“From whence shall we expect the approach of danger? Shall some trans-Atlantic military giant step the earth and crush us at a blow? Never. All the armies of Europe and Asia…could not by force take a drink from the Ohio River or make a track on the Blue Ridge in the trial of a thousand years. No, if destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men we will live forever or die by suicide.”

– Abraham Lincoln in his address to the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois, 1838

This is quoted as the opening line to the fantastic 2010 Titus Andronicus album, The Monitor.

Living the dream in the U.S today is as much a battle against the forces within our country as it is dealing with potential enemies at the gate. ‘Freedom ain’t free’ they say, but they’ll be the first ones to take it away…