How Free Are We?

Most of us living in the United States truly believe that we're free to create the lives and relationships that we want. We also believe that our judicial system is fair and only punishes those who need to be brought to justice. We are convinced that if a person is intelligent, works hard, and is driven to succeed they can achieve financial success regardless of the color of their skin , sex, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, ethnic background, etc. We believe that human rights violations only occur outside of the United States and that our elected officials are working hard to root out corruption and pass laws that benefit all Americans. We view drug addiction as a moral shortcoming that mostly affects people of color. After the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, and national origin it appeared that people of color were finally going to be able to enjoy the same freedoms as their white counterparts. This, however, turned to be an illusion. How so? In 1971 Nixon declared a war on drugs. The drug laws under the Nixon administration were actually designed to incarcerate people of color in order to disenfranchise them and create a huge wealth gap between people of color and white Americans. Millions of men of color who were incarcerated lead to the creation of single parent households. Families of color were broken apart leaving millions of black and brown children without fathers.

People of color have suffered the most from Nixon's new harsh drug laws since they make up the majority of the inmates in our nation's prisons. These new drug laws brought about the legal enslavement of black and brown people. U.S. prisons regularly force prisoners to work for free or for very low wages when they contract them out to perform work for U.S. corporations. Those who run the prisons receive the lion's share of the wages paid by corporations for cheap prison labor. All these people of color who are incarcerated are political prisoners who lost their right to vote and therefore can't have a say in their government or in the laws that are passed that directly affect them. The mass incarceration of people of color lead to single income households with mothers working two or three jobs just to put food on the table and a roof over their family's heads. I believe it is my duty to share the truth about how racism has and is robbing many Americans of their freedoms. Armed with the truth people can become motivated to challenge and eradicate laws that appear to benefit all Americans while really only benefiting those in power. I hope that more people will join me in sharing the truth about how our justice system and government really work.

The wealth of U.S. corporations depends on cheap prison labor. Most Americans aren't aware of this. These large U.S. corporations hire professional lobbyists who contribute large sums of money to the campaigns of various members of congress. In turn these members of congress vote for stiffer penalties and longer sentences for people convicted of various crimes.

These stiffer penalties and longer prison sentences insure that our nation's prisons will be full of inmates who can provide cheap labor to U.S. corporations. No consideration is given to the fact that these laws impose penalties that don't fit the crimes and impose hardships on inmates of color long after they are released from prison. This is something that is never shared with or advertised to the general public. After being released from prison these ex-inmates have a hard time finding a job because of their felony records and are prevented from receiving much needed long-term housing. This lack of much needed employment and housing actually forces many former inmates to re-offend. Former inmates who were never convicted of violent offenses should have their felony records expunged upon release from prison in order to give them a fair shot at rehabilitating and improving their lives.

Most Americans aren't aware of how racist our judicial system is. Black men receive longer prison sentences for the same crime committed by white men. On average black men convicted of crack cocaine offenses receive a prison sentence of 115 months while white men convicted of powder cocaine offenses receive a prison sentence of 87 months. Statistics show that white people use drugs at the same rate as people of color yet the majority of people arrested and incarcerated for drug offenses are black and brown people.

Ignorance is definitely not bliss! Only the truth can literally set millions of people of color free who were unjustly incarcerated. We as Americans cannot truly consider ourselves to enjoy greater personal freedoms than those outside the United States when we have less than five percent of the world's population and twenty-five percent of its prisoners. Something is very wrong with our judicial system. The facts prove that American citizens are not as free we believe ourselves to be.

The 1994 California three strikes law has caused thousands of people of color to be incarcerated for life. Under the California three strikes law if someone is convicted of a third offense no matter how minor as long as the previous conviction was a felony they will receive a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life. The third strike could be for something as minor as stealing a piece of pizza! This punishment doesn't fit the crime! California had a prison population of 23,264 in 1980 and by 2021 the prison population had increased to 241,000. We need to abolish the three strikes law in order to prevent the continued destruction of communities of color.

Are we as American citizens living under a truly democratic form of government? The United States of America operates more like an oligarchy than a democracy. How so? A truly democratic form of government makes sure that all citizens have a say in which laws are passed and how their government is run. The U.S. government on the other hand is run by a very powerful and wealthy minority who decide for the rest of the country what laws will be passed and how our government is run. We are not as free as we may think we are.

For example, most people would probably support the passage of a bill that would create a system of high speed bullet trains throughout the United States and which would be paid for by a fair share of taxes collected from wealthy citizens and those of modest means. Unfortunately, the auto industry and the gas and oil industry will not stand for this. They are afraid that if people start riding fast, efficient, and inexpensive bullet trains they will no longer buy cars or gas which would put them out of business.

The powerful lobbyists who represent the gas and oil and auto industries will contribute millions of dollars to the re-election campaigns of various members of congress in return for a vote opposing any bill designed to create a network of high speed bullet trains that would service all areas of the United States. These members of congress always sell their votes to the highest bidder. The average American cannot compete with these powerful lobbyists.

Everyone should be interested in knowing how their freedoms are being taken away from them so that they can take measures to regain those freedoms. By arming people with the truth it can prevent a further erosion of our freedoms. As American citizens we must wake up from our intellectual slumber and be willing to actively examine the laws that are currently robbing us of our constitutional rights and work to reform our social justice system. Let's work together to disseminate the truth about our nation's laws in order to become a truly free nation.

Those who purchase a membership to my web site will be able to participate in a monthly webinar on different topics related to Social Justice Reform. Guest speakers will answer some questions from the audience that were submitted during registration. Let's work together to make sure that every American is treated equally!