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| quote: | Originally posted by Lebezniatnikov
re: freedom is not free.
I could literally write an essay on this, but I will keep it short and simple.
Anybody who tells you that freedom is not free has already sold their rights up the river. Freedom does not come with a cost or sacrifice. It is indeed free by definition. It is one of the few things in life that is. What else is free, you might ask? Life and the pursuit of property. Sound familiar?
Semantics aside, freedom is liberty. The ability to do as you choose - to act of your own volition. Every person on this green Earth is born with that ability. It is a natural right, and as John Locke surmised, natural rights are endowed by our creator, by it God, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or the head of the Branch Davidians himself, David Koresh(link). Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of property are inalienable rights - that is, they exist always in man's state of nature. If man exists, man lives. If man exists, man will pursue his own happiness. And if man exists, man is free.
Now, you might ask, what about all of these oppressive societies where people can't do everything they want? Well, in all actuality, there is no completely free society on this planet. So wherein, you may ask, lies the rub? How can we be given freedom for free but simultaneously not be free?
The answer lies in social contract theory. The creation of society and government by definition infringes upon freedom. But note well: it infringes upon freedom because freedom already exists. Because freedom is our natural position. Government exists to take away liberty in order to protect citizens from the liberty of others. If everyone were truly free, they would pursue their own interest at all times. And at times, their interest would be to harm those around them. Thomas Hobbes, anyone?
So in order to preserve the right to life, freedom is curtailed. It is a devil's bargain - to sacrifice one inalienable right for another. But it is one that all civilizations and cultures make.
So - to the current usage of the phrase "freedom is not free." It is often used to wrap oneself in the flag, and gain support for sacrificing for some political ideal of instilling democracy all across the world. Fine. But let's be clear about the meaning. "Freedom is not free." Ok, so you're saying that it is not an inherently natural right bestowed by God (or David Koresh). We have to fight against the inherent natural position (not free) in order to gain freedom? That doesn't make sense. Our natural position is not bondage. That's like saying that we were God's prisoners in the Garden of Eden. Or David Koresh's prisoners in Waco. Ok, bad example.
Freedom cannot be denied. But it can be both given and taken away. When we fight "for freedom" we are really fighting to reinstate it. We are not fighting to create an ideal that doesn't already exist. It exists, and we are merely freeing freedom from the illegitimate social contract that has held it hostage.
So anytime someone says that freedom is not free, they have already denied their god-given right to freedom. It's an inalienable right - it always exists. But sometimes it is suppressed. And for that, we fight.
The end.
PS. I'm sure that wasn't clear, but this is the c0r and clarity is not normal here. |
that was a truly fucking excellent post  brings back memories!
never been a fan of the whole owning property = inalienable right. but we wont bother discussing that now!
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