What is genuine freedom?, page 1

Freedom. What does that even mean? I think we've lost sight of it's true meaning. Most people are told they are free, but why do so many of us feel that we aren't really free? I think it's because ones economic situation is directly related to their freedom and right now, the economic situation for the majority is not good.

The root of these economic problems and inequality has to do with the values within society. I'm not talking about religious values, political values or other idealogic values, but economic values. Basically it comes down to the majority's lack of self sufficiency and the over-reliance on Big Government AND Big Business.

Let me explain. All you ever hear from the media has to do with the right vs the left. The right is arguing with the left over Big Government and the left is arguing with the right over Big Business. It can be somewhat entertaining like a circus, but it's mostly maddening. The problem is Big Gov and Big Biz are one in the same. They are two heads of the same monster. One side supports one head and the other supports the other head, but almost EVERYONE supports the monster.

I often wonder what Thomas Jefferson would think if he got in the Delorian and jumped ahead 200 plus years. Remember, he was not only concerned about Big Government, but equally concerned about monopolies.

Make no mistake. Corporate America has turned into one big monopoly. EVERY Corporation is owned by some other corporation and at the top is the banking cartel. They have the capital to purchase everything from land to state of the art technology to the government. The more capital one owns the more chance at success one has. And when a company gets big enough, they can manipulate the law and eat up any small business that tries to compete, even on a small local level. (Wal Mart is the obvious example here)

Now if you are fortunate enough to be completely self sufficient with no debt, good for you, but you are in the vast minority. Most people have no choice but to submit to a corporation for employment. But it doesn't just end there. Most of us support those same corporations with not only our time and labor, but with our wallets. The 1% have all the power and money because the 99% give it to them.

IMO, the solution lies in creating a more self sufficient society, where individuals rely much more on themselves by using local resources to produce the things they need. I'm pretty sure this is the "American Dream" our founding fathers had in mind.

I know that sounds way outside of the box, but can anyone offer a better solution? I don't want to hear about patchwork or solutions that manage the problems, but solving the root of the problem.

Let's try to put it in perspective. For the majority of us, what percentage of one's income goes towards basic needs like food, water, housing, energy, transportation and education? I don't think it's going out on a limb to assume that number is in the 80% plus range. So that means that both mom and dad work 40 hours a week for 40 years to meet those needs with a combined income of 60k per year. That means over 40 years they make 2.4 million. At 80%, 1.94 million goes towards those basic needs.

But if we really think about it, how much do those basic needs ACTUALLY cost. I'm not talking about what the corporations are selling them for, I'm talking about how much the resources from the ground cost to produce them. Let's take a home for example. How much of a 200k home is the actual land and raw materials...20k or 10%..?

So where does the extra 180k go? Well it goes to a variety of places. The developer and the contractors along with all of their labor, marketing and machines used to manipulate the raw materials, which are also purchased from other corporations at a markup similar to the markup of the home, Basically it goes to corporations with a lot of capital and patents on machines, as well as the training and know how to build the machines and in turn the home. And I think we all know, at the end of the day, the majority of the profits go to just a few people. These people are praised by many as "job creators", but in all actuality, they are manipulators. They use capital, patents and intellectual property to take advantage of people's basic needs.

This begs the question. Why does our educational system, which includes parenting, schooling, religions and the media,not teach us how to create these things for ourselves? The system doesn't train people to be self sufficient. It trains us how to fit in and submit to authority.

Wouldn't 4 years of education be better spent learning how to create these things for yourself at a fraction of the cost? If you could build your own home and produce your own energy, you wouldn't have to submit to corporations for 40 hours a week for 40 years. Imagine the freedom you would have to really go after your dreams.

Now obviously this is not an easy task considering the vast majority of machines used to produce these necessities are patented. But here's the kicker. Open source technology, although in its infancy, has the potential to take off and really educate people on how to produce for themselves. And those familiar with how open source works will understand the potential for exponential growth and efficiency.

Now granted, not everyone is capable of learning how to produce for themselves, so what do we do for those people in need? Well, I happen to believe that the majority of people are good and altruistic and if their own needs are met and they are truly free from the corporate grip, they will not spend their time going after fame and fortune, instead they will be more than happy helping others to become more and more self sufficient.

Self sufficiency is the last thing the powers that be want. Remember, tyranny not only comes from Big Government but from Big Business as well. Self sufficiency is the only way to genuine freedom. Whatever it takes, we must figure out a way to get there if we want to experience genuine freedom, not just some illusion of freedom.