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If we are not free, then who or what enslaves us? Just who is our master? The government? The government may be many things to many people but it is not our master. Corporations? Almost every part of our daily life is advertised and owned by a ruthless, unethical, irresponsible, and unaccountable corporation but corporations are not our master either, all jokes of bowing to the Corporate Masters aside. Not yet, anyway. So far we can delude ourselves into thinking we have evaded their control by eating as close to the food chain as possible and resisting blind consumerism.

People in other countries are not as fortunate. Their governments may be cruel and tyrannical, governed by power hungry imperialists who want only to rape a nation for its precious resources. If by some chance they are spared this type of callous governance, they are often ill prepared for the power and persuasiveness of the corporations the new form of world government. Without democratic unions and regulations to protect the people, they are modern day slaves; forced from their ancestral lands to work long hours in unsafe conditions for a mere pittance in corporate owned sweatshops and factories.

But what about us? Who has the power to keep us mighty Americans enslaved? Some say it is consumerism itself: shop instead of thinking. Some say it is television, a powerful argument that is difficult to refute. However, in this country we have the freedom of choice. We choose whether to watch TV or not. We choose the foods we eat to either nourish or pleasure ourselves. We choose our leaders. We choose which products to buy and we refuse to buy from companies that abuse the environment, their customers, or their workers. We demand change and responsibility when human rights are infringed upon by inhuman entities. When we stand up and fight for what is right, we win. Always.

So, what keeps us enslaved? The greatest enemy is always found within. In the end, freedom is not something that can be taken away by someone else. You can take away liberty, confiscate possessions, and confine the body, but you can never imprison the mind. Only we can do that. Sometimes we do it very well. Sometimes we do it very well indeed. Once in awhile we remember the truth: that we were born here for a purpose. That purpose is to go out and be great; to become living examples of freedom and human potential; and to make the world a better place by rising to our own true place in it. Freedom is ours. What will we do with it?

Learn more about this author, T. Sunshine Love.
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