If the United States were a free country, its citizens’ mail, phone calls and electronic communications never would be subject to government surveillance without overwhelming probable cause.





If the United States were a free country, citizens’ right to buy, own and bear firearms never would be infringed, save for convicted felons and those with demonstrated mental impairment.





If the United States were a free country, bodily sovereignty would be recognized as sacrosanct. Suicide and euthanasia would be permitted legally. Abortion would be unrestricted. The government never would concern itself with consensual sex between adults (whether free or paid for). Private, adult drug use would be acceptable, and ownership over one’s body would be recognized without fail.





If the United States were a free country, the First Amendment would guarantee complete freedom of expression, including expression that some people might find offensive, indecent, obscene or repulsive.





If the United States were a free country, the Federal Communications Commission never would be allowed to regulate subjective matters such as "decency" and taste, which are clearly definable only in the eyes of the beholder.





If the United States were a free country, it would make no attempt to export its philosophy, mode of governance or way of life abroad. Indeed, the U.S. trying to spread its way of life is just as undesirable as Iran trying to export its values and governmental framework. A free United States would recognize every country’s right to self-determination, free of external heavy-handed influence.





If the United States were a free country, children never would be made to subscribe to any religious ideology until old enough to weigh different faiths’ relative merits. Speaking of a Christian child is absurd, just as speaking of a Keynesian child would be.





If the United States were a free country, gays and lesbians nationwide would be allowed to marry, as would brothers and sisters as well as groups of three or more. The government has no role to play in intimate relationships between adults, nor may it serve as a moral judge.





If the United States were a free country, government-performed murder (capital punishment) would be abolished.





If the United States were a free country, the advancement of science (both in the classroom and in the laboratory) never would be impeded by encroaching religious faith. Although it is perfectly acceptable as a personal belief, the faintest whisper of religion-derived laws is at odds with a free country.