Are you going to a Parade today?  The 4th of July Parade in Bristol, RI., is the nation's oldest.  I'll be marching in Glocester at their Ancients & Horribles Parade late this afternoon.  Whatever you do to celebrate the 4th you should keep in mind that America is on Parade today, all around the world.

 

In years past I've been overseas for the 4th.  I've seen the curiosity and intense interest that people in other countries have with this most American of Celebrations.  Believe it or not they join with us from wherever they are in taking note of the 4th of July.  It's not so much that people around the world approve of everything we do.  It's that people around the world recognize Freedom when they see it and they realize they have it, themselves, because we did first.  Or worse.  They realize how good life could be for them if only they had Freedom, too.

 

The election ahead is our chance to re-establish that Freedom by choosing for ourselves who our political leaders will be and, more importantly, how they will represent us.  Have you heard about the recent election debacles in Kenya and Zimbabwe?  Did you follow the 'Election as Coronation' that just took place in Russia?  If so you'll be all the more determined to take part in a Real Election this November.

 

I'll be there, too, by the way.

We live in a compassionate society.  By nature, humans try to help one another out.  When our neighbor needs a hand, we lend a hand.

 

Institutionalizing that reflex can remove its spontaneity, however.  When the government takes over management of our helping hand, you and I can become disconnected from seeing the need and responding emotionally on our own.  Some of that is a necessary evil.  We can't see all the needs that exist hundreds of miles away from us.  At some point, though, the institutional approach separates us from really feeling the need.  When that happens we loose the honest and voluntary response of reaching out on our own.

 

So what we have today is the proliferation of federal bureaucracy.  Well meaning though it was at the outset, it has become a rigid system of transferring assets that actually disconnects us from those who we would otherwise feel for here in America and abroad.  We can't simply erase that system, it would be too great a change all at once.  We do have to realize that it's time for the pendulum to start swinging back from the high point we see today.  More government programs and more government bureaucracy mean more overhead and more burden on our productive economy.

 

We need to Liberate the Economy so it will grow and benefit us all.  We need to liberate Americans, even now, by giving them back the Authority over their own pursuits of happiness and then expecting them to act Responsibly as they do so.  Everyone wants to be captain of their own ship, even if it starts out as a dinghy.  We are happier at the helm of our own destiny than we are at the mercy of a hand-out.

 

This is a key difference between the contenders in the race for Congress here in Rhode Island's Second District.  My opponent consistently votes for new federal bureaus and new federal mandates.  I think that's killing us with kindness.  I think Freedom isn't free.  We have to work hard to keep it.  I think that Freedom can be scary because it means you're free to fail, as well as to succeed.  I think that if you know all that you'll pay attention a lot more as you make your day to day decisions, and you'll be justifiably proud afterwards when it turns out you've made those decisions well.  Living Free is a Triumph in and of itself.

 

Do you want to make your own calls as you go through life, or do you want James Langevin to make them for you?

 

You'll get to make that choice in November.