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I am appalled by this misguided and wrongheaded development, and so should every freedom-loving American who values democratic entrepreneurial capitalism, and the limited government this moral Western institution requires to not only thrive but survive.

The United States of America is a shining beacon of what's possible when human ingenuity is unleashed and economic freedom reigns. The miracle of America is the par excellence example of how free enterprise, vigorously protected individual liberties, and a culture of entrepreneurial dynamism can generate previously unimaginable advances that elevate the human condition.

From the Industrial Revolution's technological marvels to today's digital renaissance, free market capitalism has catalyzed one game-changing breakthrough after another. The very technologies we sometimes criticize - social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and the virally popular TikTok - are themselves powerful illustrations of the liberating force of American free enterprise and innovation. Except in the case of TikTok, it was a Chinese company, not an American company. But so what?

These paradigm-shifting companies didn't emerge from the top-down central planning of an authoritarian regime. They blossomed from the fecund soil of market competition, intellectual freedom, and the ceaseless human drive to create and connect. Love them or loathe them, they represent the entrepreneurial ideals and creative destruction of democratic capitalism at its most potent.

America's unparalleled atmosphere of freedom, property rights, and economic dynamism provides the perfect ecosystem for disruptive visions and novel ideas to materialize and reshape domestic and global industries. It's why the world turns to the U.S. as the wellspring of generation-defining innovations that empower, enlighten, and enrich modern life.

There is a profound lesson in the glaringly obvious failure of centrally-planned economies.

Politburos and authoritarian regimes cannot anticipate the ever-evolving demands of consumers, compete effectively in the dynamic global marketplace, foster the environments of freedom required to nurture disruptive innovation or produce the diverse array of products and services craved by fickle and discriminating audiences worldwide.

If oppressive communist states could unleash human creativity and satisfy market forces, then Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Broadway, and other hubs of entrepreneurship and artistic expression would flourish in China, Russia, Cuba, North Korea, and similar totalitarian nations that suppress individual liberty.

The reality is that genuine ingenuity, pathbreaking creativity, and resonant art emerge only when people enjoy fundamental freedoms – freedom of thought, freedom of expression, economic freedom, and the freedom to question authority and think differently.

Restricting these indispensable human rights extinguishes the vital spark that yields consumer revolutions and cultural renaissances. Centralized control and top-down diktats are the enemies of originality, preventing societies from achieving their full potential. The conspicuous absence of communist countries among the world's cultural trendsetters and economic powerhouses serves as a perpetual reminder.

Oppression is the antithesis of progress. Only when the human spirit is unchained can the amazing feats of innovation that uplift us all be realized.