We Americans, as a civilized breed, are tremendously proud of our common values.
In the land of values, Freedom is King.
In the United States, Freedom is generally interpreted in one of two ways. It is most frequently expressed as either: a condition lacking external constraint, the so-called “negative freedom” of libertarians and many conservatives; or a “positive freedom,” better described as a position in space, from which a multitude of options descend, which image is preferred by most liberal and progressive thinkers.
The obvious fault of the negative freedom theory is that it overlooks situations in which the unconstrained freedom of one person or group actually constrains the freedom of another. On the other hand, the positive freedom theory occasionally constrains everyone’s freedom to offer toothless protections to nearly nonexistent minorities.
These models are both appealing in their own ways, and find markets in many minds, but I don’t feel that either is satisfactory. It is as though we have theories describing trees and forests, but are saying nothing about how it all ought to relate.
Allow me to sketch a brief synthesis, a “Third Way” to discuss the implications of freedom in America.
Freedom is not a commodity. It cannot be bought, sold, or traded for. Freedom for each individual impacts the freedom of all, and to this end, those who are least free among us demand the greatest efforts to remedy that imbalance. There will come occasions where a government must balance the negative freedom of the many against the positive freedom of the few, and vice versa.
The greatest goal of the pursuit of freedom, however, must be the pursuit of options. We need real options, without barriers. We need options that you don’t need a lawyer to understand. We need to bring freedom to people, rather than obfuscating it, because a freedom I can see but cannot achieve is not mine.
A single mother making $1500 a month must be able to choose to change her life. Students in our public schools must have access to the programs that they want, from music to art to metal shop to computing.
Every American must be able to be who they want to, today and tomorrow.
That’s freedom.
What does freedom mean to you? Tell us in the comments!
August 21, 2007 at 9:13 am
Although a very literate post, I have to disagree with your synopsis this time. Freedom is simple enough to understand. It is the ability to think, express, and hope without threat of governmental retaliation.
There is a definate and fine line that should not be crossed. There is an old addage that says something like, “Your rights end where mine begin”. That is bunk. In order for true freedom to exist, there has to be no stipulation as to what is and what is not a right. Freedom of the press should be unfettered. Freedom of religion should be something less of a mandate than a personal choice. Freedom of personal expression is unmatched in all of these. If we can voice discontent, then we are truly free.
However, all that happy stuff being said, we also have to realize that we are a people separated by numerous chasms of cultural and personal beliefs. As much as their beliefs disgust me, I must stand by my view that even jihadists, neo-nazi’s, and the like have the right to feel how they feel. It is when those thoughts are put into practice that the government should step in.
In the same token, nothing is free. Taanstaafl is my credo.
There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. Rights are protected only by those who do something proactive with them. Passive rights are not freedoms, they are chains.