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San
Juan, Puerto Rico, November 25, 2020
My
experience with ridiculous government overreach began literally on the day
I was born.
It
was more than three decades ago, in the tiny Soviet Socialist Republic of
Lithuania, back when the Soviet Union still existed.
As
my mother tells the story, she and my father hurried to the closest
hospital when her contractions started. But the hospital administration
staff informed them that they were not allowed to give birth there.
Apparently
we weren’t registered with that municipality. So the bureaucrats turned my
parents away and ordered them to drive to the correct hospital that matched
their records.
Unfortunately,
my parents were nearly out of gas.
Gasoline
was in very short supply at the time and considered a major luxury; the
Soviet Union was near collapse, and people routinely had to wait in line
for more than a day just to fill up a few liters of gas.
So,
my parents were without any means to drive to the ‘correct’ hospital. And
that’s when they resorted to what most people ended up doing back in Soviet
times: bribery.
They
went back to the hospital that turned them away, and paid off the nurses
and administrators to let them give birth there.
And
poof, shortly thereafter, I came into the world.
My
mother is full of these stories about Soviet times; in her youth, she
worked at a clothing store… and almost all of the inventory was Soviet-made
garbage.
On
rare occasion, though, a new dress would come in that was made in Western
Europe. My mom would immediately hide it, and sell it to special customers
who were willing to pay much more. That was the only way she could afford
to buy enough food that month.
Anything
foreign, in fact, was considered a major luxury.
Vehicles
were fairly common in the Soviet Union, but they were all pitiful Soviet
brands like Zaporozhet, Moskvitch, or Volga. Even just seeing a Mercedes
was a dream come true.
Travel
was the same. If you were lucky enough to have any money, you were allowed
to travel. But only inside the Soviet Union… so you could look forward to a
fancy vacation to Azerbaijan.
Only
big bosses with special connections were allowed to travel outside of the
Soviet Union. But for most of us in the proletariat, visiting Paris or
London was an unimaginable luxury.
It’s
funny how the things that we consider luxuries tend to change over time.
As
children we used to get really excited about a new toy, which, in
adulthood, probably seems rather trivial to us now.
And
I remember the first time I saw someone with a cell phone. It was the size
of a suitcase, but I thought he was the wealthiest man in the world.
Now
everyone has a smartphone; it’s not even close to being a luxury anymore.
I’ve
been to some of the poorest countries in the world—places like Myanmar and
Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland, in southern Africa). And even there,
people have smartphones connected to the Internet.
This
was inconceivable 15 years ago.
Most
people still consider ‘luxuries’ to be things that require a lot of money--
private jets, fancy cars, and expensive champagne.
But
as corny as it may sound, I believe one of the biggest luxuries right now
is freedom.
Covid-19
lockdowns around the world have taught us how precious freedom is, and how
easily simple things like going outside, breathing fresh air, and the
ability to travel, can be taken away from us by people who refuse to follow
their own rules.
Frankly
this was another theme of the Soviet Union—the big bosses had one set of
rules for themselves, and the rest of us peasants had another set of rules
that we had to follow.
You
see this all over the Western world now, with politicians who can’t be
bothered to adhere to their own lockdowns, but require everyone else to
isolate from friends and family.
It’s
easy to be angry about this. But it’s more effective to do something about
it.
Unlike
expensive luxuries like fancy handbags and supercars, freedom doesn’t
require suitcases full of cash. It requires rational thinking, the right
information, and the will to take action.
You might be eligible for a second passport,
practically for free, simply because you have ancestors from a certain
country (including my native Lithuania!)
And
having a second passport or second residency is a huge step towards being
able to take back your freedom. It means that, no matter what rules are
imposed, you’ll at least have another place you can go.
That
optionality is now more important than ever.
To
your freedom,
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