Whose Freedom is it?

The question raised is how far should freedoms go? Does freedom of speech give you the right to lie or incite hatred? Is a free press given the right to spread false rumors? The Declaration of Independence maintained that people have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Constitution set parameters under which laws of the land are enacted and the Bill of Rights spelled out civil rights and liberties for the individual: freedom of speech, press, and religion. 

A war was fought to free the nation from tyranny by a foreign power. Since then, our citizens have been obsessed with the concept of freedom, with many considering it a right to do whatever makes them happy. happiness. 

Whining about wearing masks and calling social distancing an infringement of personal freedom seems ludicrous, childish, and even dangerous. Why does anyone think that an individual’s rights are more important than everyone’s safety in a pandemic? Perhaps these “freedom lovers” grew up watching cowboy movies or space odysseys with wide open spaces between homesteads and planets where no one was paid attention to how they acted. Do they remember that even cowboys had to drop their guns off at the sheriff’s office when they came to town?

There have always been constraints on how to behave, but COVID and protests against police brutality made us aware of what happens when an individual’s pursuit of freedom impinges on the rights of others. This occurs often, but not in ways that are flaunted by extremist groups.

The Pilgrims left their homelands to come to the Americas because of religious persecution. This led to the Bill of Rights that prevented government from creating or favoring a religion. Unfortunately, many of the freedoms the founders cherished are being undermined today. 

Packing the Supreme Court entirely with men and women of conservative Christian persuasion reminds me of the Inquisition, a time when individuals were denied the right to live according their spiritual conscience. Laws upheld by judges or made by legislators who place personal beliefs about the Almighty more important than the Constitution that separates governance from religion, can easily make criminals out of non-believers. When powerful people are firmly imbedded in dogma, they dismiss individuals and religions that countenance that LGBTQ is a biological condition, that women have the right to manage their own bodies, and that the universe is best understood by the study of science. A small group of nine can impinge on the freedoms of many. 

The Declaration of Independence spells out why the colonists wanted to be free from England. Many of the disagreements they wrote about in the seventeen hundreds are similar to concerns expressed by individual States and citizens today. Quotes from the Declaration (about King George):

“He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States: for that purpose obstructing the Laws of Naturalization by foreigners, refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither. . .” Today we have our own power elite obstructing naturalization by foreigners and discouraging migrations.

“He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices. . . “ We again have an oligarch demanding absolute allegiance to his will alone.

“He has erected a multitude of new Offices and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their sustenance. . . “ A swarm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers (ICE) harass individuals who have lived peacefully in the country for decades, divide their families, and treat them inhumanely.

“He has kept among us in times of peace standing armies without the consent of our legislature.” We send our army to foreign lands and station them in homeland cities without war being declared by the legislature.

“He has affected to render the military independent and superior to the civil Power.” The president uses the military as his private army and sends them into states when not requested to do so and without the backing of congress.

“He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our peoples.” Though this is a stretch, leaders who deny global warming, allow the seas to be polluted, and destroy plant and animal life in record numbers, are the ones causing land and towns to be plundered by fire, floods, and drought. People are suffering in record numbers. 

“He has excited insurrection amongst us. . .” When the Declaration was written this article talked of how King George incited native peoples to plunder and divide our colonizers. Today, our president divides our citizens and incites right and left wing reactionary groups that are bent on destruction.

Though we inherited the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as well as freedom of speech, press, religion and the right to bear arms, they were not given in a vacuum. We live in a global community of 7.8 billion neighbors, whose welfare affects our freedoms and happiness. In the 1700s there were an estimated 643  million inhabitants on earth. 

Do to the way we trade and travel, their diseases reach our shores. A warming climate and wars push millions of families to migrate to foreign lands. They have no choice if they are to survive. There are now so many people on this planet, that we would do well to consider our collective human family when thinking of our own welfare, for they are connected and can never be separated again.

Historian: What would Founding Fathers Think of Trump? CNN,  Joseph Ellis, 2016 

References:

 Text of the Declaration of Independence. Britannica. retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Declaration-of-Independence/Text-of-the-Declaration-of-Independence

The Bill of Rights: What Does it Say? National Archives. retrieved from https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights/what-does-it-say#:~:text=The%20Bill%20of%20Rights%20is%20the%20first%2010%20Amendments%20to%20the%20Constitution.&text=It%20guarantees%20civil%20rights%20and,the%20people%20or%20the%20States.

Ellis, J,. (2016) Historian: What would Founding Fathers Think of Trump? CNN Opinion. retrieved from cnn.com/2016/05/04/opinions/what-would-founding-fathers-think-of-trump-ellis/index.html.