Why Freedom is Lost Today

Yes, I shall indeed be voting today, despite having no good reason to vote. And for those who are interested, there will be plenty of better and more comprehensive coverage of the election today than the Ogre can provide (because some of us have to work for a living).

Instead, today, I'd like to pre-empt all regular programming for this essay about freedom. Other than the afternoon's Renaissance Festival review post, there will be no other posts here today. Instead, feel free to read and digest this single short post about freedom.

Freedom, to many people, is a relative concept. Personally, I like freedom. I like freedom a lot. I am willing to, and have, put my life on the line just for this strange concept of freedom. But true freedom is gone from this world, and it is highly unlikely to ever return.

Now certainly, you'd get no argument from me that The United States of America is the freest country in the world. Of that I have no doubt. After all, there's a reason those refugees keep coming here from nearly every country in the world. But yet I maintain we are not free. We may be more free than anyone else, but we're still nowhere near free.

To some, this is rather obvious. If you doubt that you are free, I challenge you to make it through one single day without either asking government for permission to do something or paying them a tribute. Go ahead, give it a shot. If you're thinking you'd just go out camping in your backyard, that won't work because you've got to pay taxes on that yard or the government will take it. I submit that there is literally nothing that can be done today without asking government permission or paying a government fee.

But that's not what this post is about. If you disagree that our freedoms are limited in America, there's not much point in your reading much further. The rest of this post assumes that you agree that government causes us to not be as free as we could be.

My problem is that not only are we not free, but I find it highly unlikely that ever again, as long as this current society reigns, will there ever be any chance for actual freedom in the world today. Why? Because freedom isn't nice.

Now freedom isn't mean, either. In fact, freedom is completely neutral when it comes to feelings and emotions. It is, however, good, just as the absence of freedom is evil. But our society, both in America and around the world, simply cannot handle, and cannot deal with anything that's "not nice."

Freedom requires responsibility. Freedom says that you reap what you sow. Freedom say that nothing is free. And that's just not nice. That's not compassionate. "For the Children" has been the rallying cry for the anti-freedom population for decades -- and it still works every single time.

In recent years, many have quoted Ben Franklin, who said something to the effect of "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." While that is true, we have moved far beyond that state today. We are not giving up liberty for safety, we are giving up freedom for compassion -- and our society has become so compassionate, we are simply not willing to give that freedom back.

For example, if there is a starving child in the street, what should be done about it? In a truly free country, a free society, any single person or organization would be completely free to help that child however they see fit. However, in today's compassionate society, that is not what happens. Instead, those who work are punished, fined, and jailed if they do not pay that fine; so that this poor child may have food. The child has to do literally nothing to obtain that food. Now, would freedom have allowed that child to starve? In a word, yes. Freedom would allow people to make bad choices -- and those bad choices could, and indeed often would, result in death.

So is freedom bad for allowing death? No, freedom is freedom because it allows people to choose the options that lead to death. If you are prevented from being allowed to make that choice, you are no longer free.

Now our society has taken that example above and expanded it beyond what the founders of our country could ever have believed. Do you know that there are now 3 generations of people who live in a house where not a single person in the entire family has ever worked a day in their life? How is that possible? Simple: by taking freedom away from others and giving cash to those who do not work to reward them for not working. In a truly free society, what would happen to those who do not work -- either by choice or because they are unable?

In previous decades, those who could not work due to physical maladies would be cared for by their families, by the churches, or at private hospitals (usually run by churches). They may not have lived a luxurious life, but live they did, due to the voluntary works of the individuals who wished to sacrifice, because they had freedom and the ability to do so. Those who would not work would perhaps be taken care of by the same entities, but with freedom, that very same entity had the freedom and option to decide that they would no longer support a person who refused to work. Most often in that case, the person who refused to work would either be forced to work, or they would simply die. That's not compassionate, but that's freedom.

I could outline various other cases and example wherein freedom would allow people to die. Once again, part of being free means to take responsibility for your actions, and being free to make the wrong choice that might result in your own personal injury or even in your death. Freedom is not safe. Freedom is not friendly and compassionate. Freedom is, however, free.

As a society today, again across America and the world, we are no longer capable of allowing people to die. We will do anything, we will spend any amount of money, and we will indeed take away any amount of freedom that is required to ensure that (some) people do not die. There is, quite literally, nothing we as a society will not do to ensure that all those who desire life will get it as long as possible, no matter their actions or choices in life. And most often the first thing that must be taken away to absolve people of the responsibility of their actions is the freedoms of others -- and that's just plain wrong.

Can you name a single elected official that actually supports freedom? When is the last time you heard your local county politician say, at a zoning board meeting, "Gee, folks, we don't have any right to tell this person what to build on their property -- it's their property, not ours?" If we were in a truly free country, you would hear that.

Have you ever heard a politician say, "I'm sorry, but we can't give away that million dollars to the poor children so they can have medicine. It's not our money to give." Again, in a free country, that would indeed be the case.

So feel free to discuss the merits of the "education lottery," the "clean air" laws, and the "health insurance for the poor." But realize that's not freedom. Go to your town meetings and oppose the building of an interchange where you don't want one. Tell your representatives to support the minimum wage. Ask for more money for the government school -- but don't tell me you support freedom.

And repeat to yourself that we're the freest country in the world. Feel free to tell me that I'm crazy and I'm welcome to leave this country any time I like. But know that you do not have freedom, and you likely never will. We, as a society, simply will not abide the real responsibility that comes with true freedom.

Freedom may not be compassionate, but freedom is good. As a society, we are no longer capable of allowing neutral freedom. We require compassion, and we will do anything to obtain it -- including destroying every semblance of freedom that exists today. We have lost freedom, and it will not soon be found again.

Oh, how I yearn for freedom.

Posted by: Ogre at 11:01 AM

Comments

Posted by: Raven at November 07, 2006 01:33 PM (s07t4)

Posted by: Ogre at November 07, 2006 02:55 PM (oifEm)

Posted by: Raven at November 07, 2006 08:23 PM (nWhDT)

Posted by: Ogre at November 07, 2006 08:30 PM (oifEm)

Posted by: Angel at November 07, 2006 08:49 PM (qo/NM)

Posted by: Ogre at November 07, 2006 09:58 PM (GPb4I)

Posted by: Echo Zoe at November 08, 2006 12:24 AM (8POA1)

Posted by: Ogre at November 08, 2006 12:30 AM (GPb4I)

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