The United States is a divided country. Much of the limited discourse that does take place is poisoned by divisive rhetoric. Rational thought is cast aside and ridiculous arguments based on unintelligible talking points rule conversation on any important issue of the day. Those talking points can be reduced to several core ideas, believed to be originated by the founding fathers of this country, but instead bastardized by politically motivated think tanks and shyster wordsmiths. To better understand the damage being inflicted upon our nation by these contemptible entities these core ideas will be examined in a series of essays, each focusing on one of the base terms that find their way into our national dialogue, attempting to find greater understanding of the idiom and those who use it as a shield.
This is part two of a multi-part series on our discourse and the fuzzy terminology we use. Part one was on patriotism. Today's topic of dissection will be freedom... after the fold.
Freedom is a curious concept. It is highly personal and the understanding of the notion varies from culture-to-culture. Americans love to stand on the roof-tops and yell at the top of their lungs the United States is the "land of the free, and the home of the brave." Our freedoms supposedly make us inherently different from almost every other country on the planet. But do average Americans really understand what freedom is all about? Do they have any clue how freedom in a democratic state exists or functions? Based on the incoherent answers most people give when challenged on what freedom is, it quickly becomes evident that the concept is lost on most people.
The American ideal of freedom has become focused on the rights of the individual, and how those rights should supersede those of the collective. This ideal flies in the face of the communal nature of the human experience. As animals we don’t live a solitary existence or act exclusively in an autonomous fashion. We live in small social groups and allow those collectives to interact with others providing the products and services we cannot provide for ourselves. Social norms have been established that frame acceptable behaviors and attitudes. Our individual actions must comply with these expectations and, for most people, our decisions are based on what is allowable or considered socially acceptable within our society. The social nature of man conflicts with the current American interpretation of freedom making this archetype a fallacy in the modern world.
The preoccupation with individualism as the core of freedom is a meme unique to the United States. In true American bi-polar fashion the Bill of Rights is held high as our definition of our freedoms, but these protections do not make us free. Society respecting these rights makes us free. Freedom is as much about respect as it is about autonomy. Each citizen respecting those same rights makes us free. Demanding that those rights are respected by our institutions makes us free. All of those are done through collective action, not individual action. An individual act, like owning a gun, does not make you free. Others respecting your right to own a gun and exercising your decision making ability in how you elect to handle and care for that weapon is freedom. The minute that recognition by the collective disappears is the minute the individual freedoms begin to disappear. The idea that freedom is a concept focusing on the individual is a fallacy. The fact is that freedom comes from the collective respect of an individual’s ability to coexist in a social network and make positive decisions that benefit not only the individual but the collective at the same time.
Choosing to do what is right for oneself is the basis of argument most ideologues use who cling to the freedom fallacy. To those ideologues, freedom is about choice and the ability to make independent decisions, but what they fail to understand is that with freedom of action come consequences and responsibility. This is where the American perspective on freedom becomes clouded. Taking responsibility for one’s actions and accepting the consequences of preference is a shortcoming of our national character. With great freedom comes great responsibility. Freud said, "Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility." This is very true in the United States and why the broad collective perspective is hard for some citizens to swallow. People are barely capable of accepting responsibility for their own actions let alone shouldering the burden of being responsible to the collective. Freedom results in the individual being able to take action based on his or her self-determined cognitive decision, but only when that judgment is in alignment with social standards and the individual has accepted potential consequences of those actions. Freedom is a by-product of taking responsibility for one’s decisions and behaviors.
Freedom cannot simplistically be construed as an action of self-determination. That position is not possible in our "social" culture. Like it or not if you participate in any aspect of society you must abide by the principles that guide the culture. Freedom is that which allows us to best pursue those ventures in life that we define as most important to us and our social group. Thomas Jefferson said, "Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits." Our freedom is dependent upon us exercising our judgment and making moral decisions in alignment with societal standards.
Freedom is a concept that people should seriously consider and what exact price they place on it. There are too many claims of current taxation levels impinging upon our freedom and future taxation destroying America. This is so much mindless noise it is amazing anyone listens at all. Americans need to remember that you get what you pay for. Americans should ask Germans how upset they are with their roads and transportation systems. Americans can ask the French how upset they are with their healthcare system. Americans can ask the British how upset they are with their social safety net. Americans can ask the Canadians how they feel about the oppression they face living in a socialist country and how little money they take home. Ask any of them if they feel free. They will tell you they are very free. They have all the same rights we in the United States have, and actually exercise them on a regular basis.
These foreigners also have a greater level of freedom because of the socialized systems they live under. They have no fear of getting injured or sick and losing their homes and livelihoods, because their systems provide healthcare to all citizens. They have no fear of being stuck in an oppressive dead-end job and being forced to keep it because it would take too long to find another, because they have a social safety net. The people in these countries lead much freer lives because they are do not have to live in fear of life happening.
Those who hold the individualistic perspective, like the Tea Party Patriots, who claim the pendulum swing of government back toward more institutional control and regulation is a move against our freedoms, must explain themselves and their understanding of freedom. They must explain how they readily take advantage of socialized systems and nary complain. Driving on paved roads, eating safe food and drinking clean water, and cheering on our military and public safety professionals are just a few "minor" freedoms possible because of our socialized systems and behaviors. While they are explaining how these are not the freedoms they are speaking of, maybe they can explain how corporations buying up the vast majority of this country, and imposing their values and ideals on us through control of corporate enterprise, is an example of good old American freedom they embrace so dearly. If these individualists are seriously concerned about our freedoms being stripped away from us they may want to consider how many people in this country are watching all of their freedom being taken away as their jobs and livelihoods are shipped overseas. The selling off of America by corporatist interests is the greatest threat to our freedoms today and where all their worry should be focused.
Kierkegaard spoke of human freedom being not unlike a state of anxiety. This may explain the paranoid delusions experienced by those fringe elements that are quick to toss out words like freedom to defend their anti-social behaviors. These people maintain a level of ignorance that makes it impossible for them to articulate their understanding of freedom in a democratic republic. These fringe elements are dead set against government institutions, or the mechanisms that share the burden of us living collectively, but they are the first to point to these same collective institutions as indicative of our freedom-loving system. It is their anxiety that leads to their distrust and paranoia.
Frankly, Kierkegaard was either wrong or something was lost in the translation. Anxiety robs us of our freedoms. Freedom is that which alleviates all anxiety and allows us to live full and plentiful lives. We humans are social animals and we are only successful when we find the balance between individual motivation and our social needs. To find freedom is to find our place within our social group, within society, and become a productive force. To find that place requires order and sustenance. Without both of those factors, freedom is but a misused aphorism in a tired rhetorical dispute.