“Live Free or Die”… the New Hampshire State motto. There are those who take this very seriously and others who have no idea what it really means. Live Free, what does that mean to you? Does it mean that you have the freedom to do as you choose without consequences? Does it mean that you do not need money to live in NH? What does “Live free…” really mean?
I believe that “Live Free” means that we as citizens of this great state have an opportunity to speak our minds and have a voice in the actions of our government, its policies, agencies and statutes. We have this freedom, it is our right; not just a long forgotten part of a motto that has origins all the way back to the conception of our once great nation. Freedom means responsibility, and to live free means to have a greater responsibility to your community, your county, and your state. Each person has the choice to “live free or die” here in New Hampshire. Choose to live and you choose to be a responsible, informed and active citizen in YOUR government and the people YOU have chosen to represent your interests within that government.
“or Die” means simply to leave, to go elsewhere, to allow your citizenship as a New Hampshire resident to dissolve. It does not mean that you have moved away or that you are not proud to live in New Hampshire. It means what it says… or die. Your rights, your freedoms, and your voice die if you do not choose to “Live Free.” Remember, with great freedom comes great courage and even greater responsibility.
How many of us today would be kind to a neighbor in the community that they live in; but felt that it is not THEIR responsibility to come to the aid of that person, that family, that community. The problem with this kind of apathy is that we are becoming nothing more than a group of people who just happen to share a zip code or a location. The people with that lack have many problems of their own and are too busy, too tired, and too burnt out to feel and share compassion with their fellows.
As our country is collapsing around us, economically and politically, we sit in our homes and bemoan our woes and the state of our beloved nation. The nation that so many men, women and even children have spilled their blood and sacrificed their possessions to protect is now collapsing around us. Yet, we do nothing. We wait for others to do something and then maybe we will join the fight. Others won’t. They will claim ‘it is not their fight’, ‘one person can’t make a difference’, and ‘that the system is broken so why waste time and energy to change it when we can’t’? There are many that claim to be patriots; but have they voted? Talked to their congressmen and others within the government about their concerns? Talked to their neighbors and gotten organized so that they as a group can affect the changes that need to be made to save this once great country from total destruction? I have seen little of this type exercise of freedom in my three years of living here in New Hampshire. Even when one of the most destructive conglomerate corporations; Wal-Mart, decided that it was hungry for our little community, the people moaned and complained to one another, they wrote editorials in the local newspaper stating their opinions and their fears for our community and how the retail giant would impact every aspect of our daily lives. What did this accomplish? Nothing really. Wal-Mart Supercenter is here; slowly eating businesses large & small. Protesting against them would have been effective before the ground breaking; what is the point now? The store is open, local people are working there, being paid less than they were promised, treated as the corporation overall treats its associates; with carelessness and disdain. Wal-Mart got their claws into the land and they will never let go. To boycott the store would only hurt our friends and neighbors since they are the ones employed there. The corporation will not feel the impact of such a small loss of profits from just one store. They will just move on to another; tastier community to devour.
Are we all so numb from the constant strain of financial struggles and trying our best to raise our families that we have no time left to care for one another? How many of our local farms, businesses, and homeowners are paying the price as taxpayers for Wal-Mart to provide the community another place to shop for their families that has no cheaper prices than the stores we already had like Shaws, Ocean State, Cumby’s, McDonald’s, and Dunkin’ Donuts; all within one mile of each other and Wal-Mart. These are all major corporations that provide the services and “stuff” we need or want.
So I say to you, the citizens and taxpayers of New Hampshire, why are we willing to destroy one of the last bastions of semi-rural living for the sake of convenience? Perhaps if we returned to our values and once again believed in “Live Free or Die”, we can reclaim that which was ours to begin with and should never have been lost. Freedom, our freedom. Our freedom to live as we believe; to live in harmony with our environment and to protect ourselves from corporate greed that is devouring the ideals we held so dear for so long.
That is the true cost; the “…or Die”. We are dying; life support is failing on the American Dream. We cannot feed or educate our children as we choose; there is no way we can. The government has more control over our everyday lives than ever before. Our homes are in jeopardy because the economy is so bad that people are losing their homes faster than the bank can get the forms printed. There are fewer and fewer opportunities for work outside of Wal-Mart here than before, and our minimum wage is far too low to live on without another income like another dead-end job that pays too little.
Today’s teens graduating from high school are not being taught basic life skills anymore. I don’t mean reading, writing, or mathematics. I am talking about manners, teamwork, social skills and respect. Little things like how to budget money, find an apartment, pay bills, purchase food, and do laundry. We are the ones to teach, the teachers, the social workers, most importantly the parents of these children. The guardians of the future is who we are and we need to be working towards teaching the children how they can be building a future rather than how to survive today. Today’s teens; tomorrow’s “Leaders”, can barely cook an egg. How can we expect them to lead in the future? Many of them in town are working for Wal-Mart.
Looking ahead into the future, even one year, is a frightening idea. Here in Grafton County there are so many decent, hard-working kind people living here; for now. I see too many “FOR SALE BY OWNER” signs these days to believe that this community will remain the welcoming hometown it was when I arrived in 2005. I am saddened to see the changes; even the property I rent is for sale. Everyone who has been here for generations sees what’s coming. Just another cold, impersonal suburbia built around one of the most degenerate conglomerates; next to the oil companies, ever to have been created.
