Freedom
We say and believe that we love it, but what exactly is it?
We believe it is a vision embodied in our Declaration of Independence and in the Constitution and especially in the Bill of Rights, but what does it mean in ordinary, everyday life?
Does it mean habeas corpus? Does it mean voting? Does it mean "doing what you feel like"? Does it mean property rights? Capitalism? Does it mean worshipping whatever God or gods you prefer?
The psychologists tell us that humans have an ambivalent relationship to freedom. They say humans, as a mass, are torn between an adult desire for freedom and independence, and a childish desire for security and protection. And that the ambivalence is reflected in the ways they live as well as in their politics.
Thus there are many who will happily sacrifice freedom for a feeling of safety. Statists and totalitarians of every flavor appeal to that desire for security and protection from a parental State. Selling freedom is in many ways a harder sell, as much as we think we love it. On Maggie's Farm, we tend to prefer freedom and independence, but we do have that Yankee mind-set. We prefer poverty with opportunity to poverty of spirit...or so we would like to believe.
When I'm able to clarify my thoughts, I'll write more. Read William Galston as he tackles the thorny subject: Click here: "Taking Liberty" by William A. Galston
