Can you handle the truth?

Remember the now iconic line in the movie “A Few Good Men” (1992) where Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) questions the defendant Colonel Nathan R. Jessep (Jack Nicholson) in a military courtroom? Kaffee demands, “I want the truth,” to which Jessep boldly shouts, “You can’t handle the truth!” 

In that same light, I suggest you read the book “From Freedom to Slavery” by Gerry Spence. It will force you to face the truth about whether people have ever been free in the United States of America. In the land of the free. Or have we merely been living under the myth of freedom?

This book has been one answer to my prayer for wisdom and discernment about today’s political and social environment. Published in 1993, the wisdom continues to be relevant, especially in a presidential election year and with critical changes to state and federal senate and congressional seats. Who we elect this year will determine how much more of our freedom we will be forced to give up to the powermongers who seek to control our lives.

Gerry Spence is an attorney who has spent many years defending citizens whose freedoms have been violated by those in power. His clients have had the experience of taking an action that crossed a line they didn’t even see, thereby having the unfortunate experience of learning the fragile nature of their freedom. 

Gerry has had the courage to write the truth as he has witnessed it. You may not agree with everything, but there are enough nuggets of truth that, if understood and absorbed by forward thinking people, can change the course of America. We hear a lot of talk these days about “taking America back” or “making America great again.” Gerry’s writing will boldly point out that there has never actually been a state of liberty and justice for all in America. It is still a beautiful dream. But if enough of us learn what true freedom would actually look like and catch the original dream of the founders of our nation, we could make America the land of free, not “again” but for the first time. 

One of my favorite authors, Wallace D. Wattles, states that we are not mentally developed by what we read but by how we think about what we read. Have the courage to read and think about what living in America would look like if we were truly free. The world is changed one person at a time. One person at a time, knowing the truth, can catch the vision of liberty and justice for all. Enlightened people, using their gifts, can contribute to making our nation as great as it was originally intended. We can change course and finally establish the American Dream for the next generation of everyone. 

Now ponder this: Before you vote, read “From Freedom to Slavery: The Rebirth of Tyranny in America” by Gerry Spence.

“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.” —Abraham Lincoln