Putting those petty limitations aside, it is obvious that freedom means different things to different people. We cannot demand “freedom” in the abstract. Revolutionaries and reformers have tried to define what freedom means through documents like the French "Declaration of the Rights of Man" and American "The Bill of Rights."
In 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt declared everyone in the world should have what he called the "Four Freedoms": Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear. In 1948 came the Universal Declaration of Human Rights based on these earlier documents.
So what does freedom mean to you? For some people in the past few years, it meant ending the pandemic lockdown. This freedom often correlates with another: freedom to openly carry guns, and use them to intimidate others. If this is your idea of freedom, you may not care about the rest of us, and our freedom and health.
We probably all value freedom of thought, the right to think for yourself. Think away -- if you dare. The “Melancholy Dane,” Soren Kierkegaard, wrote that “people demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought, which they seldom use.”
Most people will say that freedom of thought is not enough. We must enjoy freedom of speech and action. The right to say, write, and do what we think and act accordingly. A commendable aspiration. But a problematic one. What do you want to say or do? How will it affect others?
In On Liberty (1859, John Stuart Mill defined freedom broadly with a significant limitation: he argued that the “only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it.” Mill added that our words and actions must not be harmful to others. More than a century later, Nelson Mandela said much the same thing. “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” [Image: John Stuart Mill]
So what does freedom mean to you? For some people in the past few years, it meant ending the pandemic lockdown. This freedom often correlates with another: freedom to openly carry guns, and use them to intimidate others. If this is your idea of freedom, you may not care about the rest of us, and our freedom and health.
We probably all value freedom of thought, the right to think for yourself. Think away -- if you dare. The “Melancholy Dane,” Soren Kierkegaard, wrote that “people demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought, which they seldom use.”
Most people will say that freedom of thought is not enough. We must enjoy freedom of speech and action. The right to say, write, and do what we think and act accordingly. A commendable aspiration. But a problematic one. What do you want to say or do? How will it affect others?
In On Liberty (1859, John Stuart Mill defined freedom broadly with a significant limitation: he argued that the “only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it.” Mill added that our words and actions must not be harmful to others. More than a century later, Nelson Mandela said much the same thing. “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” [Image: John Stuart Mill]
For many people, freedom means not being a slave to others, either in law or condition. Perversely, anti-Lockdown protesters often compared being in lockdown to slavery. Many of them waved Confederate flags, a sure sign of a disconnect with reality.
In the mid-18th century, Thomas Arne wrote the famous song, “Rule Britannia.” Its most rousing line was “Britons never, never shall be slaves.” At the time, Britain was the largest slave-trading nation in the world, shipping millions of Africans to the Americas. Irony, anyone?
Historically, slaveholders have been among the loudest defenders of freedom. Tradition holds that Athens was the first democracy, yet about one-third of its population was enslaved. In the USA, antebellum slaveholders praised Athens, and claimed that democracy could not exist without slavery.
In 1775 curmudgeonly Samuel Johnson responded to American demands for freedom from British tyranny by asking, “How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of Negroes?” (Taxation no Tyranny).
It might be tempting to accuse Johnson of hypocrisy, except for the fact that he was anti- slavery. He adopted a former slave named Francis Barber, educated him, and made him his heir. On one occasion he proposed a toast to "the next Negro rebellion in Jamaica." a British sugar colony.
Johnson – unlike many American historians -- understood that American slaveholders in the 1770s demanded more than independence from Britain. They demanded the right to do whatever they wished with their property, including human property.
Johnson – unlike many American historians -- understood that American slaveholders in the 1770s demanded more than independence from Britain. They demanded the right to do whatever they wished with their property, including human property.
In 1861, eleven slave states decided that right justified seceding from the
United States and forming the Confederate States of America. Slavery and its segregationist,
racist aftermath remain a stern reproach to American claims to be “the land of
the free.”
Freedom demands responsibility. Sigmund Freud claimed that “most people do not really want freedom because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.” (Civilization and Its Discontents, 1930)
Responsibility includes a concern for others, their freedom, health, and welfare. A country in which freedom means the right to be a selfish, ignorance-loving asshole is unlikely to persist.
Freedom demands responsibility. Sigmund Freud claimed that “most people do not really want freedom because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.” (Civilization and Its Discontents, 1930)
Responsibility includes a concern for others, their freedom, health, and welfare. A country in which freedom means the right to be a selfish, ignorance-loving asshole is unlikely to persist.
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