Essential Reading

No matter what your views are concerning who caused the events of 9/11 to unfold and the details of how those events were carried out, it seems very difficult to argue convincingly against the idea that the U.S. government has taken advantage of those events to restrict the basic freedoms that are enumerated within the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights.

Unfortunately, due to our wonderful educational system and general public apathy from having it too good for too long, losing freedom is somewhat of an abstract idea—especially when it occurs incrementally over a sufficiently long period of time.

The concept of freedom is one that we all take for granted one that that we feel we understand, but I would contend that most people in fact do not sufficiently understand it at all. In all the history of human civilization, in fact, very few people have.

This is the thesis of "The Discovery of Freedom" by Rose Wilder Lane. This book was published in 1943 while a certain war was going on, and it is one of those books that can make you say "Ah, ha! Now I get it!."

To understand the country in which we live, and its founding principles, you have to understand the ideas put forth in this book. When you do, you can truly appreciate what we have had here in this radical country and you can truly become alarmed at what we are rapidly losing.

You will discover that we all throw around words like "democracy", "freedom", "authority", and "government", but it is imperative that we truly understand these words. There should be nothing superficial or abstract about these concepts in your mind. Specific words are meant to have specific meanings, and when definitions are generalized and twisted and watered down, things quickly become subjective instead of objective. Their ultimate power and importance become lost.

Discover the original power of the word "freedom" and understand why governments throughout the ages have trembled before this word that is anathema to authority everywhere.

Discover what it means to be an American. Understand what it means to be a free human being on the planet Earth.

You can download a pdf of the book for free here:
http://www.mises.org/resources/082badfc-3c63-4e75-9e9c-1b84e2794b22

You can find used copies here:
http://used.addall.com/

Also recommended, now that you're in the mood:

The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot
by Naomi Wolf
http://www.amazon.com/End-America-Letter-Warning-Patriot/dp/1933392797/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218126700&sr=8-1