Freedoms Lost are Hard to Regain

Standing on the main street in Khabarovsk of the Russian Republic, I saw one of the most beautiful buildings I had ever seen.

The structure of the building gave evidence of the sturdiness of its foundation and the design of the building was such that much care had been taken in the design and building of the structure. I asked our translator about the building, and he told me it was confiscated by the government and was used as a printing hall.

Upon further probing with questions, I was told the building had been used by the government since the revolution to print the propaganda that was used to reeducate the people. The translator told me that the building before the revolution was a church, a house of worship. Once the communists had taken complete control of the government and all of the people to form the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union, all church property was seized and placed under government control. Only a few churches were allowed to remain open when the leaders of the churches agreed to support the government and obey all orders sent to them by the government. As I looked at the beautiful structure where people were once free to worship, I thought of the tragic events that caused the government to take over all property and turn a church building into a printing hall where printed lies would be distributed to the people.

Watching with interest at the way we continue to see our nation forced into following government regulations, one can only muse as to whether such could happen to the U.S. When laws are slow to be passed and government agencies increase the number of regulations that are to be enforced on the people, we are moving to the time when the government can seize property and turn it into government use, rather than allowing for the personal property rights we have long held as a foundation of our nation.

We are currently in a national debate about gun control. Many people believe it is not really gun control, but personal control that is before us as a nation. We have constitutional freedom guaranteed to be able to keep and bear arms. Yet with that constitutional freedom guaranteed there are those in government who want to infringe on that right. The very foundations of our country are being chipped away as we have certain people wanting to erase all signs of personal freedom and religious liberty that have continued to keep us strong as a nation, from our founding until the present time. Step by step there can be a process of losing our freedoms and before we know it, someone will be, like me in Khabarovsk, pointing to a former church building on Main Street USA and asking how it is being used now that the government owns it.

From where I stand, we must remain alert to stand for our freedoms before we loose them.

What more must we do to keep our freedoms?

Follow Ray Newman on Twitter — @RayNewmanSr.