"Free" is a "4-letter word"

Strange that this most dear of American values should stir up such controversy.

"Freedom" has meant many things over the years. To the settlers on the Mayflower, it didn't mean the freedom to worship as you please, it meant the freedom to found a community based on their religious views. To the signers of the Declaration of Independence, it didn't mean freedom from government, but the right to have a voice in your own government. To some it means the right to buy and sell and manage your own property. To others, a voice in the management of property. Increasingly, in America, people seem to think "freedom" means the right to do as you please. Some even extend this to be the right to believe whatever you please, and be free of responsibility for the consequences thereof.

I love freedom, but I think it demands a narrower definition. I think the freedom that is worth fighting for is not the freedom to do "whatever I want," but the freedom to do "what I must." This is not an easy hair to split, but I believe it is the important one. We are none of us autonomous individuals. Homo sapiens is a social animal. Your choices define my choices. Your choice to deny the marriage of same-sex couples affects their marriage. Your choice to refuse vaccines risks my life. Your choice to not wear a seat belt affects my healthcare costs. The governor of Florida, protecting the "freedom of parents to make healthcare decisions for their children," has taken away the freedom of parents to send their children to a safe school.

I love freedom. But it is a thin defense in the face of harm, and it is no excuse for responsibility. Over a million Americans have died from Covid-19. If you demand the freedom to not wear a mask, how will you accept the responsibility? Will you go to jail, if you spread the disease to someone who then dies? Should I have the freedom to shoot you, to defend myself from the danger you pose to me? If you claim the freedom of opinion to believe that Covid-19 is not dangerous, can I claim freedom of opinion to believe that a 0.22 is not a dangerous weapon? Does that relieve me of responsibility if I shoot you and you die? Some say, "If you're afraid you can stay home." Well, if you're afraid of my gun, you can keep your germs to yourself. 

 

When freedom becomes "I can do what I want" then only the strong are free. The rest of us can only stay out of their way. If you add the popular tag, "as long as you don't hurt anybody," then you need to wear a mask and get a vaccine.