Today we celebrate the Fourth of July, America’s birthday, Independence Day.
While reports of our freedoms’ challenges seem to be under attack at every news cycle alert, let us remind ourselves that freedom is not a guarantee, a right, or a privilege, but is the natural desire of every human being whose self-determination is inborn.
Even a two year old says, “No! I want to do it my way!”
While certain of our rights are guaranteed, at least for the moment under the laws of 2013 America, there is no question those rights are under attack from mighty forces, but the most undermining forces are those of selfish motives we each have at our very core.
No human being is innately free. He/she must channel his/her individual wishes with consent. That is what America’s freedom model is all about.
We consent to be governed for the good of all. We cannot reign in our passions, our desires, our attitudes, our idiosyncrasies, or our morals. We must give up certain freedoms for the common good.
Fortunately our founding fathers understood this concept when they told King George this upstart country wanted to manage its own affairs.
For the most part, we who inherited their vision have done it reasonably well.
However, there is stranger danger pressing on all sides. Our consitutional guidelines are becoming blurred because of selfish passions and grabs for power. Our legislature is passing laws impossible to enforce because of their complexity through countless amendments which have nothing to do with the law itself. Our executive branch envokes executive privilege and listens to lobbyists and special interest groups without widespread representation our founding fathers were demanding. Our judicial branch seeks to legislate rather than soundly declare that the law must be followed not created by their actions.
On this day, let us reexamine what freedom truly means, a sense that the selfish desires of individuals can be limited for the common good, and that we can and will remain the best governmental system the world has ever seen. I pray that she will continue, despite her faults, to be true to her founders’ vision.
About the Author
