If you don't have a job - you're not free

For the last 30 years or so - Republicans have defined what freedom means in America. At the debate this week - Ron Paul told us what it means to be "free" in America. As in - freedom to die alone. Just like what happened to Ron Paul's campaigning manager - Kent Snyder - back in 2008 - when he contracted pneumonia - spent 2 months in the hospital - and died $400,000 in debt - because he didn't have health insurance. Ron Paul doesn't even give his campaign staff health insurance - I guess because he wants them to be "free."

We're free alright - free to go hungry - free to be poor - free to be jobless - free to breathe toxic air and drink dirty water - and free to get sick and die - and all the while, free from the government helping us. We need to once again ask ourselves what it means to be free - because for the vast majority of Americans - this new definition of freedom just isn't working.

Anthropologically speaking - historically speaking - humans have never bought into this bizarre new Republican - or Ayn Rand - notion of "freedom." For thousands of years we've organized ourselves into groups - in families - in tribes - in cities - in nations - just so we could all collectively provide each other enough basic protections and safety to live more free lives. That's the point of a democratic government in a republic like ours - to guarantee our freedom both from government intrusion but also from want, destitution, disease, and from the corporate predators around us. It's in our biology to live in "We" societies.