“Few persons enjoy real liberty; we are all slaves to ideas or habits.”

When government takes everything without paying for adnything, a slave state exists, Why is it that in 30 yearsm no one will accept my offer of 100 pounds of money for just describing the money that our misleaders spend? Do you think the Fed lied in saying their system "works only with credit?" Merrill Jenkins was the first Monetary Realist. 12 years ago, you could search and find one link for him. Today you will find 2 million linkd if you google: merrill jenkins money Try it!

yeah, sorta, kinda, OK, hmm, missing something

Liberty comes from our creator, including the liberty from false ideas and bad habits. Christ makes us free.

We are all creations of an idea, idea meaning a thought just as we create with ideas i.e. thoughts first and action next. Are we slaves of the creator? No and yes. No in the sense we have free choice, and yes in the sense that if we don't choose the right way we are subject to the consequences of the wrong choice. Do what is right and life is full of life's rewards but make the wrong choice and life becomes the way it is in America today i.e., on the verge of economic collapse, rising crime rates and the possibility of anarchy with a race war rearing it's ugly head. Martial law anyone?

Dave Wilber, I'm sure you've seen this before but I just couldn't resist.------"The issue which has swept down the centuries and which will have to be fought sooner or later is the people versus the banks." -- Lord Acton

A slave to habit is a product of his environment. An environment of compliance.

"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite" ~James Madison~ Happy Birthday James Madison - March 16 1751

Well said Anon and Happy Birthday to James Madison.

In general terms, we are all slaves to our upbringing and environmental influence and must spend a lifetime unraveling that which is beneficial and that which is non productive or destructive. The programmed dictate to respect authority is often taken to mean to not question the process, or those making the decisions. Examining the motives and validity of information fed persons daily is examined a process of responsibility evolves that compels each of us to begin exposing deviations from the fact and expose the fraud. What is amazing is that few care about the fraud and prefer to continue the lie, undisturbed. Is this just the American way?

Of course most people don't want real, complete liberty. Absolute liberty means absolute responsibility. I know of few people who don't look for someone else to take the blame for their mistakes. It is the human condition from Adam and Eve to today. Passing the buck is not an admirable trait, but it is a human trait. It is our nature that we are slaves to in one respect or another, but nature does not predetermine outcome. If we choose to be responsible, the outcome will be freedom.

Thank you cal. Certain posters were conspicuously silent this day. Hmm.

Statement is true but America (or Amerika as Mike would spell it) is I think the freeest of all societies. In Arabia one must be Muslim, in much of the world at one time one had to be Catholic etcetera. Now I believe that the American (or Amerikan as Mike would say it) model is increasing and state religions such as Anglican and Lutheran are on the wane and freedom is expanding in the realm of religion. Western style freedom of the press etcetera is and has increased substantially from the old days and old formulation of thought and practice. Otherwise most of the comments and responses are true, we are in a sense a victim of our upbringing.

Religious dogma indeed attempts to enslave the rational mind. Cultural prejudices, habitual belief systems, political propaganda, and government indoctrination centers (i.e. public schools) are passed on from generation to generation. There are a great many obstacles to the truth -- all of which have been put into place from the time of birth. Many of us have sought truth during our lives, only to discover con after con, lie after lie, and legions of the masses programmed to ignore the truth and prop up the lies they have been fed since children. The truth is rarely accepted by those that have invested a lifetime into myths -- myths that were purposely used to yoke the labors and property of all the 'believers.'

Throughout history, man has used many substances for many reasons, its simple, everyone has an addiction, and everyone wants to feel good. Addiction comes in many forms, and many times the addiction is not seen by others. In any case, in a free society, man has the right to do as he wishes, no government has the right to make any laws to take awy freedoms given by the constitution, and in that document i see no where where it says, "man may not get a buzz" In fact, our first president like weed, and Benjimin franklin was a coke freak.