As Americans we are blessed with freedoms no other country on earth can claim. It has been argued by most that this is always a good thing. I would argue, however, that it is not always good. All the benefits that these freedoms provide are offset by consequences of the same. It is up to the citizens of the nation to determine whether the blessings outweigh the curses. Our Founding Fathers established this country as the land of the free. Their Declaration of Independence from the tyranny of their homelands spoke of unalienable rights endowed by the Creator. It is the question of what these rights are, and how far they extend that quite often becomes the curse. The blessing of these rights can be guaranteed to all only if all share a common moral and ethical foundation. When the citizens of the nation do not share such common beliefs, the system breaks down.
We are all different. We all have different backgrounds. We hail from different cultures. We adhere to different faith systems, or have no faith at all. So how do we, as a nation, survive when we are so different? If we do not share the same moral and ethical foundation how can we agree on what is good for all? How do we determine what rights are unalienable? If we fail to answer such questions we cease to be the United States of America. And if we cease to be the United States, we soon will no longer be The Land of the Free!
