No government can ever make you free

This was the message scribed ornately over a mural of the Stars and Stripes on the back of a building which faced the tracks.

I think it sums everything up nicely.

Notice that is does not say the no government will ever make you free. This is because freedom, contrary to what I was taught in my government High-School and even College civics courses, cannot be granted to men by other men, but is a natural state of the existence of man.

You and I are free. We are free because we choose everything we do. We do not act on instinct, as animals do. Animals cannot control their reactions to their environment, as human beings can. This is a fundamental, biological distiction between humans and other animals.

Beat a horse with a whip and it will run away; flee from the source of that pain.
Beat a man with a whip and he might find it pleasurable ...

This is solely because we have conscious control of our response to external stimuli; we act, not react.

Governments, ALL governments, seek to limit and dictate the choices we have available to us. In ancient times, they did so under the supernatural guise of deity; or the almighty. Monarchs and ruling classes were seen as descendants of God, or the Great Spirit, or what-have-you. Their word was the word of God. Their deeds were the deeds of Gods.

In modern times, the supernatural has been replaced with an even more elusive "society". And the actions of the government are said to embody the "will of the People". What people? Not me.

This idea is pervasive: "We the people", "Of the people, by the people", "The people vs.". No one has ever defined "the people".

Allow me:

The People: noun. 1. Everyone but you. 2. Everyone but you as perceived by me.

So, the "Will of the people" is what I, a top-tier government official, subjectively interpret it to be. If I see it as the will of the people for you to forfeit all of your money and assets, then your property is lost. If I see it as the will of the people that you should die, your life is lost.

Here's the kicker: You voted for me. But the other guy would have done the same thing. Afterall, you are dangerous, aren't you?

The Constitution (We the People) is a government constitution; left to be interpreted by the government. We the people is not you and I, it is the government.

Here's a quote from my 11th grade American Civics teacher:

"YOUR RIGHTS AS A CITIZEN ARE CLEARLY DELINATED IN THE AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. YOU HAVE NO OTHER RIGHTS IN THE EYES OF THE GOVERNMENT."

So it is.