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By JACOB G. HORNBERGER
All across the land there is an unusual stirring among the
American populace. The American people are sensing that
something is severely wrong in our nation. They see the everincreasing taxation, regulation, bureaucracies, and police
intrusions. And they are gradually discovering that, despite
their right to vote, they have no effective control over any
of this.
Yet, despite this unease on the eve of America's third century
of existence, the American people refuse to choose the only
possible solution to America's woes: freedom--freedom through
the constitutional elimination of the welfare state/planned
economy way of life.
Why this refusal to choose freedom? One answer lies in the
fact that many Americans do not even realize that they are
unfree. Having served the required twelve-year sentence in
public schools, most Americans believe that income taxation,
subsidies, welfare, protectionism, minimum-wage laws, and all
of the other aspects of the welfare state/planned economy way
of life constitute freedom.
But what about those who have discovered the truth? Are there
not many of these who still will not choose freedom?
Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Although recognizing the
basic immorality of the welfare state/planned economy way of
life, many freedom devotees have chosen to devote their
efforts to reforming it rather than eliminating it. Why? Why
do they insist on defending a way of life which they concede
is immoral as well as a deprivation of the freedom which they
value so highly? Let us examine some of the reasons why these
individuals who know better won't choose freedom.
One reason is the tremendous fear which most Americans have of
their own government. The agency of government which Americans
fear most, of course, is the Internal Revenue Service, the
tax-collecting arm of the United States government. A mere
letter of inquiry from the IRS is enough to cause Americans to
go into a cold sweat. Not that this fear is unjustified. Every
American knows that the agents of the IRS have virtually
unlimited power to extract, from the pockets of the citizenry,
what they consider to be the "rightful" amount owed to the
political authorities. As Professor Ebeling, FFF's vicepresident of academic affairs, once put it on a radio talk
show in which we were jointly participating, "If you want to
know the ways and means of the IRS, simply study the
operations of the KGB."
But the IRS is not the only agency which inspires great fear
in the American citizenry. I have a friend who is the
executive vice-president of a major American bank. He told me
that most bank presidents, although considered by others (and
themselves) to be "high-powered" individuals, will quiver and
quake like an autumn leaf when confronted by a banking
regulator. In fact, the mere mention of an impending visit by
banking regulators will send most bankers into the same
And knowing that the pursuit of right was more important than
popular acceptance, they stood their ground for the whole
world to see!
It is that spirit of liberty which moved our American
ancestors that is so desperately needed in our time. And when
it finally grips the hearts and minds of the American people,
which I am certain it will, freedom at last will be chosen.
Mr. Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of
Freedom Foundation, P.O. Box 9752, Denver, CO 80209.
-----------------------------------------------------------From the March 1991 issue of FREEDOM DAILY,
Copyright (c) 1991, The Future of Freedom Foundation,
PO Box 9752, Denver, Colorado 80209, 303-777-3588.
Permission granted to reprint; please give appropriate credit
and send one copy of reprinted material to the Foundation.