Human Freedom, Human Creativity & American Exceptionalism

A Foundation and Outlook for Us as American Citizens

     Our American Way of Life, in its founding and traditions, is one of Human Freedom fulfilled through Human Creativity.  We as the people should embrace this vision and express Human Freedom and Human Creativity as a foremost and guiding ethic and outlook in our way of life.

Forces hostile to this and to our nation and its way of life have been emerging at this moment within our nation – forces which are suppressing individual freedom and personal initiative, making us weaker and poorer.

The response to this danger comes in adopting a clear, principled approach to our nation’s direction, and the following explores that ideal and how it can be carried forward by the citizenry and their elected officials.

Freedom, Creativity, and Their Relationship

Freedom is the Natural State for man.  Creativity is its highest form of expression.

Freedom is fulfilled in and through Creative effort.  The latter of these is no less than the exercise of individual initiative in all that we do that is proper and fitting, however seemingly great or small, all throughout our daily lives, and in each of the various individual and occupational roles which we hold throughout life.

Freedom, when used creatively, enables us to direct our efforts toward what is good and valuable for ourselves and for others.  If used poorly, Freedom can result in personal indolence and laziness or, on the other hand, in unrestrained, reckless behavior.

More than the creative expressions of music, painting, or creative writing, creativity extends beyond these to encompass all human efforts which are beneficial and productive, done both individually and in cooperative enterprise.

Our freedom and its subsequent opportunity to engage in creative endeavor in individual matters and in industry, innovation, commerce, education, entertainment, and agriculture are what have helped to bring about the great spiritual and material richness and fabric of our American society.

On the Fourth of July, we as a nation proclaim this freedom and liberty with grand events of parades, fireworks, commemorations, gatherings, and remembrances.  It is a magnificent day.

     Then, ask yourself this – What do we do on July the Fifth?

Well, we exercise the freedom which we celebrated on the Fourth through the application of our talents, abilities, and energies in creative effort for the benefit of ourselves and for others on that day and throughout all the year.

A Patriotic Outlook

Our elected representatives have the opportunity to take the moral and political high ground in expressing Human Freedom and Human Creativity as foundational to the political and civic outlook for the benefit of the nation and its people, both for the present and into the future.

From this outlook of Human Freedom and Human Creativity, those in office can then guide the subsequent formation of their policies and actions for the benefit of our American way of life.

More than being labeled simply as “conservative”, or “the party of Lincoln”, or one merely in opposition to the subversive forces of this present age, those of the Republican Party in particular and the American citizens with them can proclaim these beliefs as being essential to our nation and that preserving and advancing Human Freedom and enabling the exercise of Human Creativity benefit all.

The challenge to this today within our nation is from those who are hostile to our American ideals.  They offer no truly progressive prospect in any meaningful human sense of the word.  Their intentions are self-serving and ultimately destructive, as similar events in history have shown.

The notions of freedom and creativity, in contrast, are set in the rights and responsibilities, opportunities and obligations of and by free, patriotic individuals which, in potential and fullness, transcend and surpass the motives and actions of the other side.

The Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution implicitly recognize these assertions in the supremacy of the individual in the social order of our nation and in a manner of government which protects that status for each of us.  This has not been the case in places elsewhere or throughout much of history.  In this sense, and in the opportunities which they hold, Human Freedom and Human Creativity have brought about this America exceptionalism.

Authoritarian Systems Are Unnatural – The Need to Counter Them

With Freedom being the Natural State for man, centralized, authoritarian systems are inherently unnatural.  Because of that, they have and will fail.

Centralized and totalitarian systems as Dictatorships, Communism, Fascism, and Socialism and the present day Subversive Woke Culture demand obedience and allegiance to their leaders.

In contrast, vibrant, active, and prosperous societies recognize the need for Human Freedom and are dependent upon Individual Self-government being exercised by each of their citizens in order to allow for the benefits which flow from the potential of Human Creativity.

Centralized, authoritarian forms of government suffocate and stifle Human Creativity for the sake of allegiance from and control over those whom they subjugate.  Such systems can never hope to achieve what we, the America people, have achieved.

This is repeatedly evident throughout history and in our present day.

Authoritarian rule recently destroyed Venezuela, a country rich in oil and formerly the most prosperous among South American nations.  It became subject to dictatorship under Hugo Chavez who lied to the people there in order to gain power, and who upon achieving that, nationalized the means of production under his control.  This reign continued under Nicolas Maduro, and massive numbers of Venezuelans are now impoverished, and millions of others have fled the country, leaving what they had behind.

Prior to that, and by authoritarian rule, the Russia government and its Soviet Union attempted to  control the means of production under a Communist system.  What was sold as an eventual “workers’ paradise” by the dictatorial forces in that country in the early 1900’s became a misguided, Godless, and oppressive regime which subjected millions of Russian people and those of Eastern Europe to decades of control under a bleak and lifeless existence. 

As a result of a centralized government controlling the basic means of the agricultural practices of farmers, individuals in Russia resultingly stood outside in lines to buy food from stores with empty shelves.  Those who dared speak out against the system were greeted by the secret police and if convicted in a Soviet mock court were sent to deadly gulag prisons.

In our own country, our once great and beautiful cities have been under the control for decades by one particular political element and are shells of what they had been.  Chicago, Baltimore, and Memphis, Tennessee are blighted and crime ridden, they have hemorrhaged their populations, and have education systems where students overwhelmingly underperform, some with no future employment skills and where many of them will live lives subject to drug dealers.

Authoritarianism must be countered in the U. S. to prevent what has happened in other countries from happening here.

Our American ideals inherently expose and contrast the falsehoods and failures of centralized authoritarianism and of those who intend to impose those ways upon us.  Expressing the ideals of freedom and creativity first and foremost by both our elected representative and by us as citizens further promotes those ideals and protects and the quality and abundance of our American way of life.

The Authoritarian Tactic

The standard tactic of those acting to impose an un-American, anti-American agenda is to state a particular point of their ideology and how those who do not fully accept it are completely wrong.

There is never an objective attempt at solutions.  If people ultimately suffer, that is of no consequence.  Authoritarianism seeks political power and control, and political control and power.

But if we Americans first proclaim what it is that we believe and hold forth our foundational principles, we can from that position counter the authoritarian attacks and slings by showing with the solid evidence of recent human history how authoritarian regimes have degraded human life and human existence.

We must not be placed on the defensive.  To attempt to counter the charges and propaganda statements of authoritarian assaults without first being bolstered by a positive outlook is to respond only to what is negative, and in that, such responses concede the terms of the argument to those making their accusations.  With this as the case, we mistakenly respond on their terms, not ours.  One should not have to demonstrate the rightness of his ideas and beliefs by first stating how wrong is another person’s thinking. 

We should first state what we see and believe as achievable and then address the limitations and deficiencies of the other side.

To counter these assaults, elected officials and we as citizens, as a matter of political and social leadership, can display the greater wisdom and strength by stating that which we believe and by doing so consistently.

An analogy illustrating the benefit of this approach is the way in which law enforcement officials are trained to detect counterfeit money.  They first examine true currency in order to know what is real and genuine.

Individual Self-government Equals Individual Freedom

     Despite this day and age where official government presence, prominence, reach and overreach are so  evident as seen through the news and information media and the direct experiences of many individuals, the primary form of governance in America from the time of our founding remains that of Individual Self-government.

    This is simply the exercise of Right Reason and Traditional Moral and Social Values applied on the part of each of us as self-thinking men and women in day to day living.

It is made possible by the Human Freedom guaranteed to us as Americans.  With this, each of us  can act with Creative intent to achieve a productive and prosperous way of life.

Individual Self-government seen in this light contrasts to the type of governance which takes place in state capitals and in Washington, D.C., which is formal or organized government.  It is a system of government established first and foremost to protect our Individual Self-government.

     Since our nation’s founding, calls for smaller government or less government have been warranted.  But how small is smaller government, and how much less do we need to have less government?  The focus on being a nation first of Individual Self-government is the best starting point for the discussion of the size of government.  From that point, we can then determine what we further need.  The better we govern ourselves individually and in our various cooperative relationships with one another, the less we need the intervention of formal, organized government.

Citizenship & Civic  involvement – Preserving Freedom & Creativity

     In order to maintain and preserve our Human Freedom and Human Creativity for the benefit of each of us, Civic Involvement is essential on the part of all of us.

     There is no greater way to continue our free and prosperous American way of life than for individual citizens to be knowledgeable and active in the affairs of their communities, counties and states, and finally the national government.  Neither can our civic affairs nor those of formal, organized government be relegated solely to government officials or to elected representatives.  Their activities must always be conducted under the watchful eye of alert individual citizens.

     In this light, the Republican Party has the opportunity as a political and civic forum to foster this involvement through strong, principled, and uncompromised visible leadership and communication with the citizenry regarding our founding  principles and ideals.  It can further do this by maintaining and promoting active patriotic civic groups and organizations, by proclaiming policies and actions based on Human Freedom and Human Creativity, and by holding officials and elected representatives accountable to our American ideals and standards.

     Such an approach is not partisan or one of self-interest.  It is again that of our American way of life, one which offers benefits to all regardless of particular party affiliation or degree of political interest.  In this, our elected representatives can appeal to all citizens in what is most advantageous to them immediately and in the long term.

Service to Others & Generosity

     When we serve others in their needs through our productivity and work, others will be there in turn to serve us in our needs.  This is perhaps the greatest way of appreciating the work and efforts of others.

     Human Freedom and Human Creativity, Individual Self-government, and Civic involvement all allow for a nation and society where Service to Others is seen and practiced as a moral and social virtue for the material and human benefits which it produces.

     All of us have talents, skills, interests, and abilities which vary greatly from individual to individual and yet which complement those of others when conducted in various forms of service.  This is evident in family matters, community endeavors, church organizations, and work and employment situations.  Not everyone is a visionary or an entrepreneurial organizer, and the best of these need good, dedicated people at various levels to carry forward the work of those interests and organizations and who can do so in keeping with their individual skills, abilities, and talents.  This includes those who are handicapped or who have special limitations where all have an opportunity to engage in fulfilling enterprise.  It is Human Creativity in its fullest.

     This ethic of serving others has produced a truly beneficial American economy and standard of living for which we may all be most grateful.

     Consider the results.  This prosperity is so great that from its abundance, the charitable and philanthropic giving by the American people, both domestically and internationally to numerous causes totaled $592 billion in the 2025 year, this according to the Giving Institute, a group which has been monitoring such efforts since the 1930’s.

     Such are the benefits of a free society which flourish from Human Freedom, Human Creativity, Individual Self-government, Civic Involvement, and Service to Others.

     Both those within our nation and others beyond our shores will benefit greatly from all of this, and we and our elected officials will do well to be the agents in this light and for these ends, in this, Our Nation’s 250^th.