Freedom

“But though this be a state of liberty, yet it is not a state of license; though man in that state have an uncontrollable liberty to dispose of his person or possessions, yet he has not liberty to destroy himself, or so much as any creature in his possession, but where some nobler use than its bare preservation calls for it.” – John Locke

It seems to me there is perpetual tension between “freedom to” do something and “freedom from” having that thing done to us. We may have the freedom to worship as we choose, but what if that freedom prevents others from worshipping, or not worshipping, as they choose? We may have the freedom to express ourselves, but what if that freedom is used for misrepresentations or lies that turn out to hurt others? We may have the freedom to bear arms, but what if exercising that freedom causes people, especially children, to live in fear of their conspicuously armed neighbors? FDR said we should have freedom from want and freedom from fear. What if exercising our freedom to do certain things results in more want or more fear? Too often, we value our freedom to choose above others’ freedom from our choices.

I’m going to go out on a limb. There are no freedoms that affect only the person exercising them. At some point another person or other people will pay a price. They will be fortunate if that price is small, yet there will be a price. If I choose to smoke, I may get cancer or emphysema. Even if my family doesn’t suffer from second-hand smoke, they may still get to watch me die, and I may have medical bills that affect them or my community. Any “personal choice” has consequences. While I am “free” to choose, others are affected whether I acknowledge it or not. If I decide traffic laws don’t apply to me, others may die. If I hold a position of power and I decide the law doesn’t apply to me, society may suffer.

As I write this, I am conscious that the choices we make now will affect everyone in the future. Our freedom to may end up destroying their freedom from. This is not liberty, but license. And sooner or later license becomes tyranny. License is irresponsible and selfish because it only takes into account the person(s) making the choice and nothing else. If I choose not to wear a mask or get a vaccination, I could argue that I should be free to make choices regarding my own body and personal health. But what about others’ freedom from my choices? What if a grandmother or a little child must die for my freedom? What if by not getting the vaccine I help establish a new variant of the virus that kills millions? Shouldn’t others be free to live without my disregard? One thing I have learned from history is that in the future people will resent past choices that made life worse for them.

Sometimes decisions are based in ignorance or arrogance. Sometimes party politics plays a role. The desire to make the other side look bad can override the desire to solve a problem to everyone’s benefit. And sometimes people just want what they want regardless of the consequences, either to themselves or others.

My mother told me about an incident at “The School of Hope,” where she used to volunteer. The school served to help special needs children become self-sufficient. One afternoon, they were doing a fire drill. The teachers and volunteers were expected to help the kids get out of the building. Towards the end of the drill, there was a confrontation between a boy who was trying to help and one who refused to leave the classroom. Mom overheard an exchange something like this:

“I don’t wanna go.”

“We have to. Don’t you want to be safe?”

“No! I won’t go.”

“C’mon. We all need to go. Now.”

“You’re not my mom. Leave me alone!”

“But we’re all supposed to go. You don’t wanna burn, do ya?”

“I don’t care. I’m not gonna go!”

“Then burn, damn ya!”

Good intentions or not, sometimes people don’t want to do what might be best for themselves or others. Had there been a fire, one of these boys might have put the other at risk. Their choices were intertwined. One might have forced the other to choose between sacrificing himself or abandoning a friend in need and living with that choice. Such is the problem with freedom. Our choices always affect others. When we don’t want to do a thing, and choose not to, we inevitably force others to do some other thing – they are never free from the consequences of our choices. We must therefore choose wisely.