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Tiananmen Square: Liberty and the State
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Today is the 20th anniversary of the military crackdown on protests at Tiananmen Square. The communist Chinese government is marking the anniversary of these protests by censoring speech, which is nothing new, and justifying its actions. However, 150,000 people remembered the anniversary of this massacre in Hong Kong, which is politically and economically free.
We all know the picture, one man standing tall in front of four tanks as they roll down a Beijing street. This an example, perhaps one of the most valiant, of the individual's struggle for his natural freedoms against the tyranny of the state.
It was at the very center of our nation's founding as Thomas Jefferson wrote about the natural rights we as individuals possess that existed long before the foundation of any government...the right of self-determination, freedom of speech, ownership of private property and the right to pursue our individual vision of happiness. These are rights that we take for granted on a daily basis. We don't realize that with our apathy comes the loss of liberty. While we continue to squander our personal and economic liberties, sacrificing them on the altar of security, we don't realize the men and women who protested their government were giving their lives to fight tyranny. They knew their government had murdered tens of millions of its own people. It's not like they had the means to protect themselves. They knew the end game, but they pressed on because of their principles.
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