How Free Are You?

Feedom's just another word for nothing left to lose"--Kristofferson

Many years ago, I taught Earth Science to seventh graders.  I taught for six years, but decided I wanted to find other experiences.  I’ve always missed teaching, but there’s a whole wide world out there, and I wanted to experience more of it than just teaching. 

One of my home room students back then, Debbie, walked in one morning and handed me a refrigerator magnet.  It was in the shape of two hands shaking, and said “Individualists of the World Unite!”  That gave me a good laugh, and I stuck the magnet on the frame of my chalk board, where it remained for the rest of my short teaching career.  I don’t know what happened to it. I guess I forgot to take it with me when I left.  I kind of miss it.  And I occasionally ask myself, what made this fourteen-year-old kid decide to give me that magnet?  Perhaps she saw something in me at that time that I didn’t see in myself.

In fact, my views on education perhaps do not dovetail seamlessly with the views of the National Education

Association (NEA).  There is a lot more to education than what traditional schools have to offer.  Not that traditional schools are without merit, but it is foolish to think that any particular diploma or degree certifies wisdom.  Wisdom comes from a multitude of sources, formal education being only one of them.  In fact, I have to say that many of those who have spent their entire lives in academia are some of the most intellectually stilted people I have ever known.  I sometimes make reference to “academic incest” and “intellectual inbreeding” to highlight the close mindedness of many of the institutions that are supposed to be anything but.  Country comedian Jeff Foxworthy makes jokes about Rednecks (bigoted term, no?) and how you know if you are one.  The one joke is, “If your family tree has no branches, you may be a Redneck.”  A corollary is, if your ideology is linear, you may be an intellectual.

One of my teaching colleagues, Mary, observed that one of our less than stellar students would soon be making more money than any of us.  His father owned a trucking company, and he would soon be moving up in the company.  By now, he just might be a millionaire.  Is that unfair?  Absolutely not.  His father created the company with his own sweat, and it would stand to reason he would involve his own family.  That is pretty much as we all do, in our own way.

This is a country that gives a lot of lip service to the word “freedom”.  That’s an interesting term.  Is a pet house cat that is not allowed outside, free?  It is probably very happy and content, but is it FREE?  And in that light I ask, are YOU free?  That is not a question that is easily answered.  I am married, and gave up significant freedom to be married.  Forty years later, I can still say it was worth it.  We take jobs, which provide the income we need, but obligate us to do as others wish, for significant periods of time.  Short of going and living in the wilderness, no one is really free.

But there is a distinction to be made.  I did not have to get married.  I never had to take any job I didn’t want; but I had to do SOMETHING in order to survive and provide.  Freedom can be a messy thing.  As Chris Kristofferson said in his song “Me and Bobbie McGee”, “freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose”.  Think about it.  It’s true. 

So, what distinctions can be made?  If we are never truly free, are we then all slaves?  I would say, to some extent, yes!  But there is a fairly distinct dividing line:  If you make your own choices concerning what freedom you will and will not give up, and if you take responsibility for the results of those choices, you are about as free as you can hope for.  But if choices are made for you, without your direct consent; if your education, your retirement, and your healthcare are all determined for you, you are NOT free.  Remember the pet house cat?  It gets free food, free vet care, and free housing.  It might be quite content, but that does not constitute freedom.  The Declaration of Independence uses the phrase “consent of the governed”.  Well, that cat might have a nice life, but it does not get to give consent.  It does not get to give input on its vet care, food, or housing.  But hey, it’s a CAT.  So, what are YOU?  Are you more than somebody’s pet?  Are you to be taken care of, or are you to be left alone to make your own choices?

That is sort of a trick question.  Consent of the governed….Hmmmm.  What, if anything, does that really mean?  More to the point, what constitutes consent?  If the majority of the population votes for something, does that make it legitimate?  NO!  Where there is a majority, there is also a minority, and by what right does the majority force its will on the minority?  Be VERY careful with the word “democracy”.  Our founding fathers avoided it, because they saw it as a trap.  And so should you.  If majority rule is legitimate, then slavery is legitimate.  After all, it had the consent of the majority.  And running Indians off of their land must also be legitimate, because the majority was for it.  Actually, ironically, don’t presume too much about the majorities concerning slaves and Indians.  The federal government that was behind both issues was never fully backed by the “consent of the governed”.  It’s a whole lot more tricky than that.

But, just one more thing.  Many slaves (by no means all) were actually fairly well provided for.  They were treated kindly and lived as well as many free whites and free blacks (yes there were a multitude of free blacks).  Remember Uncle Tom?  He had a very nice life, until he didn’t.  So, let’s get back to where I started:  What is freedom, and how much freedom can we reasonably expect?  There are libraries full of books on the subject, so only so much can be said in a short space.  But a huge dividing line for me, and it should be for everyone, is the freedom given up voluntarily, or is it taken by government?  Freedom is not measured by mere comfort and by being provided for.  If that were the case, cats, and many slaves, were free.  Freedom must be measured by the ability to make your own choices, even if those choices serve to limit freedom in a person’s life.  At least, that is how I have defined freedom in my life.  I have encumbered my freedom by marrying my wife.  Not just any wife, MY wife.  I have made various commitments that have encumbered my freedom, but they are MY commitments. But I have chosen no party to be committed to.  I don’t want one, and I am not obligated to commit to one.  The two major parties, the Demublicrats, if you will, are NOT branches of government, they are special interest groups.  They have NO authority, and I reject them both.

If you are a party loyalist, so what?  That gives you no authority, and no right to impose party views on ANYONE.  Consent of the GOVERNED.  No one is required to give up their freedom to a political party in order participate in, to give consent to, government.  Governments cannot give freedom; they can only restrict it.  That’s between me and my government.  Political parties are cordially invited to STAY THE HELL OUT OF MY LIFE.

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