Are you for freedom, or against it?
by Helen & Harry Highwater, Unknown News
July 26, 2005
Another in our ongoing back to basics series.
For a free society, you just need two things. First, of course, you need people who want freedom. And second, those free people need the means to prevent others from taking freedom away -- a working Constitution, some functional system of checks and balances, or just a community spirit that says, "Don't tread on me."
We spend a lot of time debating intricate details of that second ingredient. Perhaps surprisingly, though, it's the first ingredient that's really tricky -- finding people who want freedom.
You think most people, or even most Americans, want freedom? Bosh. Most Americans don't know what freedom is, and if they know it scares the bejeebers out of them.
It's easy to wave Old Glory, or sing along with Lee Greenwood, "Proud to Be an American." Any idiot can do that, and many idiots do. But real freedom is a lot more difficult than waving a flag and singing a song. It requires hard work, long patience, and commitment to genuine principles, traits many of the loudest so-called "patriots" are clueless about.
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It isn't easy, after all, to argue that people should be free to do things you'd never do. It takes honest open-mindedness, to let people be free to worship a god you think is silly, free to read books that might warp their minds, free to say what they think, even when you think they're telling lies.
Most people are only comfortable allowing others to make "the right decisions," and they're all too willing to make sure "the wrong decisions" are illegal. It takes a true love of freedom to argue that people should be able to choose things you'd never choose. Free to do things to their own bodies that you'd never do to yours -- free to take drugs you wouldn't take, free to chase an unapproved cancer therapy, free to have sex with any consenting adult they wish, free to decide for themselves whether to bear children, free to simply think for themselves and make their own decisions.
A lot of people are scared silly to think for themselves, and scared even sillier to let you think for yourself.
It takes more principle than they've ever had, to presume that even accused child molesters, killers, and terrorists are innocent until proven guilty, to acknowledge that even the worst accusations could be wrong. It takes enormous restraint and respect for human rights, to insist that even people found guilty of crimes deserve to be treated humanely. If you can agree with that, you're probably more fair-minded than most American judges and juries.
But if you can't agree, then you're just another one of the angry townsfolk, carrying your torch and rope for a lynching. You're one of the millions or billions who fear freedom, and fight against it.
Why not embrace your inner tyrant, and admit that freedom horrifies you? Just say it out loud, and listen to yourself. That's all I ask. You're certainly in the majority, so revel in your hatred of freedom. Next time the subject of politics or religion comes up, let everyone know that you believe freedom shouldn't be allowed. Wear a t-shirt that declares in big letters, "I hate freedom." Or get a bumper sticker that says, "Tell me what to do."
I respectfully argue the opposite position: I love freedom. If you tell me what to do, I'll tell you to go to hell.
Freedom is more than just a word that sounds sweet. To mean something, it has to be truly respected, cherished, and understood, and that's a mighty tall wall to climb. Most people love their walls -- their leaders, their rules and regulations, their cages -- more than they love freedom.
You've built a cage where my freedom used to be, a cage manufactured of laws to keep me from going where I want, doing what I choose, or living my own life. Every needless law, of course, constricts our cages a little more, until there's no longer room to stand up. But the hunchbacked and kink-necked still celebrate "freedom" as if they have it, every Fourth of July.
You can build a cage for me, but I'll never willingly walk into it. I'll die trying to stay out of that cage, and I'll never build a cage for anyone else.
I'd rather be human, and live among other humans, sharing certain inalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. My life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness are my own choices, not yours. And your choices are yours to make, not mine.
That's freedom. Are you for it, or against it?
© by the author.
What do you think?
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I can't afford therapy, but boy do I need it. So as an affordable alternative, I've decided to start pounding my anger into a weekly column here.
Fair warning: My parents were repressed -- using any bad words would get my mouth washed out with soap, literally. I still remember the sickly flavor of DoveTM. So as an adult, vulgarity helps with the healing. If naughty language offends you, beat the rush and get offended now.
This page is for my own good, not yours, so you may not like it, but I don't care.
About the authors
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Helen and Harry Highwater have published Unknown News since 1997. We're a married couple sharing a byline à la Lennon and McCartney, and "I" can be either of us, or both of us. If you're consumed by curiosity, it's safe to assume the more boisterous and aggressive bits come from Helen, and anything ladylike or demure is probably Harry's work.
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Why not embrace your inner tyrant, and admit that freedom horrifies you?
Just say it out loud, and listen to yourself.
That's all I ask.
You're certainly in the majority, so revel in your hatred of freedom.
Next time the subject of politics or religion comes up, let everyone know that freedom shouldn't be allowed.
Wear a t-shirt that declares in big letters, "I hate freedom."
Or get a bumper sticker that says, "Tell me what to do."
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