Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
The Phrase (It's a Free Country!")
http://afreecountry.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-often-do-you-hear-it.htmlWe've all heard the phrase before, at least most of us who are over the age of 25. In fact, those of us over the age of 25 used to hear it all the time. I can personally vouch for that. What phrase am I talking about? One that I used to hear frequently and randomly dropped as a remark or comeback in a conversation: "It's a Free Country!" I remember people used to say it all the time. It was the standard response when someone would make a remark about something that they refused to tolerate, forgetting what country they lived in...the USA.
Ever notice that you seldom hear it now? I've noticed.
I don't remember the last time I actually heard someone use that term as a response. Frankly, I think that means something. I think there's a reason why we seldom hear people say it and I don't think it's because the phrase was just a fad since long faded out. It's easy to assume that perhaps I am worrying about nothing. But if you live in the USA, take a good look around you. Take a good look at what the evening news shows us every night. Take a good look at what the newspapers say. Take a good look at what's on the Internet. Take a good look at our Constitution and the limited federal government it designs. And for those of you living outside of the USA, take a look yourself because the same fate is heading your way, if it's not already there.
We're losing freedoms left and right, by the Left and Right. If our federal government isn't squashing our economic freedoms one by one, their trying to obliterate our social freedoms. And they have no business doing either. Such things are to be left to the states. When left to the states, we have exactly (by today's standards) 50 possible variations of government to choose from. But that can't happen when the federal government controls too much, which is why the Constitution limits its power. Back when the states could provide us with more freedom of choice, we could easily say "It's a free country", because if you didn't like the way things were in one state, you could always carry your ass to a different one and live the way you wanted to live there. But if the federal government controls too much, it doesn't matter what state you live in because too much power at the federal level makes all of the states nearly the same.
I never hear "It's a free country" anymore. I think that's because we are heading in the direction of no longer being a free country of united states. Sure, sometimes we take a few steps forward, but we always end up taking a few steps back....
THIS ESSAY IS FROM 2007
IF I WERE THE EDITOR, I WOULD UPDATE IT TO MENTION THE CORPORATE CONTROL OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, BANKSTERS, AND THE ECONOMIC WARFARE WAGED AT HOME AND ABROAD...
BUT THE PHRASE STILL ISN'T HEARD IN THE LAND ANYMORE....
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
1 replies, 1205 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (6)
ReplyReply to this post
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
The Phrase (It's a Free Country!") (Original Post)
Demeter
Aug 2015
OP
TexasProgresive
(12,157 posts)1. "Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose"
Nothin', don't mean nothin' hon' if it ain't free, no no "Me and Bobby McGhee"
- sung by Janis Joplin written by Fred L. Foster and Kris Kristofferson
- sung by Janis Joplin written by Fred L. Foster and Kris Kristofferson