Freedom is under attack, perhaps as never before, at least in America.

But freedom has ALWAYS been under attack. All manner of psychopaths, control freaks, and neurotics are against freedom for any number of reasons. It’s nothing new.

If you become depressed over the fact that freedom is under attack, you might as well become depressed over the fact that parades or ball games are sometimes rained out; or that snow sometimes prevents air or car travel.

It’s probably in the nature of things for people to attack freedom.

The question is: Are they winning?

It’s tempting to say: Check back in a year. Or in a decade. It’s honestly true that we cannot predict the future. Even with one person, there are too many variables; with freedom, we’re talking millions or billions of people. You cannot predict.

We do know one thing for sure. It hasn’t been possible to destroy freedom completely. Enemies of freedom were attacking our Bill of Rights in the 1980s, in the 1960s, in the 1860s and probably back to the beginning. So what? That in itself doesn’t prove anything, other than the fact that freedom is not popular. But its lack of popularity has not kept it from surviving and (at some points) even flourishing. Because freedom leads to better results than any of the alternatives, no matter how much you hate freedom.

The reality is: Most people who hate freedom intend on having it for themselves; it’s OTHER PEOPLE’S freedom they cannot tolerate. But such a contradiction cannot sustain itself. It’s one major reason why no statist regime has ever survived, not forever. Communism, Maoism, Nazism — they all fell. It doesn’t mean they were replaced by freedom, but every attack on freedom eventually fails. Every attempt at freedom succeeds way beyond expectations. The only problem? Most people cannot yet handle freedom. Mankind has, perhaps, not yet evolved enough.

So freedom remains under attack. But it’s not dead. Yes, Facebook, Google and (initially) Twitter censored any comments or evidence going against the Biden regime narrative on COVID. So did most of the major news networks. But it was still possible to find those perspectives. And now they’re all back on Twitter. Censorship has won too many battles, for sure; but it also eventually loses some big battles, and it has NOT won the war. Especially so long as people are still free to speak “incorrect” things and be heard.

And maybe freedom will never be totally dead, especially so long as a vibrant and principled minority stand ready to defend their own individual rights.

That’s all freedom has ever required: a vibrant and articulate minority. Not even a majority. Because up to now, at least, a majority has never wanted freedom.

Try to keep your spirits up. Freedom is one hell of a tough sell, because most people are still afraid of it.

But freedom can and will still prevail. That the United States existed, and went as far as it did, is solid proof of that.

Happy 2023!

Michael J. Hurd, Daily Dose of Reason