Sadly, the United States seems to be drifting in the same direction. In 2017, the nonprofit Freedom House gave the United States a score of 89 out of 100 on its “Freedom in the World” report. In 2023, our score is down to 83 – the same as Panama. Our score puts us firmly within the ranks of “free” countries, but despite our claims to be the “leaders of the free world,” we are far from leading the world in terms of our freedom.
During the pandemic, for instance, we saw millions of Americans accept – and even embrace – policies that deprived people of their liberties under the pretense of keeping them safe from illness. We saw governors dictate which products we could buy from stores, and impose insane rules governing whether and how we were allowed to dine out. Worst of all, we saw many instances of government officials forcibly shutting down churches – even going so far as to send police officers to harass worshipers.
But our willingness to forfeit our freedoms to supposedly benevolent authority figures goes far beyond what happened during the pandemic.
We allow government officials and private corporations to invade our privacy. We tolerate – and sometimes even demand – censorship. We elect politicians who pass multi-trillion-dollar spending bills with very little transparency about where our money actually goes. We embrace the weaponization of government to target our political enemies instead of demanding equality before the law.
America isn’t Venezuela yet, but I’ve seen how quickly a vibrant democracy can turn into a repressive dictatorship – and I’m worried about the direction in which my adopted country is headed.
During the pandemic, for instance, we saw millions of Americans accept – and even embrace – policies that deprived people of their liberties under the pretense of keeping them safe from illness. We saw governors dictate which products we could buy from stores, and impose insane rules governing whether and how we were allowed to dine out. Worst of all, we saw many instances of government officials forcibly shutting down churches – even going so far as to send police officers to harass worshipers.
But our willingness to forfeit our freedoms to supposedly benevolent authority figures goes far beyond what happened during the pandemic.
We allow government officials and private corporations to invade our privacy. We tolerate – and sometimes even demand – censorship. We elect politicians who pass multi-trillion-dollar spending bills with very little transparency about where our money actually goes. We embrace the weaponization of government to target our political enemies instead of demanding equality before the law.
America isn’t Venezuela yet, but I’ve seen how quickly a vibrant democracy can turn into a repressive dictatorship – and I’m worried about the direction in which my adopted country is headed.