When President Bush was inaugurated, he spoke of the "untamed fire of freedom" reaching the darkest corners of the world. But in today's media, most of the talk is about spreading Democracy. In fact, Bush only mentioned Democracy once when he said, "The concerted effort of free nations to promote democracy is a prelude to our enemies' defeat." (The word 'free' or 'freedom' was mentioned 34 times.)

The words are not interchangeable, nor should they be. Democracy is a form of government, and one which is not necessarily free. People can be tyrannized by the majority just as easily as they can be by a ruthless dictator. That is why America was established as a Republic and not a Democracy. Our Founding Fathers even warned about the dangers of a Democracy, noting that the many could exploit the one.

But the word freedom means independence. Freedom is the right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness, and as long as you do it without harming your fellow man, without fear of persecution. That is why people that promote big government and nannyism, often exchange words like 'freedom' and 'independence' for 'democracy'. Freedom runs counter to their agenda, and they are hoping you won't notice the newspeak.