The Day We Declared Freedom—And The Day They Declared Us Disposable

While You Celebrate Independence, They’re Quietly Cutting Yours Away

The Day We Declared Freedom—And The Day They Declared Us Disposable

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #402

While you’re lighting fireworks and flipping burgers, they’re cutting the legs out from under you.

Today, while America drapes itself in red, white, and blue, the budget bill was signed. Quietly. Strategically. Surgically. And within its cold pages: a slash to healthcare so vicious…so cynical…that it would make King George blush.

Oh, they didn’t come for you with muskets and bayonets this time. No, they came for you with pens and spreadsheets. They buried their betrayal under mountains of budget jargon and political theater…hoping you wouldn’t notice until it was too late.

And here’s the kicker: They did it on the Fourth of July. The one day we’re supposed to remember what it means to be free.

The Quiet Knife In the Back

While you’re watching the sky explode with fireworks, remember this: your freedom was signed away today—in the fine print.

They’ll tell you it was necessary. They’ll tell you the nation needs to "tighten its belt." Funny how that belt always seems to cinch around the necks of the sick…the elderly… the poor.

Funny how it never seems to cinch around corporate subsidies…tax loopholes…or billionaires who can buy themselves a private healthcare system.

You see, this is the new war…It’s not fought on battlefields. It’s fought in committee rooms…backdoor sessions…and ink-stained pages nobody reads.

But the casualties are just as real.

And if you think this is just about "wasteful spending cuts," you haven’t been paying attention. This is about control.

This is about deciding who gets to live comfortably and who gets to struggle for breath. Who gets to die quietly because they couldn’t afford one more doctor’s visit.

The Day Freedom Was Redefined

Let’s roll back the tape.

On July 4, 1776, a bunch of angry colonists signed their names to a declaration that essentially told the world…and the most powerful empire of the time…to shove it.

They weren’t asking for table scraps. They weren’t asking for a little less tax on tea. They were staking their lives on a radical, dangerous idea:

That human beings had the right to life…liberty…and the pursuit of happiness.

Not maybe.

Not if you could afford it.

Not if you were lucky enough to be born into the right family.

But as a birthright.

Fast forward to today. What did our so-called leaders sign? A declaration that says: "Not everyone gets to pursue happiness. Some of you don’t even get to pursue health."

That is the opposite of freedom. That is the most anti-American thing you can do. It spits in the face of everyone who risked their lives for that Declaration of Independence.

It spits in the face of everyone who thought they were signing up to build a country…not a corporate playground.

Patriotism For Sale

Oh, they’ll wrap themselves in the flag today. You’ll see the photo ops…the backyard BBQs…the empty soundbites about "liberty and justice for all."

What they really mean is "liberty and justice for those who can pay the toll."

And here’s where I’ll lose some people. Because nobody likes to think that the system they love is the system that’s quietly strangling them.

But I’m not here to sugarcoat it.

And, don’t confuse my direct approach with me not loving everyone reading this; we’re all fighting for common goals…together. I hit this as hard as I do…and as direct as I do…because I love this country…and people like you who are fighting for it.

As such…like I said recently…I’m not here to make you feel good. At least not until I’ve delivered the biting truth of what I’m addressing in a given issue of JHN.

I’ve made telling you the truth…and also giving you reasons to have hope… despite the sting of the truth…my mission with JHN.

I’m here to tell you the truth you’re not going to hear while you’re watching the fireworks show…sipping your beer…and trusting that the people in charge are actually on your side.

They’re not.

The budget Trump will sign today isn’t a one-time thing. It’s a blueprint. A step toward a future where healthcare isn’t a right…it’s a privilege. A commodity to be bought and sold…rationed and restricted.

Life, Liberty, and The Price Tag

Let me make this painfully clear: If you can’t afford to stay alive…you are not free.

Let me say it again…slowly: If you can’t afford to stay alive…you. Are. Not. Free.

You are trapped in a system that assigns a dollar amount to your survival. And when the number’s too high? They cut you loose.

The budget bill isn’t about efficiency. It isn’t about patriotism. It isn’t about fiscal responsibility.

It’s about deciding who gets to climb the ladder and who gets stepped on.

The Real Call to Action

You don’t have to accept this.

Freedom isn’t just something you wave in the air on the Fourth of July. It’s something you fight for every day.

And let me tell you…the fight isn’t over. In fact…it just got personal.

You can do more than burn a sparkler today.

You can burn their phone lines…on Monday…and every day from that point on.

I’ve decided to be a persistent pain in their ass.

I’ve decided I don’t care if my phone calls are being arrogantly dismissed and unnoted. I will call once a day…come hell or high-water. Period.

Flood them all.

Call Republican lawmakers to say you consider them to have voted for the most un-American cuts in history….and that you’re going to make sure you link their name to the coming cuts to everyone you see.

Not only did Republicans vote for these cuts to life-saving services from Medicaid (as just one example), but they literally paraded around, smiling like a Possum eating…well, you know…after they passed it.

They were mocking the very Americans who will be hurt the most by the passage of this bill.

The Republicans who voted to pass this for their Master, Donald Trump…do not give a damn that you may crumple into bed each night…in tears..after an entire day…of caring for a parent…because you couldn’t get them into a facility where they’re set up to handle everything they will require each day.

Again…not only do they not give a damn…but they were mocking you.

Be sure you also call Democratic lawmakers to let them know you’re pissed off they haven’t been fighting hard enough.

If you happen to be asked “What would you suggest they do?,” (You won’t be..but..) make sure you have the newsletter I wrote recently, “Stop Pretending—Democrats Aren’t Fighting Hard Enough: Our Job Is Responsible Citizenry” handy.

Print it, or have it at the ready to read from your phone or laptop…so you can surprise the hell out of them…and give them several valid…and rock solid action steps they could be taking.

Use. Your. Voice.

Call your representatives. Leave voicemails. Send emails. Make it impossible for them to peace after the Fourth of July.

Tell them you see what they did. Tell them this isn’t going to slide. Tell them you didn’t ask for less. You asked for more.

More healthcare. More protection. More accountability. More America.

And if they don’t listen?

You primary them. You vote them out. You make it your mission to remind them who they work for.

Because if you don’t…if you let this pass…they’ll cut again. And again. And again. Until there’s nothing left but the illusion of freedom…a flag with no country behind it.

I Know You’re Tired

I know some of you are tired. I know some of you feel like you’re screaming into the void.

But here’s why I keep writing. Here’s why I refuse to let this go.

We all come from a long line of people who fought for this country. People who believed in its promise…even when that promise was paper-thin.

In my case, every time I dig into my family history (and I’ve enjoyed the process more than I can tell you)…and every time I uncover another ancestor who stood up and took the hit…whether on the battlefield…the picket line…or the pulpit…I realize I don’t get to sit this one out.

Neither do you.

Truth be told, you have people who did the same damn thing…and refused to give up…who fought like hell…in your family tree. If you don’t think so…it’s almost certainly because you’ve assumed you don’t.

YOU DO.

The Fourth of July isn’t just about what they did. It’s about what we do now.

We either carry the torch forward…or we let it die in a pile of budget cuts.

You can choose which side of that story you want to be on.

I’ve already picked mine. If you’re reading this…I know you have, too.

Now, don’t feel guilty about enjoying yourself this weekend. I won’t. This is a weekend to celebrate the fight we are committed to.

Fights aren’t won by those wallowing in self-pity.

That’s just the ritual people engage in before throwing in the towel. Fights are won by people who keep finding reasons to have a fire lit under their ass…no matter what happens.

Today…and this weekend..I’m going to eat some hot dogs…hamburgers…chips…potato salad…and laugh with my family.

Okay, there will probably be some minor argument from one of my kids…about something…but I’m not alone on this…I’m sure of it.

And…I’ll also see some friends who are back in town for the weekend…who also happen to be former Republicans who have voted blue in the last two elections.

You need it. I need it. Relax into the weekend… and recharge your batteries.

Then…come out swinging on Monday.

Rock the day!

Jack