Freedom’s Slow Fade
By J. Tyler Clark. Co-Editor of The Front Porch Magazine and Estate Planning and Probate Attorney in Burleson County, Texas.
Originally published in The Front Porch Magazine, Fall–Winter 2026–2027, page 6.
She glared at me with disgust. “No, I didn’t like the magazine,” she said. “What is this—the 1950s? Communism is not a threat to our country.”
The speaker was a local business owner whom I had encouraged to promote her shop in our fall Proud to Be an American edition. She also said she was tired of conservatives and liberals talking over one another while accomplishing little. On that second point, we probably agree. On the first, however, I believe she—and many others—may need a serious reality check.
Much to my chagrin, I am a creature of the internet. My feed is filled with young influencers who have become disillusioned with capitalism and increasingly receptive to socialism. Gallup found that 54 percent of Americans viewed capitalism favorably and 39 percent viewed socialism favorably, while 81 percent still viewed free enterprise favorably. Most Americans have not rejected economic freedom, but many have lost confidence in the institutions they associate with capitalism.
Consider Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist elected mayor of New York City in 2025. His platform called for city-owned grocery stores, fare-free buses, no-cost childcare, a rent freeze, and a $30 minimum wage. These proposals are not communism, and labeling every public program communist weakens a legitimate warning. His rise does show, however, that greater government control of economic life has growing political appeal.
American pride is also fading. In Gallup’s June 2026 survey, only 54 percent of adults said they were extremely or very proud to be American—the lowest combined figure in Gallup’s 25-year trend.
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My new friend Aurora knows what can happen when power becomes concentrated in the state. She grew up in Arad, Romania, under communist rule. After escaping Romania, she stayed in a refugee camp in Austria. There she married a Romanian man who had escaped in 1981 and was already an American citizen. Aurora received her visa within two months and arrived in California in June 1988 to begin their life in the United States.
“When people hear my accent and ask where I’m from, I tell them, ‘My name is Aurora. I am from Romania. I love America, and I am so proud to be an American. We have to keep America America!’”
Aurora has shared harrowing stories of friends betraying one another to please the party, layers of bureaucracy designed to stymie churches without state approval, and the decline of ingenuity, creativity, and imagination under the system.
During a conversation with Eva Mueller, founder and managing editor of The Valley Voice of the Brazos Valley, she expressed her views about why policies often associated with social democracy and democratic socialism appeal to many Americans: “I agree with the principles at the core of the message. For me it is a pretty simple belief: everyone deserves basic dignity and access to the things necessary to survive—healthcare, education, food, housing and utilities—and I think government has a responsibility to help ensure those things remain accessible and affordable regardless of someone’s economic status. Markets can be very effective at producing and distributing many things, but I don’t necessarily believe a market-based system is the best mechanism for ensuring access to necessities people literally cannot live without, particularly when profitability can conflict with universal accessibility.”
The fact that we can debate these questions openly and elect leaders who represent our beliefs is a tremendous privilege. Freedom is rarely lost all at once. The fade can be slow, almost imperceptible, until the dominoes begin falling faster. If we are not careful, we may one day wake up, as Aurora did, longing for freedoms we once took for granted.
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