America's Grand Illusion

America's Grand Illusion of Freedom

In some quarters you can read some very thought-provoking prose on the illusion of freedom that lives and breathes in America. Does a mixture of corporate greed of the few and mass media manipulation of the many combine to give Americans a sense of freedom even though their every waking moment is consumed by a compulsion to "live the American Dream" and buy more toys until they drop dead? What kind of freedom is that? Freedom to be a blind sheep in the service to the few who control the money, the thoughts, the very hearts of the many?

Maybe the American society is a sick or even dying animal. Maybe consumerism is a phase society passes through on it's way to a greater good... who knows. But here is your reality check folks... That dying animal can usually and overwhelmingly bleat out in relative safety about the dismal state of affairs it lives and dies amongst. Freedom of Speech trumps all other cards, devices, smoke and/or mirrors. Nothing can compare to it - so next time you're sure America is living in an illusion and you want to bleat about it, you better be glad you're not living in China or any of the other nations that don't even allow you to discuss what a dismal state of affairs you're being forced to live in. Can you really bitch about America's agenda-driven media when the government doesn't own and control 100% of the media channels? Lots of countries ONLY have government controlled print and broadcast media... think about what that means. The list of countries without this most important freedom is quite a bit longer than most people suspect. Check out Amnesty International's site for info if you're curious.

Upshot: America is still the land of the highest freedom there is or can be: Freedom of Speech.