FREEDOM, RIGHTS, AND EDUCATION FOR EVERYONE
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Letter of Introduction

In our great country's history, many things have come to pass for the good of the citizens: women's rights, civil rights, labor rights, our country's own independence, our democracy. All of these freedoms came to pass because the indomitable human spirit of Americans throughout history who refused to be oppressed, and made a stand. In making a stand, our ancestors changed the face of America so that we all enjoy fuller, richer lives. They have shaped our realities!

We can now look back on those times in our history and be thankful for the ingenuity and courage of our forefathers and mothers. Because of them, we now have these rights to ensure that we are not discriminated against because of the color of our skin, our gender, or because we receive a paycheck instead of signing one.

Today we find another form of oppression threatening Americans. One that most of us are not even truly aware of. It is financial and political oppression. The blatant economic abuse of American citizens today is discouraging. More discouraging is the fact that many do not feel that there is any course of action available to change this abuse and some are just too busy trying to make it to even look at the state of our society. There are avenues open to us, and our country's history is evidence that there is always a course of action to fight oppression. If there were not, women would not be voting, blacks and Hispanics would still be blatantly discriminated against and the average workday would be 14 hours.

David Henry Thoreau asserted in his work "Civil Disobedience" that "the character of the American people has done all that has been accomplished." In other words, the government doesn't educate, doesn't create freedoms, the people do. The power lies with the people. Here lies the problem of our current oppression: People do not realize that they themselves have the power to transform America just as our forbearers did.

We in America live in a capitalist democracy. In a true capitalist state, there will always be class struggles. Struggles between the "haves" & the "have nots". In our society, however we practice what we'd like to think of as compassionate capitalism. We can vote and take political action and pass laws to ensure we are not taken advantage of as workers, as citizens, and as consumers. The poorest person in America can be heard. Our country was founded on the notion that we are all created equal, that we all should have a voice in our government, and that all should receive the same advantage of not being discriminated against because of race or religion or social status.

That is not happening, however.

What we witness today is corporate and political greed that strips our free market enterprise of dignity and makes a mockery of our noble political system. For some reason, we, the people, are allowing these situations to exist along with our own dissatisfaction.

There are thousands of examples of all of these issues.

First of all, our government is the best that money can buy. Unfortunately not all Americans, the majority of them, in fact, have access to it.

Oil companies are exempt from the EPA regulations and are essentially allowed to dump toxic waste anywhere in the country, polluting our earth, which is essentially, all we and subsequent generations to come, have.

Insurance companies are exempt from antitrust laws which would prevent them from robbing us blind; this is a serious gap in justice. They enjoy a profit margin of up to 200%. Insurance companies, as well as other big corporations, deliberately hide undeclared and taxable incomes and participate in price fixing and consumer fraud.
What is worse is the fact that the heads of these corporations and corrupt politicians, very rarely receive the type of punishment that an everyday citizen would for the same crime. If one goes out and steals or commits fraud or doesn't pay taxes or even commits murder, that person faces prosecution, fines, and probably jail. Yet, these corporate CEOs and political heads are almost exempt from prosecution: criminal; civil or other. Their crimes involve lying, cheating, and stealing from the consumer and the citizen. These companies have billions, not millions, but billions of dollars of backing which the average American does not. These billions of dollars allow all these companies to buy political exemptions from prosecution, regulation and the rule of law.
How often have you heard about a CEO who was actually prosecuted for the crimes they commit? If and when one of these corporations is investigated, and if and when violations are found, they are fined millions of dollars, sure, but that money is paid to the government while the consumer, who truly lost out, receives nothing. This is simply not fair.

Everyday citizens are required by law, in most states, to purchase high-priced insurance policies from a corrupt industry. Those who can't afford these insurance policies are made into criminals through no-fault of their own, save poverty. This includes the single parent or minimum wage earner.

These laws are brought into existence by politicians and legislators. These are the people that are supposed to be looking out for the citizens. They are supposed to be protecting us, the everyday, tax paying citizens.

However, many federal politicians make more in one year than most of us can hope to in ten. What are we paying these people such high wages (our tax money) for? What would you, the American citizen, do with a salary like that? Would you try to expunge poverty from the face of our noble country? Would you build a school, a hospital, a day-care center? Would you feed the hungry? What are all our elected officials doing? Thinking on these questions, do you not feel enraged at the audacity of our government when they actually ask us for more of our hard earn money for taxes yet impose unfair laws on us that line the pockets of corporation heads? The government is supposed to be for the people, by the people, not on the backs of the people.
What we see happening in our society today is a widening of the gap in the haves and the have nots; and this includes the digital gap as well.

F.R.E.E. is a coalition dedicated to closing those gaps. We are a politically neutral grassroots citizen/consumer advocacy organization with an arm's length distance to any special interest group. This makes us best suited to bring into the full light of day the unadulterated facts concerning the gross injustices now prevalent in our society.
We are in the process of educating every man, woman, and child of reading age, as to the socio-political changes necessary to eliminate this economic oppression and improve everyone's quality of life. These changes involving our political system, our economy, and our concept of the quality of life must also include the average American. By "average", we mean the millions of citizens out there who don't have the money to buy the type of influence other special interest groups can.

Winston Churchill was once quoted as saying that we must never forget what our vote means to us. Therefore, we are just as responsible for our current situation of oppression as the government or big business. We, the average citizen, the majority, believe it or not, have given up our power and have turned our backs on our responsibilities as voting citizens. We must now fight to regain our power, not only for ourselves, but also for our children and our children's children. We must face our responsibilities as citizens of America. If the government is not looking out for us, we must look out for ourselves. This is how it was meant to be; the concept our country was founded on. We, the people, are supposed to govern ourselves, as equals, not subjects of anyone.

Do we want to feed and house the hungry children in our streets? Do we want safe, encouraging environments for our children to grow up in? Do we want the self perpetuating problems, such as our current urban and rural living conditions, dealt with, and solved? Do we want accountability from our representatives, legislators, and politicians?

Our answer must be, YES! YES! and YES!

We, the people, who don't have millions of dollars, to purchase special interest legislation and political influence, have the power. We are not Don Quixote jousting the windmill. We are Americans! We have, not only the right, but also the responsibility to make this country what we want and need.

We, as average Americans, need to travel the necessary roads that lead back to freedom. We need to be educated about these roads and we need support in traveling them. F.R.E.E. is dedicated to giving that support.

Please, get involved and stay involved. We can thank our ancestors for their courage, for their stand, we also want to be thanked by future generations, for taking a stand, for shaping America, for creating a better America.