Dakota Beacon

C. S. Lewis is alleged to have pointed out, "Of all tyrannies, a  tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It
may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral  busybodies....[T]hose who torment us for our own good will torment us
without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." This  is a great word for our times.
 
Are we losing the battle for freedom? This begs the question,  "Less free than when?"
 
There has never been a golden age of liberty, and there probably  never will be. Some people will always want to live their lives in peace.  Other people will always want to impose their own ideas on their neighbors.  The result is a conflict between liberty and power. From the beginning,
America's great experiment addressed this issue.
 
The pernicious urge to centrally organize and control national  economies is an urge from which the United States is not exempt. Such urges
may be found in a variety of "-isms" that place issues, plans and projects  ahead of individual freedom. A short list would include multiculturalism,
environmentalism, internationalism, immigration and gun control. Within  these movements, attempts to rule from above are alive and well.
 
Still, are we losing the battle for freedom? Thomas Jefferson  observed, "The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and
government to gain ground."
 
Most people do not sense a loss of freedom. Maybe it's because  the erosion of freedom over time is imperceptible. Or, maybe certain things
offer an illusion of freedom.
 
Widespread wealth gives us the possibility to acquire goods and  services never before imagined. But, is this freedom or is our wealth the
product of freedom?
 
A more open society meant the dismantling of aristocracy and  nobility including the barriers to social mobility. An open society gave
more people liberty, equality and privileges previously enjoyed by only a  very few.
 
Nevertheless, it's easy to point to the growth of government at  the expense of liberty. Consider this list:
 
 --Soaring federal and state spending;
 
 --A pronounced shift to federal and presidential power;
 
 --The continuing expansion of surveillance databases;
 
 --Intrusive regulations on businesses and individuals;
 
 --Government control over what to eat and drink;
 
 --A never-ending expansion of entitlements;
 
 --On-going curtailment of civil liberties in light of terrorist
 threats.
 
 
 
It is true that, on balance, Americans today are more free than any people  in history. Unhappily, freedom isn't appreciated until it is gone. Then it's
too late. It must not be inferred that our freedom will remain unfettered.  Vigilance must be the byword.
 
Inevitably, the question comes around to how freedom and liberty  should be used. What constitutes the good life toward which we all strive?
The answer pivots on one's concept to human nature. A secular view maintains that human nature is essentially good for the most part. But, our Founding
Fathers begged to differ. They understood that human nature is flawed and  that freedom is easily abused. Freedom must not be defended because it is
the right thing to do, but because it is the precursor to virtue. Only when  people are free can they choose right over wrong, good over evil. That's why
the Founding Fathers believed in limited government. A coerced virtue is no  virtue at all.
 
In a trendy and increasingly superficial culture such as ours it  is easier to treat freedom and liberty as an intellectual or emotional
object than to internalize the principle of freedom into one's character.  Internalizing the idea of freedom establishes the root of true patriotism.
The principles of freedom and liberty must run far deeper than mere thought  or feeling.
 
The slow erosion of obvious freedoms under the appearance of  "good for the greater society" should be of concern to all. When leaving the
Constitutional Convention of 1787 Benjamin Franklin was approached by a  group of citizens and asked what kind of government had been created.
 
His reply? "A republic -- if you can keep it."
 
 
 
Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at P. O. Box 337, Stanley, ND 58784 or
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