Scared? Yes, though I don’t think this is a “liberal/conservative” thing. I’d bet most people would think we’ve gotten away from the original vision of this country, though I’d also guess that most would disagree on HOW we’ve gotten away from it (by “how” I mean “in what ways”).

I will say, though, that there is nothing particularly magical about the U.S. Constitution. It is a great document for which men labored intensively and put their lives on the line, and this effort has brought great peace and prosperity to generations of people living in this country. It represents a single astounding achievement whereby men came together to form a government that understood basic human rights and did a fantastic job of addressing them. However, like any man made thing, as good as the writer’s intentions and ideas were it isn’t perfect. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a valuable piece of our government and contains the guiding principles that run this country, but we can’t deny that ideas and values have changed in the last 200 years and today we have different views on even what constitutes basic human rights.

The U.S. Constitution aside, there is a balance between freedom and security. As long as there are people who will take advantage of others we’ll never be truly free (in the sense of being able to do whatever we want without fear of persecution). The question is the number limitations with which we’re willing to live in order to gain security (IT people know this all to well). Well that’s one question anyway. There are many others, including what we determine to be “security” in the first place.

I think we live in a great country that affords us a great deal of freedom, but I also think it isn’t perfect. My freedom is limited in some areas that really frustrate me, but that is part of living in a society with others who have different beliefs and values. For now I feel that these areas are tolerable, even if it isn’t “right”, because I don’t think there’s anywhere else I could go and be any freer. There still exists in this country an avenue for change, and even in the corrupt system of politics we have, a voice gets through every once and awhile.

But it won’t last forever folks. Hopefully it won’t happen in my lifetime, but I do not believe this country is inherently “good” or “moral” and so will therefore exist eternally. It is a political system, and like all political systems it has flaws that if exploited enough will ultimately be its undoing. It makes me sad, but I think it’s true. Still, I try to count my blessings and fight for the things that I think are right.