ON LIBERTY

by

Professor Jon Saul

 

Liberty is the name for the type of freedom we in the United States of America enjoy. 

 

Not freedom as autonomy – we do not live as dictators or as royalty, who are laws unto themselves.

 

Not freedom as participation, that is, merely having a voice in governing ourselves.

 

No, the freedom we have enjoyed is called Liberty, which means freedom within the law. As long as we obey the law, were free to pursue our happiness, however, any individual may define it.

 

If we don’t like a law, we work to change the law, not simply disobey the law! Civil disobedience, as protest, means that anyone is willing to suffer the legal consequences of breaking a law to demonstrate that the law is unjust. When enough people agree, laws were changed.

 

Liberty means the same laws for everybody.

 

Liberty means no one is above the law.

 

Back in the 18th Century, when the Founding Fathers determined that Americans should have Liberty, it was in the shadow of monarchy, whereby the aristocracy had one set on laws and commoners had to obey a different set of laws.

 

Upon founding the United States of America, the determination was made that there should be one law for everyone.

 

Consequently, when anyone acts outside of the law, when anyone breaks the law or behaves in such a way as not to obey the law, then everyone’s freedom is taken away. 

 

We are only free if all people obey the law. Our freedom is Liberty. Our freedom is dependent on the law. Without laws, we do not have any freedom.

 

When some people act to break the law, everyone’s freedom is taken away. That is the rationale for taking away the freedom of those who break the law. The phrase “law and order” enforces our freedom.

 

When criminals are allowed to act with impunity, everyone’s freedom is threatened and negated. We are only free when we act within the law.

 

The Right to Life, for example, means that I should not have to fear being killed or harmed in anyway when I leave my home or remain in my house, whether by a stray bullet, a crazy person with a machete, or the government.

 

When people are allowed to act outside of the law, and their actions are not contained, everyone’s freedom is reduced.

 

Obedience to the law ensures that everyone can enjoy freedom. Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness work together. Only when we all have Liberty can everyone can enjoy the Pursuit of Happiness.

 

When anyone violates the law, when anyone acts as if freedom means autonomy, that is, doing what you want when you want, then they are limiting everyone else’s freedom.

 

Freedom is precious. For thousands of years, ordinary people were denied their Liberty by political, social and economic systems and structures that did not allow for Liberty.

 

Liberty is the only type of freedom that ensures that everyone, from the poorest to the richest, from the most capable to the least, from the smartest to the most limited, can enjoy freedom and pursue their happiness.

 

Autonomy, acting outside the law, not obeying the law, violates Liberty and denies everyone their pursuit of happiness.

 

Everyone cannot be free if some people act autonomously; Liberty is limited freedom. Each of us agrees to limit our actions so that they are within the law. Only then are we free to act as we please and pursue our happiness.

 

When people take it upon themselves to violate the law, often violently by committing violence against others or the property of others or property held in common (public property), then everyone’s freedom is taken away. Your freedom, and mine, is taken away when others act with impunity to break the laws.

 

If you believe in freedom, if you love freedom, you will not let this type of behavior continue. We only have our freedom, our Liberty, when everyone obeys the law.

 

When anyone breaks the law, they break the social compact that allows everyone to be free. When a person selfishly acts autonomously, as if there were not any laws, then that person threatens the fabric of our society.

 

If you don’t like Liberty, if you don’t think that everyone should enjoy freedom equally, then you should not choose to live in a place that is based on Liberty.

 

If you don’t want to live according to the law, so that everyone can be free and enjoy Liberty, then you are not supporting legal equity. Liberty is the only type of freedom that allows for legal equity.

 

Equity cannot be achieved if Liberty is eliminated. Liberty is the only legitimate basis for equity, for it means equality within the law.

 

You might want other forms of equity which treat people differently and do not provide Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness for everybody, but the only type of freedom that allows everyone to be equally free is liberty, freedom within the law. Some people want you to believe that you are free if you have food, clothing and shelter, but freedom means Liberty, and, when coupled with the Pursuit of happiness, allows everyone to find their own way in life.

 

It is incumbent upon everyone who loves Liberty to act, to vote in such a way that supports these ideas. That is the only path to freedom, Liberty and legal equity.