Four things you can do today to save your country tomorrow

By Marita Vargas

If the secret to freedom is individual endeavor made viable through beneficial association and mutually-binding agreements, then the surest path to freedom is to nurture individuals in such a way that they can operate as free agents in society. Such free agents would contribute goods and services according to their ability and receive a return according to the value of their goods — that value being set by a free market. An individual in this system, what used to be our system, would keep the bulk of what he had earned, otherwise he is little better than a serf.

It follows then that the farther away from the individual that decisions are made that impact his actions in business, his ability to affiliate, and his role in public affaires — the greater will be the extent to which he loses his freedom. That is why the trend, now well advanced, toward centralized control of everything that touches upon the life of the individual is a sure path to despotism.

However, the trend can be reversed. The offices and functions ceded to the public/governmental sphere can be returned to the private sphere. If enough of us are willing to take the necessary steps to return our nation to one in which society's vital functions are placed in private hands, we stand a chance of remaining free. Here are four great ways to start the return.

1. Teach your own children. A socialized school system leads to socialism, no doubt about it. We are witnessing the outcome of this jarring truth right now. Those who doubt this should look up the political platform of the National Education Association and then do the math on its campaign contributions. And though it is of paramount importance to be informed about such matters, it is also a good exercise to check your own memory banks. Were you taught how to retain your freedoms in high school civics? Did you gain a thorough grounding in the relationship between freedom and limited government? Are your children receiving such a grounding now? Home schooling or parent run private schools offer options in curricula selection and personal/institutional partnerships that the government schools cannot dream of. That is because the private sector alone responds to immediate needs, generating the options that make freedom exciting. If, and this is no exact science, between 50-80% of Americans said "Yes" to shaping the lives of their offspring, they would be shaping a future that differed markedly from the one the global planners have in mind.

2. Free Married Women from the 9-5 Routine. Though terribly retro-sounding to the ears of many Americans, the problem is not with the goal, but with our ability to hear its common sense ring of truth. Those American women who work to keep their families in good neighborhoods so that their children can attend good schools should be the most easy to convince of the wisdom of returning to the home (perhaps in another neighborhood). Then there are those working women who haven't considered the true value of their time. Working necessitates that they pay premium prices for the value added by invisible "hired hands." Those meals to go, daycare hours, housekeeper expenses, and parental guilt purchases (ipods instead of mom), all add up. Much of a second income goes into paying others for services a woman can offer her family at no expense. Plus, the public sphere loses the creativity and savvy of women who would otherwise operate as our chief educators; neighborhood commandoes; master socializers; and community volunteers in political, health and cultural fields. Women would become shapers of lives and of destiny. And if you think this means kissing money good-bye, see number three.

3.Start a Family Business. Numbers one and two above reach full flowering with the family-run business. When your family becomes a little commonwealth, it becomes an enterprising entity that combines the best of the private and public spheres. A community, a city, and a country made up of such productive families would be a freedom generating engine for ourselves and our posterity in a way that government can never produce. The beauty of this plan is that everyone gets to play his or her designated role in a way that augments his or her stature, builds on natural talents, and allows for the kind of growth that creates free agents who can act responsibly toward all. Additionally, running a family business allows the family to take its economic fate into its own hands.

4.Resurrect Civil Defense. When terrorist training camps can operate openly in the United States in a post-9/11 world, our government is worse than superfluous, it is derelict. When the Department of Homeland Security believes that flag-waving churchgoers are a bigger threat to peace than known Al-Qaeda operatives, our government has gone over the edge and plans on taking the rest of us with it. Yet there is not a region in the country that could not recruit knowledgeable and dedicated American citizens to guard vulnerable facilities, monitor invasive movements and plan evacuation and defense maneuvers. We are in the enviable position of one-upping the Greatest Generation. It left the farms and cities behind to fight for freedom abroad, but we can do the same at home. We can protect our homeland from the outside threat of terrorism and the inside threat of the Fifth Columnists. The barbarian is not at the gate, he has surrounded the house; and the strong man (government) who stands guard is busy tying the hands of the average citizen behind his back so that he cannot save himself or his loved ones. If we fail to bind the strong man, we had better die fighting, or risk ending not with a bang but a whimper.

© Marita Vargas