I am just throwing this out there…
I wonder what you all think about it…
By Harry Felker
Freedom Is Not Free
Every individual who has sought freedom from an oppressor knows precisely that “Freedom is not Free” is representative of their endless perseverance against their own tyrants. What does this quote really mean to the reasonable person, politicians have used this to justify foreign intervention, but this is senseless, how does the freedom a country enjoys be dependent of fighting oppressors in foreign lands? This concept implies that there are inconveniences one must endure to prevent and stop tyranny at home, freedom demands, in maintenance, a price in time and energy, which takes two forms, passive resistance and aggressive resistance. Passive resistance includes, but is not limited to, informing and educating people why resistance is necessary, civil disobedience, organizing and participating in peaceable protest. I would like to believe aggressive resistance is self explanatory, but for the sake of clarity, this tactic includes insurgency and violent revolution. Both of these tactics require a tremendous investment of time and energy; organizing, spreading the word, equipping, etc, this is the price of freedom. Verily, the monetary cost of resistance is also an indicator of the price of freedom.
“Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.”
Thomas Jefferson
Simply knowing that there is something wrong is not enough, instinct overrides reason if one does not expend the energy to explore and identify this malady, and use knowledge to judge the best course of action. Think of wild animals, when nature is about to unleash itself upon an area, instinctively the animals move away, flee the area, as humans, however, we have reason, fleeing is not the only option against forces that act against us, we can act upon reason. Reason leave us as humans two options for action, fight or flight, we can choose to stand up against the issue and figure a way to overcome it, or we can choose to flee for a society that has no such issue. Knowing that there is something wrong is not enough; if you have the knowledge that there is a problem and do not act you are accepting the flawed society and the oppression that invariably comes with it. It is only what you do with that knowledge, which is where the power is, in the implementation of the knowledge, not in having the knowledge. When you know something is wrong (no Power), you can act, you can identify it (Power of Perception), you can announce it (Power of Declaration) and you can neutralize it (Power of Destruction) or you can choose to not act at all and remain powerless. You use your knowledge to direct your action, your knowledge is your weapon, lying dormant, acting upon that knowledge is effectively lifting the weapon and using it, giving it the power. I am sure some have come to the conclusion that, at this point I am only speaking of violence, I wish to remind people of the adage the “pen is mightier that the sword” ones word is a weapon as well as ones fist. One can destroy tyranny with either words or arms; the only commonality of these two tactics is the use of the primary weapon, the human mind, knowledge, and without such you leave one tyrant only to deliver yourself into a new oppression.
Freedom is Responsibility
The responsible person takes their freedom very seriously, they guard it from all oppressors, they extend their vigilance to the rest of their society as a loss of liberty to any member of a society can, and often does revert back unto them. The irresponsible person takes their freedom for granted, expects others to be inconvenienced and often finds themselves without liberty in a reasonably short time, as with most cases, without their life as well, as they well should. It is very easy, there is no “cost” to being irresponsible, it requires no prior investment, however there is a price, the loss of what one is irresponsible with. This is very true in the case of liberty; the responsible person heeds the words of wise men before him:
“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel.”
Patrick Henry
The men responsible for the American Revolution also mentioned those that are irresponsible with their liberty in quotes such as this:
“That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly.”
Thomas Paine
When a people are drawn to irresponsibility, not only out of ease, but usually coaxed to it by their own government, they begin to take for granted the freedom that they once had high respect for. They become complacent and then apathetic, the final stage of irresponsibility before all responsibility for your life is placed in the hands of an oppressor, and with that great irresponsibility comes the loss of all power. The complacent are ruled, they do not decide their life, it is chosen for them and if they decide to turn from this they are punished gravely.
With everything I write I cannot force you to follow, agree or read, I can only ask and give the choice to you, the audience, and this is the greatest reward of freedom, the freedom to choose your own path. You can choose to be a responsible person with your freedom, give the time and energy that preserving that freedom demands, or you can choose to not, be irresponsible with your freedom, and risk losing it. Freedom is a concept that has the seed of it’s own destruction planted well within it, the choice, you can chose wisely, and despite the demands, live free, or you may choose poorly and risk oppression.