Liberty
is freedom, freedom to think for ourselves and live our lives in accordance
with our own rational thought. “Give me liberty or give me death!” This famous
quote by Patrick Henry is an interesting one to ponder. At first hearing, one
cannot help but be inspired by a man who sought liberty so desperately that he
would rather have it than live a life without it. Because of this passion, this
quote has been manipulated over time to apply to anything of personal value
that a person desperately seeks or desires, such as “Give me convenience or
give me death!” While this passion is certainly one part of what Henry intended
when he made this statement, I think there is also a deeper and perhaps less
obvious implication. It is an either or statement. It is either liberty OR
death. Liberty entitles you to your life. Henry knew in contrast, a life
controlled by another, a life lived in servitude, a life directed by anything
other than the dictates of one’s own conscience, is no real life at all.
However,
if we are to live life by our decisions, then we have to accept the
consequences (good and bad) of those decisions. We have to take responsibility.
If you buy a house for more than you can afford and default, you lose the
house. If you run a business unsuccessfully, you fail. You cannot make a
decision and then avoid the consequences. It is against natural law, it is
against common sense. If you want to have freedom, if you want to make your own
decisions and embrace free agency, and live your life the way you see fit, then
you absolutely have to accept responsibility for the life you choose to live.
This is easy when our decisions go according to plan and the consequences are
desirable.
However,
when we make wrong decisions and are faced with undesirable consequences; this
is when some place their liberty in jeopardy. We can either accept the
consequences and fight our way through and preserve our freedom; OR we can
shift blame, look for a bailout, and wait for someone else to clean up our
mess. That is when our liberty is lost, the very minute we refuse to take
responsibility for our own actions. That is when we opt for security over
freedom, bondage over accountability, death over liberty.
We see
this right now, as GM is not allowed to even make their own personnel decisions
anymore. Story
Story 2
What is
the opposite of living a life of freedom and responsibility? You live a life
directed by others and thus supposedly escape any responsibility for your
actions, because your actions were at the command of another. Even if this were
possible, how is it possibly appealing? Is it really so demanding to be
accountable for your own actions that you would willingly give up your personal
freedoms to achieve such a state? Is it really worth it to sacrifice your
control over your existence just to avoid hard times? Is man’s potential really
just that of following orders with no thought for their consequence? Can man
even really exist as man without thinking for himself? (Ayn Rand makes an
excellent point of this in Atlas Shrugged, John Galt’s speech)
There are
so many in this country today that just want to be told what to do, what to
believe, how to act, how to react, what principles (or lack thereof) to live
by, who to be angry at, who not to question… how to live. They don’t want to
think. They don’t want to explore their own potential. They don’t want to
become great. They just want to exist. What for? Living just to not be dead, is
not living. They just want to be taken care of. But at the expense of freedom?
H.L. Mencken said;
“The average man does not want to be free. He simply
wants to be safe.”
It is no
wonder socialism in our country is flourishing, if the mindset of the masses is
such. They fear uncertainty and crave safety and security EVEN at the expense
of their liberty. Perhaps ignorance is their sin, with no knowledge of the
principles this country was founded on…
“Liberty cannot be preserved without a general
knowledge among the people.” — John Adams
“Life is a daily IQ test. Regarding liberty, it seems
that most people are failing the test. It is up to those of us who can see what
is right to make sure we do not give up the fight.” — J.B. Pruitt
Perhaps
they believe that as long as their intentions are good, the ends justify the
means, even at the expense of freedom…
“The greatest tyrannies are always perpetrated in the
name of the noblest causes.” — Thomas Paine
“Good intentions will always be pleaded for every
assumption of power. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was
made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men
in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to
be good masters, but they mean to be masters.”
— Daniel Webster
Perhaps
they have been duped by the media and the false promises of the current
administration…
“If we become a people who are willing to give up our
money and our freedom in exchange for rhetoric and promises, then nothing can
save us.” — Thomas Sowell
or
perhaps very simply:
“Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men
dread it.” –George Bernard Shaw
Why do
men dread responsibility? Because they will have to live a life of their own
choosing, with no one to blame but themselves if things don’t go exactly as
planned. Why do men dread liberty? Because it requires them to live this type
of life.
PORTAL DA
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