Four Freedoms: What Originally Drove Me

A visit to a local radio station allowed me to meet with one of its hosts who asked me about my writing and my background in the military, what inspired me, and if I might be able to do a piece about the Four Freedoms.

One of the people that inspired me was my mom. Her name is Susan Bernard. She was in the Army National Guard and she looked amazing in her uniform. I wanted to look like that. I wanted to look that good. That is a young mind, proud enough, lucky enough, blessed enough to not only have a mom, have one I respect, and who is worthy of admiration. I mainly joined the JROTC in high school to emulate my parents. Key words here are parents and respect. Not everyone has those. That is something that I thought everyone had when I was younger.

Now let's go back to writing. My teachers introduced me to poetry and story telling. I had a knack for writing poems, and a love for songs. Cool thing about songs, at least the good ones, they tell a story. Even though I may have had a talent for writing, I had a love for other things: science, engineering, drawing. But I had to choose something to make a living. Let's go back to the military.

I KNEW my parents couldn't afford to send me to college. They would have gladly taken on the debt. That's going to tie into the Four Freedoms here momentarily. What I didn't know, is that not everyone joins the military for the same reasons. This shocker opened me up to a fraction of the real world. I used to think along the lines, "you earn what you get," you work hard and you earn your way. Sadly, that works if everything is fair and balanced.

Some people join the military because they have nowhere else to go. Some, if they don't join, they're going to prison. And others (not the ones who join with the intent to cause harm) join because they couldn't get the school they wanted. What does that all mean. A lot of it ties to Capitalism.

If you're wondering why I'm saying that, one it's to provoke thought, but two let's look at Capitalism. One understanding is that individuals legally own their labor power. But, capitalist are the ones who provide for the inputs and outputs of that labor, also called labor production. Things like resources, tools, machinery, technology, the means to convert said labor power into a form of wealth or something that can be traded as a means to a comfortable life.

If I knew the things going into the military that I know now, I probably wouldn't have joined. I treasure my friendships; friends, family I would not have without the military. Something else that my twenty years earned me is a retirement. Not everyone gets to do that. That's not always in the plan. It should be.

The Four Freedoms stated plainly are as follows:

- Freedom of Speech

- Freedom to Worship

- Freedom from Want

- Freedom from Fear

When FDR wrote his speech, he had the entire global economy in his thoughts, what every man and woman of every nation, fighting in a world war, would want. In his original writing he states that "economic understanding which will secure to every nation a healthy peace time life" is essential.

A healthy, peace time life. That sounds like it should be comfortable. Should be safe. Maybe even free of worry. If we were to go into a discussion of what motivates a man or woman to wake up in the morning and work, that would be on going. But if I own my labor, where should I place it? "Whoever is hiring?"

There are men and women who will gladly work you hard and the pay will be questionable. Same thing can be said about a person's skill sets. That's ongoing. What should also be ongoing, are business models that meet the needs of the economy and its citizens. I'm going to mention Buc-ee's as an example, not only because a friend and I laughed about it, but because everyone who has been to one understands the rave. They take care of their assets by paying their employees well, providing a solid infrastructure from which to work, and grant their customers the amenities and space that makes transactions easy and yes affordable.

Should you be a slave to your work? Some might think so. I thought the whole reason for owning your labor power was to get away from things that were once slavery and feudalism. While researching information related to economic awareness and situational awareness, what surfaced really wasn't anything I thought would be useful. You can be taught why saving and investment strategies are important, but if it isn't a habit you are practicing it doesn't stick. I’ve taken a number of investment courses but saving, paying yourself first, is not that much different than the country paying itself as well.

At the time of this article the country is experiencing yet another debt ceiling crisis. Why is that important? Why should Americans care? Maybe if we understood better that we are borrowing and spending more than we're putting in, if that’s the case, it would make sense. The debt ceiling is a limit established by law in 1917 on how much the U.S. can borrow while meeting its obligations.

I'd like to know why government (entitlement) programs that are paid into, are the first to be considered being chopped during such discussions, despite spending trillions more than we take in on other initiatives unrelated to such programs? We pay into Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. We see these deductions on our pay stubs. USAfacts.org reported that $5.3 trillion was collected in revenue while $6.48 trillion was spent during FY2022. Some entitlement programs were listed but they were not the only items listed attributing to the national debt. If questions like these become evident, then it might be possible to adopt new habits. Habits that might prevent the debt ceiling from being an issue.

I was asked how does writing continue to serve the community. I am part of the community, I struggle, my habits are not the best, and I can write about it. If I can write about it perhaps people can relate, and if we are understanding, perhaps we can change things. Franklin D. Roosevelt inspired millions of wore-torn Americans to fight, while overcoming a depression that began four years before he took office. No one wanted to be involved in another war, and yet our aid was needed. These are the type of questions that the Four Freedoms encompass. As I become an older and hopefully stronger writer, with everyone’s help perhaps these questions and ideas may inspire understanding to get us to where we have yet to arrive.