, applying them to America, its democracy, and its freedom. What do we know about it? What should we do with it? What might it aspire to? The answers to these questions will define us as we follow this quest along the path of freedom to wherever freedom’s vector might lead us.

The greatest threat to our individual freedom comes from the age-old syndicate of money and power. The corporation, the engine of our prosperity, will eventually make puppets of our government and enslave us all if we do not shut off the cash flow, masquerading as “free speech,” from the corporate boardrooms to Washington.

Our guidelines for attacking America’s insufficiencies are a handful of assumptions, to wit:

Individual freedom, equal opportunity, and human dignity are basic “goods” that we             should strive to maximize.

Personal responsibility within the framework of a democratic politic is the only         safeguard against tyranny.

Prosperity thrives under private management and withers under government control.

It is critically important to challenge government institutions for efficacy, that is, both             for efficiency of effort and quality of result.

Foreign policy should reflect our national interests, project our social values, and      embrace the use of force only as a last resort.

Our morality is the barometer of our social greatness and should reflect our best       virtues.

The pursuit of knowledge is the universal quest of mankind, but does not by itself offer         the hope of finding eternal truth.

Americans may have the system of government they desire. It is guaranteed in the    United States Constitution which is of, by, and for us all. But we will get only the     one we deserve.

Since politics is the art of the possible, politicians are limited in their ability to get to the root of America