Fit for Life: We Are Free, But at What Cost?

Fit for Life: We Are Free, But at What Cost?

It’s the weekend before July 4, when we celebrate Independence Day.

 

But what does that mean?

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• Another chance to get to the beach?

• Is it just another paid holiday for you?

• Is it just another excuse to sleep late?

• Is it another summer tradition and an excuse to drink beer and eat hot dogs?

 

Let’s discuss what it means and whether we should recognize it as a significant holiday or another day off.

 

The Declaration of Independence

 

We celebrate American Independence Day on the Fourth of July every year.

 

July 4, 1776, is a day that represents the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the United States of America as an independent nation.

 

Why did the American colonies choose to declare independence?

 

The American colonies chose to declare independence from Great Britain for many reasons.

• They believed the British were mistreating the colonists.

• The British passed many tax laws that impacted the colonists.

• The colonists had no representatives in Parliament to vote on or discuss these laws.

• In the English government, the people had to have representatives who could vote on taxes that would affect them.

• The colonists had no such voice in the British government.

 

So the basic premise was to secure our freedom and have the ability to create laws and govern our people the way we saw fit.

 

This was a big deal in the history of the United States, and to this day, it sets us apart from other nations worldwide.

 

We enjoy many freedoms and can do many things that could land us in prison or dead if they were acted upon in other countries such as Russia or North Korea.

 

Things like charging the capitol and demonstrating in the streets against our leaders and elected officials.

 

Freedom is priceless; however, we still need rules and structure because some Americans don’t always have enough common sense to do the right thing. It would be the Wild West again if it weren’t for rules, regulations, and some system.

 

What exactly is the right thing?

 

To be of sound body and mind and care for your fellow man is a simple description of doing the right thing. However, it doesn’t always work out that way.

 

Laws and rules need to be put in place and enforced mainly to protect us.

Laws for safety, such as seatbelts and drunk driving, are established because stupidity is rapid amongst humans, and without rules, we would see many more unnecessary casualties.  

 

In my opinion, there are some things we take advantage of, and we shouldn’t be free to decide, and I would be in favor of enacting laws to forbid these actions.

 

Drinking soda and eating fast / processed food are a few.

 

There is no valid argument that we should be free to consume beverages full of sugar and artificial ingredients.

It causes obesity and diabetes in millions of people on an annual basis.

 

This affects the user and strains the entire medical system, clogging it up with millions of treatable diseases and making it impossible for some people to afford health insurance.

 

The same goes for smoking cigarettes. It has the same effect on our medical system and harms innocent people in the vicinity of smokers.

 

Those are just a few simple acts that, in my opinion, should be outlawed. However, we live in a free country, so we can do whatever we want, even if it harms us, causes a domino effect, and hurts other innocent people that don’t partake in such actions.

 

I love our country and am grateful that we have the freedoms to be in charge of our destiny.

We can eat what we want, buy what we want, earn as much as we want, and nobody controls us.

 

We pay taxes so the government can provide infrastructure and support our military to protect us.

 

We aren’t perfect, and some things aren’t agreeable to everyone. However, we have the freedom to speak up and be heard.

 

So enjoy your freedom, but use common sense.

If something that you do causes harm to you or your fellow man, don’t do it.

 

Things like texting and driving, committing fraud on all levels, and driving recklessly may benefit you but could harm someone else.

 

Laws shouldn’t be in place for Americans to do the right thing.

That should come automatically.

 

We are independent and civilized and should know better, being world leaders and superpowers.

 

Be free, have fun, and stay safe.

 

Coach Matt