HOW WE SOLVE OUR CURRENT DIVIDE WILL DETERMINE IF AMERICANS LIVE IN FREEDOM OR TYRANNY

We are clearly a divided nation. We were a divided nation when the First Continental Congress met. We were a divided nation when the Declaration of Independence was signed. We were a divided nation when the Constitutional Congress was held. We have been a divided nation since the Constitution was ratified.
 
Throughout our history the United States has been a divided nation. This is good. Divided nations are strong nations so long as their end goal is the same. That is the difference today, the end goal of the two sides is not the same.  Here is the difference:
“The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite.” Thomas Jefferson
 
The end goal in the past has been that Americans should be allowed to govern themselves and not be ruled by a small elite.
 
Today that divide is defined this way, "There is a primordial American tradition going back to the Founders of being freedom obsessed, even though we are a country founded on slavery and genocide, being freedom obsessed to the point that we’re always so afraid of the government coming for us that we’re blind to other types of threats, whether it’s a virus, whether it’s bank malfeasance, climate change, what have you," said MSNBC contributor Anand Giridharadas.
 
To defend his position, Giridharadas either purposefully or ignorantly states that we were founded on slavery and genocide. Nothing could be further from the truth. There was a concerted and active movement within the colonies to outlaw slavery well before the First Continental Congress, especially within the churches throughout the colonies. I have no idea to what he is referring when he states we were founded on genocide. However, he is correct that we were freedom obsessed and feared the tyranny of government.
 
The end goal of those who wish to fundamentally transform the United States, is that they strongly disagree with Thomas Jefferson and strongly agree with Giridharadas. Jefferson said government was the threat to freedom and liberty. In the days of our founding, this was the predominant sentiment. The only difference was what is the best way to achieve that goal of limited government.
 
Today, those who wish to transform the United States believe that liberty is the threat and government is the solution. Their goal is to have a government that dictates to the people how they are to live their lives and what their thoughts are to be. They believe that with total conformity to a single ideology where the individual surrenders their rights to liberty, society will be totally harmonious. A small elite group will have all power to determine what is best for society and thus what is best for each individual.
 
This is the exact divide to which Jefferson referred. In Jefferson’s day, those who desired control by the small elite, were minimal in the United States because the people in the colonies had suffered under the tyranny of government. Today a large number of Americans desire tyranny by government.
 
Will we be able to overcome the calls for tyranny by those such as Giridharadas? I belief we will. I will not stop believing this and doing everything I can to prevent that from happening. My goal is to assist all other Americans with the same goal as that of our founders; liberty and man governing themselves. If your goal is the same as Jefferson’s and mine, please join me in my effort of “Setting Brushfires of Freedom” in the minds of our fellow Americans. It is a fight worth fighting.