Dear Sirs: I am writing this letter on July 4 with mixed emotions. One part of me is happy and proud that we as Americans are still able to celebrate Independence Day. The other part is sad because there is evidence that when my grandchildren are grown that the Fourth will probably be a thing of the past.

Americans have allowed freedoms to be taken away by the Federal government since the New Deal of the 1930s. Americans were forced at the time to participate in a program that was later called Social Security.

Social Security has created an astronomical block of controlled dependency. The average Social Security recipient receives payments that surpass their contributions. Washington politicians took Social Security revenues and replaced them with IOUs. It's a Ponzi scheme doomed to failure.

The sad part is that millions of Americans have lost their independence to this program.

Currently, Obama and his cronies are trying to put the final nail in the coffin with his mandated medical insurance legislation, commonly referred to as "Obama Care." He wants to force Americans to buy a product whether they want it or not, and use the police powers of the state to impose fines and punishments on violators.
If this dictatorial legislation is upheld by the Supreme Court, then freedom as we've known it for 235 years will cease.

Historians have long said that America would fall from within from immorality and apathy.
Apathy seems to be the culprit here, as Americans seem to have been led into a belief that Big Brother will always take care of them, even if it means enslaving them. Most Americans seem to be not only willing to give up their freedoms, but are also willing to forego those of their children and grandchildren.
You reap what you sow.

Harry Long
Covington