Does the government grant us freedom? Is the Constitution the source of our liberty?
It’s an unfortunate occurrence, but over time, we have seemed to lose sight of what liberty is and where it comes from. It doesn’t come from a piece of paper. It doesn’t come from a group of men fighting overseas. And it certainly doesn’t come from politicians.
Liberty is innate to us. We don’t need anyone else to act in order to be free—we are born free.
So what is the state’s relationship to freedom?
The Bill of Rights doesn’t give us any liberty. It set the boundaries for the government. It failed from the start.
The state restricts freedom using the barrel of a gun instead of a demonstration of proper authority in an attempt to engineer behavior. It monopolizes some markets and restricts others, taking choices away from us. There is no liberty when options are taken off the table by someone who has no right to do so.
Has there ever been a government that has adequately protected the liberty of the individuals it claims as subjects? Then why do we continue to rely on it to do so? People are awakening. They are not believing the lies anymore. We are approaching the day where as a society we will say, “This doesn’t work now and it never has.”
While the government can barely provide street lights at all (see Dukakis, Massachusetts), I don’t think anyone has ever suggested it be the author of liberty. Maybe some, but I don’t know who. Certainly not the claim of this pro government advocate at least.
Liberty in the jungle is rampant. If liberty is really what you seek, I’d suggest visiting central Africa. But I don’t think that is what you actually want, where the big chimp steals all the bananas with impunity. I think really you want a place where you are free to do anything you want provided it doesn’t infringe on the liberty of another. Necessary government for your model is what guarantees the prosecution of the violators. Its like the preppers on tv. Nice idea, having all those food cans, but how to deal with a sniper rifle?
Lance, I responded to your comment here.
Also, to your first point, if you were to ask people where they get things like freedom of speech, assembly, arms, etc., there’s a very good chance that they’d answer with the Bill of Rights.
[…] of our regulars here, Lance, commented on my last article called “Does the government grant us freedom?” He had the following to say about my “model” by which society should […]
[…] of our regulars here, Lance, commented on my last article called “Does the government grant us freedom?” He had the following to say about my “model” by which society should […]