What is true freedom? The dictionary says this:
“the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.”
Or where government is concerned it says this:
“absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government.”
Do these definitions really define “true freedom”. I do not believe that they do. These definitions are limited in scope. Can someone be truly free if they act, speak, or think as they want without consideration of those same things for those around them? Can someone be truly free simply because they are not subject to a tyrannical government?
I have stated this and it is something that I truly believe:
“True freedom can only be robbed by ones unwillingness to live with the responsibility of it.”
So that begs the question; what responsibilities come with true freedom?
In the first amendment to the constitution, we are guaranteed the protection of the right of freedom of speech. Is it responsible, and is our true freedom compromised by someone exercising their freedom of speech by yelling fire in a crowded theater? I believe that it does, it potentially limits your ability to stay alive, which is certainly a limit on true freedom.
Is it a limitation on our true freedom to be required to have a driver’s license? I am personally grateful that there is some modest requirements for individuals to learn how to safely operate a motor vehicle. I believe that the responsibility of driving safely, with other people on the road in mind, helps to insure my freedom to travel safely and to hopefully stay alive. If I speed, ignore stop signs, operate a vehicle while sleeping or under the influence, that irresponsible behavior could limit my true freedom and that of others to travel safely and to be alive.
One of the main responsibilities of a citizen of this country, 18 years and older, is not only to vote, but to become informed and to responsibility vote for those that will further and safeguard our true freedom. When people sit home and don’t participate in the electoral process, they are not only limiting their freedom but that of those around them. When they participate in an uninformed or ill-informed way they do the same thing. We have a responsibility to understand the principles of personal behavior and of governance that will protect our true freedoms. We have a responsibility to educate our children about those principles. We further have the responsibility to apply those principles in such a way that our political awareness will facilitate our ability to actively participate in the process and have influence on the policies that have an effect on our true freedom.
A wise man, James E. Talmage, had this to say:
“Obedience is the habit of the free man.”
That is something that is evident in driving for instance. We not only protect the freedom of others to live by obeying traffic laws, but we protect our own freedom to live. If we obey the law concerning illicit drugs we protect our personal health and safety as well as that of society.
One of the thing that I learned about freedom and responsibility and that has influenced my beliefs, came from Viktor Frankl, a neurologist, psychologist and Holocaust survivor. He had this to say:
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
This concept is powerful. We will always have the freedom to choose how we respond to a situation that is “imposed” on us. That freedom is a responsibility. A good friend of mine teaches that “Attitude is everything!” We have a responsibility to have a good attitude, to be positive, to own and be responsible for the choice that we all have to respond in a positive way, or a least the most positive way possible in any given situation. The more that we accept this responsibility the more FREE we can be.
I hope that we can all recognize the responsibilities that the freedoms we enjoy place on us. I hope that we can all embrace that responsibility and work to safeguard our freedoms and to ensure that our children will have that privilege as well.