The essence of liberty is free will and free choice, but with personal responsibility. Merely doing what one wishes while harming others or their property is not liberty. It’s assault or vandalism. For example God grants us free will to choose or reject Him. If we choose to spurn His grace, then we must be prepared to suffer the consequences. If you are one who believes that liberty is a natural right without a spiritual dimension, then you should embrace accountability as the logical price for liberty.
As we examine the attributes of liberty, we will be making the case for liberty. When every individual is truly free, the entire community flourishes. Where there is true liberty, honesty and integrity are valued and practiced. In addition we’ll explore the cause for liberty. How does freedom enhance the lives of those who enjoy its fruits? We will examine what real liberty does for communities and families…how it strengthens them and energizes them.
Liberty must have a moral component to exist. Without a moral standard liberty cannot be defined. If there is no moral component, “liberty” becomes venal and violent anarchy. The most moral of libertarians recognize the need for laws…a minimum number…but laws to proscribe and define the parameters of social interaction and to design penalties for the administration of justice and resolution of contractual disputes. A society built on liberty must be a just one. Not necessarily an equal one, but justice must be available for anyone who has suffered real damage. A community founded on liberty is moral and just.
The yearning for a responsible self-directed life has been distorted in our modern entitlement-oriented world. We will consider methods for issuing the call for our nation, state and localities to embrace a vision of freedom and liberty for. We’ll examine the obstacles and the opportunities. In addition, we review strategies and tactics for sharing and selling the liberty theme to our fellow citizens. Though to be candid, I’m somewhat apprehensive about “selling” liberty. Perhaps educating is a better term for making others aware of the benefits of a life of liberty.
One of the major stumbling blocks for people who are somewhat reluctant to fully embrace liberty as a life’s choice is they are fearful of the consequences. In this era of grade inflation, no fault divorce, and an “it’s not my fault” mentality, people may not want to give up the safety net of no accountability. We’ll attempt to examine how facing consequences can strengthen an individual and provide an emotional catharsis that is generally unavailable in a duck-and-run society. Failure does not have to be final. True liberty includes the freedom to fail….and to be wrong.
So where does liberty originate? Is it from God? Is it genetic or present in our DNA? Is liberty taught…transmitted from one generation to the succeeding one? We will pursue the roots of liberty so that we can more fully comprehend its importance. If the desire for liberty is God-breathed, then we are obligated to nurture it. If the thirst for liberty is genetic, then we are silly when we suppress it….it would be a form of emotional suicide. We know through historical research that liberty has been valued for ages. Who are we in this time at this place in history to tarnish the dream?
Like most good things liberty has its enemies. Sloth, entitlement mentalities, and avarice are but a few. The difficulty with examining the opponents of liberty is that there are so many. For example, complacency is a major drain on liberty’s energy. We blindly assume that we are “free enough” without clearly observing where we are headed or who’s calling the shots. The challenges for liberty will be scrutinized, too. What outside forces or political constraints are damaging our quest for freedom.
Liberty when fully achieved has the potential to be quite chaotic. Our study will help readers to embrace the confusion while grappling for some structure. Liberty is not a simple thing. Liberty is a concept, an idea that is so real it’s almost tangible, and yet, so elusive that it’s difficult to define. Writing about liberty is daunting, but winning liberty, preserving liberty and living freely are much tougher. So let’s take the journey down Liberty Lane. Won’t you join me?
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