I purposely ignore the politics of our age in this newsletter for multiple personal reasons. Mostly, this format is not the vehicle to use to engage in that arena. But what I did feel compelled to share this week is the importance of our 250 year celebration approaching. Our citizenry should take a moment to reflect on the trajectory of our freedom. We get lectured about the fragility of our democracy, but our attention should focus on our freedoms.
The opening pages of Rousseau’s The Social Contract establishes our challenge as a new nation as well as our future as a free people: “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” These chains are the real things we should be worried about in 2026. What type, what forms, and from whom are these chains restricting our freedom needs to be front and center in our minds. We should be in open opposition against the same usurpations and injuries that occurred in 1776 when we seem them occurring in 2026. This battle against tyranny is our lifeblood as Americans. The fight for freedom should continue even if our republic is well settled. Have we lost our will to fight against oppression because we are comfortable? Are we willing to accept oppression because it serves our opinion? Have we been unable to muster our collective disgust for oppression because we are given over to partisanship?
Our founders risked everything because freedom costs. I worry that we have looked away, turned a blind eye, accepted less and less, and far too often compromised because we are cradled by contentment. I think we need to stop and celebrate the uniqueness of our country because here we are free. When we see an encroachment, however, slight on our freedom from whatever source and for whatever reason, we should reach deep into our history and deploy the principles of revolution.
When the chains from those we trusted to govern us are placed around our shoulders exceed our limit then even 250 years later we should be ready to declare independence from “any form of government that becomes destructive” of our right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
We are born free and these chains are getting heavy again.
Albert R. Hartley