“Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.”
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract (1762)
As we round the turn into the July 4th weekend, it is a good time to reflect upon our state of being. Or more precisely, our being within the state.
Say what you will about America’s often indefensible and imperfect past, the nation’s foundational principles must be acknowledged as revolutionary within the scope of human history, and the founding of the nation must also be considered as unlikely as it is now currently underappreciated. And as always, the future potential of a nation built upon freedom, as both an idea and an experiment, is worthy of constant reconsideration and renewal.
Most of us living in America today have enjoyed an undeniable privilege that remains unmatched in recent history for peace, prosperity, and general quality of life. However, what exists today does not guarantee its continued existence tomorrow. The life we have enjoyed is being altered in ways we may not be able to fully envision much less understand. We have entered a dangerous and potentially self-destructive period in our nation’s history that foreshadows a rather dark and different future if we allow certain developments to go unchecked.
As a nation, we have been lulled into a cozy and comfortable disposition that portends an ominous twist in fortune. We may not be able to visualize the exact intentions behind a particular movement or comprehend the significance of certain developments being brewed behind the scenes, but we must become cognizant of their potential before we wake up one day and ask: “How did THAT happen?”
There is a contemporary phrase to describe the altering of one’s perspective by adjusting the frame of reference: “zoom out”. This term refers to our tendency to view and measure current events, business cycles, political movements, the global economy, or human history, in terms of the recent past or within the scope of a limited slice in time. But if we “zoom out”, our perspective changes and the dynamics of an entire system can be viewed from a more eye-opening position.
Pivotal moments that alter history often occur abruptly – revolutions, assassinations, natural disasters, Hiroshima, 9/11, etc. Other occurrences are more subtle and affect the system in ways that cannot be seen immediately but clearly have the potential to shift a society or alter the entirety of human civilization – fire, agriculture, the wheel, the concept of the law, the invention of electricity, the harnessing of nuclear energy, Marxism, the digital revolution, etc.
If we zoom out quite a distance, the evolution of the means of human operation can be witnessed in three distinct phases:
1. Physical (man/animal-driven)
2. Mechanical (machine-driven)
3. Digital (computer-driven)
We are now entering the final chapter of the third phase of evolution - digitization. Designed to make life easier by allowing us to monitor, measure, and manage anything, we have willingly and openly chosen to computerize everything. And in doing so we may have unintentionally surrendered that which ensures our existence as an individual - autonomy, anonymity, sovereignty, and liberty.
In our predictable and almost inevitable pursuit of assured security, peace, and comfort, we may be willingly forfeiting the most vital element of human existence – individual freedom. The freedom to move as we choose; the freedom to associate with whom we choose; the freedom to purchase what we choose; the freedom to earn and keep what we choose; the freedom to speak as we choose; and the freedom to pursue the life we choose.
Two digital developments are being intentionally and methodically implemented that may alter the course of human freedom forever:
1. CBDC (A “central bank digital currency”)
2. The “Social Credit Score” system(
If you are not aware of either of these concepts, I implore you to do your own research to learn more about what they are, why they are being installed, who is controlling their implementation, and who will ultimately benefit. What is being sold as a path to a “better, more equitable, more secure, more prosperous, more fair society” is a mirage. These are simply powerful instruments of state control.)
Freedom demands both eternal vigilance and individual responsibility. Responsibility requires difficult choices be made that resist the urge to live comfortably yet subordinately. Sometimes we need to fight for the future we may not be able to envision but we know to be right. To ensure human freedom, each of us must choose to resist the implementation of the CBDC and the social credit score system with every means available, every tool at our disposal, and every weapon within our arsenal.
IF these digital instruments of the state are adopted, freedom as a natural human right will go irretrievably dark. These seemingly innocuous developments hold the potential to close the lock on the latch that will bind us in chains for an indeterminate future.