Land of the Free

J. Kevin Tumlinson

I love getting stuff for free. I've actually become pretty good at it. I always keep an eye out for stuff that people have decided they don't want anymore (I'm a registered Dumpster Diver!). And over the years, I've picked up everything from a fully functional home stereo system to a much needed second desk for my home office. Yep, free stuff… that's the ticket.

But really, the bitter truth that I have to face is that you really don't get anything for free in this world. There's always a price. It can be literal, such as having to pay taxes on money or property left to you when your great uncle dies. Or it can be a little more abstract, such as the price our courageous soldiers are paying for our freedoms here in the United States. There's a price for simply being alive.

And in truth, you ultimately don't own anything anyway, right? I could pay cash for a piece of property and a house, own it free and clear, and yet I would still have to pay to keep it. Every year I would pay taxes, possibly home owner association dues, and fees for services such as police, fire and ambulance. And if I don't pay these things? Well, in the case of taxes, I'll lose my house and maybe even go to jail.

If I buy an automobile, the only way I never have to pay another dime on it is if I never actually use it. The government has declared that I pay for insurance, that I pay for inspections and licensing, and heck I even have to pay for a driver's license so I can prove I'm qualified to drive. If I don't pay these things, well, at least I get to keep the car. It'll be the biggest paperweight ever!

I don't even own the money I use to pay for these things. If I work and earn a wage, I have to pay taxes on the money I earned. If I put what's left in the bank in order to save and build up a nest egg for my future, I have to pay taxes on the interest the money makes. If I use the money to buy food so that I may survive and continue existing in this world, I have to pay taxes for that privilege as well.

Even dying is gonna cost ya. The coffin alone is going to cost you around $1,500 at a minimum. The plot of ground, the funeral service, the minister, the lawyer who handles your estate (if you even can afford to have an estate) - all of these things can rack up the big bucks.

Life (and apparently death) is a pricey business venture. We are constantly inundated with expenses. When does it stop? The founders of this nation fought a war for freedom from England over a 5% income tax. How much of your income went to taxes last year? America was founded by people who went out and claimed the land, worked hard, risked life and limb so that future generations would have something worthwhile. But now you have to wonder, what do we really have?

Companies are canceling employee benefits and laying people off, hiring temps instead of regular employees. Taxes are growing higher every year. Medical insurance has become so expensive and so stringent on its requirements that you're better off just staying sick all the time. When does it end?

The simple answer is the one we really never like to hear. It ends when we say it does. When we're all ready to take a stand against higher taxes and the high cost of insurance and the ever growing expense of simply being alive, then we can change it. After all, what power does a government have if the people decide to turn away from it? Ultimately, in order to be free, we have to CLAIM freedom. The freedom to speak out, to act, to fight for change, and above all the responsibility to fight for our freedom - that's what it means to live in the land of the free.

J. Kevin Tumlinson is a Houston Baptist University graduate with degrees in English and Communications. You can reach him by e-mail at kevin@viewonline.com. He is free for the weekend.