Is Freedom for Everyone? A Warning for All Americans
Guest Blog by Annie Kenny, Victim and Child Safety Advocate
The United States has long prided itself on being the “land of the free,” a nation built on the ideals of liberty, justice, and equality for all. From its founding, America has positioned itself as a beacon of hope, where individuals have the right to pursue happiness, make their own choices, and live free from oppression. But when we look closer, especially at the treatment of women and children, we have to ask: Is this freedom truly for everyone, or only for those in power?
Across the country, many Americans, regardless of political affiliation, are growing fearful about government overreach and the erosion of personal freedoms. As a Victim and Child Safety Advocate, I work with women and children who face systemic challenges daily. The rights they actually have, the rights they are perceived to have, and the rights they are quietly losing paint a troubling picture.
When Government Overreach Endangers the Most Vulnerable
One of the most significant but least discussed shifts in government power is Project 2025, an initiative that aims to restructure federal agencies and consolidate executive power. While it is framed as an effort to make government more efficient, many of its proposed policies raise serious concerns about women’s autonomy, parental rights, and the safety of children—issues that should transcend party lines.
This initiative seeks sweeping changes that would impact every American family, including:
A Nationwide Abortion Ban & Limited Access to Contraception – Reducing women’s healthcare choices, infringing on bodily autonomy, and removing personal decision-making power.
Elimination of Federal Protections for Single-Parent Families – Slashing financial and social support systems that keep struggling families afloat.
Dismantling Federal Agencies & Overhauling the Workforce – Removing key regulatory bodies that protect consumer rights, public education, and worker protections.
Before President Trump took office, I closely examined Project 2025 and its key components:
Strategic Policy Playbook – A nearly 1,000-page guide outlining a structured plan for reshaping government operations.
Staffing & Recruitment Network – A system designed to replace federal employees with individuals aligned with specific ideological views.
Leadership Training Programs – Preparing political appointees to enforce and implement these changes within government agencies.
Transition Strategy – A structured 180-day plan to ensure immediate policy changes are enacted within federal agencies.
This isn’t just about political shifts—it’s about who holds the power to make decisions over our lives. If government becomes too centralized, individual freedoms can be severely impacted, and history has shown that when power is unchecked, it rarely benefits everyday citizens.
A Direct Threat to Women and Children
One of the first actions taken by the new administration was the removal of ReproductiveRights.gov, a government site that provided crucial information on reproductive health, birth control, and abortion access. They didn’t just make it harder for women to get information—they erased it entirely. How can we pretend women are equal when their ability to make informed decisions about their own bodies is being systematically stripped away?
Even more alarming is the removal of CDC guidelines for evaluating and testing STIs in child sexual assault cases. These guidelines weren’t just bureaucratic formalities; they were lifelines for vulnerable children, ensuring they received proper medical care, appropriate testing, and that evidence was gathered to hold abusers accountable.
By quietly removing these protections, the administration has made it harder for medical professionals to diagnose and treat victims of child sexual abuse. If we truly valued children, why would we make it harder to protect them?
These changes didn’t make national headlines, and that’s what makes it even more dangerous. When policies that harm children are being implemented behind closed doors, it’s clear that these decisions are not about governance—they are about control.
It’s no secret that some of the key players in power have a history of dismissive and often hostile rhetoric toward women. This normalization of disrespect for women sets a dangerous precedent, where the dehumanization of women becomes an acceptable norm. Dehumanization leads to individuals and societies justifying harm. This isn’t just about politics—it’s about people.
Why Every American Should Care
The goal of Project 2025 is to reshape government power to be more centralized, reducing the ability of individual states and communities to make decisions that reflect their needs. Some of its most concerning objectives include:
Dismantling Federal Agencies – Weakening protections in education, labor rights, and healthcare.
Reclassifying Civil Service Jobs – Making it easier to remove nonpartisan government employees and replace them with ideologically aligned workers.
Rolling Back Support for Vulnerable Populations – Cutting government programs that support working-class families, single parents, and marginalized communities.
While the justification for these drastic moves is often framed as “efficiency” or “improvement,” true leaders find ways to make government work better without immediately harming the most vulnerable.
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
President Trump has publicly distanced himself from Project 2025, saying, “I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it.” Yet, many individuals driving this initiative are already embedded within his administration, including Russell Vought, a key player leading the Office of Management and Budget.
A TIME analysis even found that nearly two-thirds of Trump’s executive actions align with Project 2025’s goals. This is not just a vague political idea—it is an active, deliberate strategy reshaping our government and society.
The Danger of Silence
Throughout history and fiction, governments that consolidated power rarely gave it back without public resistance.
Germany in the 1930s – The Nazi regime took control by dismantling democratic institutions, restricting opposition voices, and slowly eroding freedoms under the guise of “efficiency.”
The Handmaid’s Tale – Though fictional, this dystopian story eerily reflects the risks of government overreach into personal freedoms. It serves as a modern warning of what can happen when people don’t pay attention.
The lesson is clear: complacency is dangerous. When people assume that injustices won’t reach them, they unwittingly allow oppressive forces to grow unchecked. Authoritarianism doesn’t happen overnight—it takes root when good people choose to look away.
What Kind of Nation Do We Want to Be?
This isn’t just about one election, one party, or one administration. It’s about who holds power in America and how that power is used.
The normalization of policies that harm women and children should concern all of us. The question isn’t left or right—it’s whether we are willing to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms that make this country what it is.
We must ask ourselves:
Do we want a nation where government decides which personal freedoms are allowed, or one where people make decisions for themselves?
Do we want leaders who listen to the people, or leaders who impose their will regardless of public opinion?
Do we want to look back years from now and regret not paying attention to the warning signs?
History has shown that freedom isn’t lost all at once—it’s chipped away, piece by piece, while people are too distracted to notice.
Regardless of where you stand politically, one thing should unite all of us: protecting our democracy, standing up for vulnerable populations, and ensuring that power remains with the people.
