Freedom in Chains - a Book Review

I decided to hold off on my normal routine of blogging and reading of articles over the weekend so that I could finish James Bovard's Freedom in Chains. This was an excellent book that I definitely recommend. If anyone was wondering about their freedoms, their liberties, and the role government plays in securing both, then this book is for you.

In his book, Mr. Bovard leads us through the maze that government has used to gather ever increasing amounts of power to itself over the years. In the end, he explains that government is synonymous with coercion. While reading his book, I found myself enraged at the many examples he gives of unaccountable and abusive government. Events such as what happened at Waco, Texas, with the Branch Davidians or the Weaver family at Ruby Ridge in Idaho. In both cases, innocent people were killed by government officials; in both cases, government officials were not held accountable for their actions. Both were blatant massacres perpetrated by our government and both served as a show of government force to subdue the American public from becoming too rebellious.

This book was published in 2000. With the events of September 11th still to come, Freedom in Chains turned out to be more prophetic than I think even Mr. Bovard could have realized. In the aftermath, we see our government engaged in blatant usurpation of powers from illegal wiretapping to spying on Americans. The post-9/11 America we see today is exactly what Freedom in Chains was written to warn us of.

If you can find a copy, read this book. You'll thank me for it.