Why Love Liberty?
What is liberty and why is it worth protecting?
LIBERTYFREEDOMTYRANNYSTATES' RIGHTS
7/23/20113 min read
What is liberty? Isn’t it just freedom? What does Ron Paul say? In his book, Liberty Defined, Ron Paul says, “Liberty means to exercise human rights in any manner a person chooses so long as it does not interfere with the exercise of the rights of others. This means, above all else, keeping government out of our lives.” There are several key concepts here. First is the concept of human rights. We recognize human rights as sacred and intrinsic because of our empathy for our fellow human beings. I know my rights are precious. It is natural for me to empathize with you and understand that your rights are just as precious as mine. The second concept mentioned above is that of personal choice. Making a personal choice implies that you are free from government making the choice for you. Finally, the last concept is the caveat that we must not infringe on the rights of another. So, we are not talking about an “anything goes” interpretation of liberty. Liberty, as understood by Ron Paul and our forebearers, is at the heart of our system of governance. Love liberty so that we defend it and reap its many rewards.
Let us look at the implications of liberty on society starting with an example. Say that one person is physically attacked by another. When being attacked, a person’s personal physical liberty is being infringed. We agree that the person being attacked has the right to defend himself. Liberty is worth defending, after all. This simple example illustrates the natural justification to defend liberty. When we agree to create a representative form of government, we are pooling resources in order to defend our liberties. Therefore, defending the liberty of the people is the proper role of government. Love liberty because it provides a principled foundation for the proper role of government in society.
When ratified, the Constitution enumerated responsibilities for the federal government. Each of these responsibilities was a way to defend our liberty or to facilitate the enjoyment of our liberty by appointing the central government to act either as a liaison between States or to perform several common functions on behalf of the States. The 10th Amendment clarifies that powers not enumerated, “are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Why not just centralize all government power? It was done this way because our founders loved liberty! When you love liberty, you come to understand that the best way to preserve it is to create small jurisdictions and keep lawmakers close to home, so that you can influence decisions that affect your liberty. People aren’t perfect. Mistakes in government will be made. The fewer the number of people affected by a mistake, the better. So, why love liberty? A society that loves liberty will not tolerate top-down mandates that unilaterally chop away at liberty.
Another benefit of the principle of liberty is that it requires that laws will protect and treat individuals equally. If a “law” does not apply equally, it’s not a law! It is a mandate that either punishes or rewards individuals at the expense of someone’s liberty. Love liberty and challenge lawmakers to come up with creative solutions that protect the minority, not just the majority. Remember, everyone’s liberty is to be defended.
Personal liberty creates the environment that unlocks human potential. The free exchange of ideas and the ability to act freely lead to the creation of better experiences and products. Recall that liberty as defined above requires empathy. Cultivating liberty causes us to exercise empathy, grow our equanimity, and develop thoughtful, loving, and convincing arguments when we engage in public debates.
Most Americans grew up learning to love their country, but loving the principle of liberty has a much more profound and meaningful effect on the society and the individual. Love liberty because we are empathic beings. By being mindful about the principle of liberty in our interactions, we can temper our desires to rule over others. Exercise discernment when choosing public servants. No longer choose candidates based on political party; rather, choose based on the candidate’s principled words and actions that prove he or she is qualified to defend our liberty.
Finally, it’s not enough just to love liberty. Stand up and make the case for others to love liberty and to restore the proper role of government in these United 50 States.
