We're heading into a long weekend filled with barbecues, family gatherings, fireworks and an appreciation for a kind of freedom that isn't found anywhere else in the world.
No other country has had the same love affair with freedom as America. Our very foundation was built on a stubborn quest to wrest our independence and establish our own identity.
But freedom comes with costs. Every hard-fought right we've won has drawbacks, yet we gladly accept them in order to maintain the life we want.
How about the freedom to sue anyone for anything? If we are wronged, we can turn to our justice system for recourse and have a reasonable hope that the right thing will be done.
Yet there's a downside to this. The United States has become a highly litigious nation, where threats like too-hot coffee and slippery floors can become feeding grounds for ravenous and pricey lawyers. Take the case of professional parachute jumper Jeb Corliss, who was outraged when security guards stopped him from leaping off the Empire State Building. He later
filed a $30 million lawsuit. And consider Esquire's satirical article about birthers, for which the magazine
got slapped with a $285 million lawsuit.
How about free enterprise? Anyone can start a business based on any idea -- a concept that has turned people into millionaires within months. Look at Groupon's
Andrew Mason for a recent example.
But there's a price. When times are bad, companies are quickly forced into pay cuts and layoffs to survive. Small businesses are especially fragile, and bankruptcy becomes a real possibility.
We are free to elect the leaders we want and then contact them at any time about the job they're doing. Yet that freedom has given rise to a $3 billion
lobbying industry that leads Congress around by the nose.
Freedom of speech is a great thing -- until some yahoos decide to
picket the funerals of fallen soldiers who died in service, causing intense pain for friends and family members.
Our free society has allowed two other industries to get out of control: health care and insurance. We want to be as healthy as possible, and we built our country's health care system around that. I don't think you'll find one person who likes the current system, however, given its ever-rising costs.
We enjoy being able to buy whatever we want, including homes and cars, yet we have to put up with the insurance industry to protect it all. Need evidence that we're paying too much for insurance? Farmers Insurance is
paying $700 million for a 30-year deal to put its name on a still-unbuilt NFL stadium in Los Angeles. There isn't even a team for the stadium yet.
Some of these drawbacks have become more poignant as the U.S. economy continues to stumble. Weak job creation, a volatile housing market and an out-of-control deficit weigh heavily on America's future. There are cities and counties that will face financial catastrophes in the next few years.
In a
recent CBS News poll, 39% of respondents said the U.S. economy is in permanent decline.
So where does this leave us? Most Americans wouldn't trade their freedoms for anything. This country fought hard for everything it's got, after all. But, as some members of the military remind us, freedom isn't free.
We all pay a price.
The financial costs of American freedom!!..
