This is my introduction. First the disclaimer ahh confession. I never really had an interest in social media particularly Facebook. I could never get to a place where I felt comfortable sharing the smallest or greatest details about my daily life or care to know what my friends, family and acquaintances (these are normally called Facebook “friends” are doing. Is this anti-social behavior? No. Maybe I am just a product of my generation or upbringing. Or maybe I am not comfortable sharing information through a platform that is owned in part, controlled or influenced by financial and government and other interests that have no respect for or regard for individual privacy. My life, beliefs, interests and relationships are not gold to be mined.
So for me the most precious factor of life, after life itself, is freedom. In the history of man, individual freedoms have always been under attack. It's the enemy of tyrants. Freedom has been under attack in the United States from since its founding. But, only now is the threat being recognized by many. So, when I thought about a name for our soon to launch news website and a name for our Steemit account, I wanted a name that would summarize what we are about.
It occurred to me that a name based on the estate (land) owned by my great grand-father, would be an excellent choice. The name of the estate he owned in St. John, United States Virgin Islands is ‘Estate Free Man’s Ground’. In the Caribbean the word “ground” is the same as saying “land”. The name of the estate is the inspiration for the name of our Account ‘The Free Man’.
We know that change is constant. But, in a sea of change, our commitment to the principals of freedom must not change. We are entitled to: Freedom of Choice, Freedom of Conscience, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Movement, Freedom of Assembly and Freedom of Worship.
So, the 21st century, like centuries before it, is a century of change. It is often refereed to by some as the dawn of a new age. But what exactly is this new age? There is no doubt that the world is undergoing fundamental economic, political, technological and social changes. But are these changes random, unrelated events? Are they happening in a vacuum? Or are they, in some way, connected? How can we determine if these changes are random or related? The creative genius of man contributes to change as technological advances are made at an exponential rate. There is no doubt that too many of these changes are negatively impacting the economic and personal well-being of millions of people worldwide as knowledge is not the same thing as wisdom. Therefore, we must ask ourselves some questions: What can I do to live and thrive in these uncertain times? What does it mean to thrive? But, the primary questions are: What are we living and striving for? And Why?
I am striving to maintain and advocate for the most fundamental right every person has and that’s the freedom to choose who and what to believe and the right to share that belief with others.
I am Antony Whitehead, I am a minister, a missionary with a background in broadcasting, and a budding entrepreneur, (by necessity). A multi-ethnic, natural born American citizen of deep Caribbean ancestry and upbringing, I grew up in St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands. I have lived in the United States mainland and currently live in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. (Hurricanes Irma and Maria destroyed the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. More about that in a different post to follow.) I refuse to be stripped of my civil liberties and responsibilities. I am an advocate for limited government based on basic Biblical principals of truth and justice. And, I too "...hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable (natural) Rights, that among these are life, liberty..." "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed" The 2nd and the 1st Amendments (in that order) are necessary to ensure our civil liberties. But, national sovereignty is impossible without the sovereignty of the individual citizen and the will and means to enforce it.
There is a growing confusion and pervasive fear in America and Europe of being offended or being offensive. I am “Politically Incorrect” because there is nothing correct about “Political Correctness”. So, I say: “All Lives Matter” not just Black Lives or White Lives. In fact, the lives of the unborn matter too. What about the lives of children victims of pedophilia and murder? Don’t their lives matter too? And what is “hate speech”? And what does hate mean? These issues are not a matter of whether someone is part of the "The left" or "The Right" or whether they are a Democrat or Republican or even Libertarian or any other political party for that matter. This and other issues are about the matter of what is right or wrong. And herein lies the problem. Truth is not subjective. The lie that moral decisions are based on subjective truth and that belief in objective truth is bigoted and hateful has done more to destroy the cultural fabric of America and Europe.
Words and human cultural institutions are being redefined and weaponized and used to undue the building blocks of civility and civilization, even humanity in America and Europe and, by extension, the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa. It's stifling. It's cowardly. And its convenient. So the “useful idiots” who call themselves Social Justice Warriors are neither social in the classic sense of the term or just in their activities. There is no such thing as “Social Justice” There is “Justice”. And then there is “Injustice”. We need to be honest with ourselves and recognize what justice is under natural law, in every issue, and decide whether we are for justice under the law or for lawlessness. We must stop accepting the redefinition of words that are then used to create a pseudo moral high ground to enforce tyranny. Another example: The very definition of the word “marriage” describes the blood covenant union between a man and a woman. The institution of marriage predates every other human cultural institution known to humanity and is universal across ethnic groups worldwide. But today Europe and American interests seek to impose a different definition of marriage. And what about gender identity? How can we allow any person or group to redefine gender and then bully those that disagree upon threat of fines and imprisonment to not only tolerate but celebrate “gender choice”. Another example: Doesn’t my body belong to me? So why is there a growing trend of legislatively mandated compulsory vaccination in the United States and its territories. And don’t I have a right to know what I am eating and be able to decide whether to eat GMO food? Then I ask: Why do we accept a currency issued by a private bank as our national currency? Well there are reasons; and, we’ll discuss them. Some are obvious; but, others may be a surprise to most.
The world is waking-up to the reality that supra-national groups (interests), frame their agenda for world domination / control in the name of tolerance, equality, democracy, freedom, pro-choice and sustainable development. They also cloak their agenda with such terms as “social justice” and “civil rights” and “climate change” to aggressively bully, not only American citizens, but the governments of other nations to embrace their political, sexual, banking, vaccination, trans-humanism and genetic modified organism (GMO) agendas. But, there is a global endgame. The endgame is a One World Religion masquerading as a government. Therefore, underlying these agendas is a spiritual / religious belief system designed to destroy marriage, the family and national and individual sovereignty. The ultimate objective is the destruction of humanity by replacing man with something entirely different.
I have a YouTube and Twitter account that I never used and a Facebook account that I hardly post to because of my concerns about how the owners of those sites censor individuals and groups that publish / post information they disagree with; And, they trample on the individual privacy rights of users. They allow hateful, violent, vulgar language and false news reports from accounts with views they agree with; but, on the other hand, censor, demonetize and reduce the viewership numbers as well as close the accounts that offer an opposing view or perspective. Their increasingly vicious and brazen censorship and attacks on free speech has challenged me to reconsider my stance on participating in a social network platform. My conscience would not, however, allow me to even consider, let alone try, to share my views on Twitter or Facebook. At 54 I am less diplomatic than when I was 24. So, I looked for an alternative social media and video platform that my conscience will allow me to use to become an active advocate for truth and freedom.
For some time now we have had a desire to create a multimedia newspaper that speaks to these and many other topics and issues in an unapologetic but respectful way. But, there hasn’t been a way to fund it nor the technical skills to develop a website. Steemit may just be the platform that allows me to do both.
The wisest man that ever lived and yet lives said: “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” He also said: “Who the Son has set free is free in deed.” Are you ready to declare your independence? I did 44 years ago. And I have never looked back. The only question that I have now is: How much tolerance and space does the Steemit community have for people with views such as mine. We’ll soon find out.
I am for God, Country & Liberty!; Dios, Patria & Libertad!
The Free Man,
Antony Whitehead
