The Land of The Free and The Brave?

America is a country of opportunities. It is a country of great diversity. It is a country of choice. America was built by brave immigrants from all over the world, who left their homes seeking a better life for themselves. People all over the world desire to be free. Americans consider themselves, to be one of the most "free" nations in the world. But was does it mean to be free? And are we free?

America is a great country, because everyone can dream their own American Dream. People try to live up to their dreams so hard, not because they are free, but because they are not free. It is the lifestyle obsession that drives us. The media manipulation that guides us, the demand for perfection that motivates us and the American Dream that defines us.

The American Dream is something that belongs to an individual. Everyone has his own, unique dream. For some it's the achievement of material possession. For some it's the ability, to go from pumping gas at a station to being a millionaire. Others (including me) see the American Dream as the possibility to achieve success by anyone who is excellent at what he does or has a brilliant idea, no matter what his religion, skin color or ethnic background is. It's all about reaching goals, going beyond limits and materialistic satisfaction. The problem this creates, is everyone's mad rush towards success. We are ready to pay any price, to become who we dream to be. Some of us will sell their souls to the devil, just to get a shot at the "big time", but only the very few of us ever get what we really want in life.

We pursuit excellence and fear losing. From the very young we learn to compete with each other. We fear what others might think of us, what they will say. Only winning counts. The second place doesn't matter to us. America cares only about the winners. Our society demands perfection. In today's world no one wants to be mediocre. The demanding environment we live in makes the pressure in this "rat race" to success even bigger, so big we are ready to betray our friends and relatives just to get what we want. Shouldn't we sometimes sit down and consider the words of Ralph Emerson who said, "What I must do, is all that concerns me, not what the people think"?

We watch "Bay Watch" and see all these beautiful people, and believe we should be as perfect as them. We begin to ask ourselves, why we don't look like them and why we lead such different lives. We try to stand up to the expectations of the world around us, our parents, friends and colleges, and when we fail, we get frustrated, depressed and reach for prescriptions. Some people try to fill their lives by buying useless things they don't need. As an example take this quote from the movie "Fight Club", "That condo was my life. I had it all. [...], I was nearly complete". The movie as a whole is a protest against the modern way of life. A protest against our lifestyle obsession.

We are a society based on trust. True freedom comes from the ability to make decisions and take on the full responsibility for our actions. This opportunity is one of the greatest things about America, but makes us question the world around us a lot less then we should be. We should not only question the authority of our government, we should question everything. You can only make truly free choices, when you have accurate information. If CNN continues to remind you every day that we are "on high alert" and that "we are winning the war on terror", after some time you begin to believe it. If you don't get alternative media and hear out other people's view points, how will you be able asses whether the Bush administration is doing a good job in protecting national security?

"Never fight someone who buys ink in barrels", said Mark Twain referring to the power of the media years before I was born. With today's technology, cable television and the Internet, news can reach us faster, almost as it happens. The media today has more power to shape people's opinions then ever before. Take for example the case of the computer hacker, Kevin Mitnick. John Markoff's front page article in the New York Times, was the impulse that motivated the FBI to use all available resources to bring Kevin to custody. It didn't matter that the article was full of unproven stories that were printed as facts. Because of the perception this story created Kevin was refused bail (even a bail hearing) and spent over three years in solitary confinement (a very small cell, no phone calls, no books, no activities at all) without trail. Furthermore, while he was in jail awaiting trial, a movie called "Takedown" starring Skeet Ulrich, was made, containing unchecked facts and unproven stories about Kevin. This movie even was classified as a documentary! In fact at the end it claimed that Kevin's trial was already over!

Today people are so indulged in the race towards success and have little time to get their news from different, alternative sources or to check the facts themselves. The NY Times has so much power that it can shape opinions of thousands of people with the stories they publish. The facts are not what matters anymore. People's perception is all that matters. It was the people's perception that the FBI cared about. If people continue to get such information from the media and accept it without question there will be no freedom of choice, only human programming.

There is a polish movie called "Happy New York" (as opposed to Happy New Year) about illegal polish immigrants in New York. They live together in an small apartment, working very hard just to survive, and lie to their families back home just to make them believe that they are living in luxury. That's what our society is all about. Chasing luxury and money, so we can make others as well as ourselves believe in our luck.

The position of corporate America today, is very strong. Most commercials are fast pacing methods of throwing information at us, so we don't have time to question anything. After some time of chasing money and taking drugs to dull our consciousness, we lose our direction in life and forget about what's really important to us. With advertisements and commercials knocking at our door every second, how can you tell what's really important to you?

With the media manipulation in place, a society that thrives for success and our need to pursuit our American Dream, we are becoming just parts in a machine, that's only purpose is to run power, domination, and control. It's time to determine what you want from life and what is important to you as an individual. You can continue to dream the American Dream of success or try to live a life without fear, but without the rush towards greatness that fuels the imagination of so many. The problem is choice.

"No government has jurisdiction over the truth." - Fox Mulder