In the midst of all the national political debate that comes with presidential primaries, a lot of buzzwords are thrown around. One of the most thrown, and least understood, is “freedom.” What does it mean to be free? What did the framers of the constitution mean when they spoke of freedom? I propose that freedom is not only about self-determination, as many people would argue. I say that freedom is more than that.
By taking a look from different perspectives on some of the more difficult issues, and asking which of these infringes more on freedom, we can possibly begin to understand what freedom is really all about.
First, look at abortion. This is a hot issue, but honestly an issue so deadlocked that it is more of a red herring than anything else at the moment (but that’s a whole other story). To boil it down, is the freedom of a woman to determine what happens to her own body more or less important that the freedom of an unborn child to be alive? It’s a difficult issue, I know how I answer this question, even if I don’t have a clear idea how to effectively make a difference, and not just stir up self righteous dust.
Next, let’s look at the issue of social security. Forgive me if the way I ask this question reveals my own bias. Does freedom from an arbitrary authority forcing you to give your money to a pot you may never dip into outweigh the freedom from having to worry about how you will pay for food or housing when you can no longer work, or if you are unable to work?
Last, since I don’t really want to do much more than expand people’s idea of what freedom means, we can address health care. Which is more important: freedom to choose your own health care provider and how much you want to pay for it, or freedom from the often overwhelming financial burden of health care to treat terminal or chronic illness, especially when health insurance was already an overwhelming prospect or reality.
I just want to be clear about this one thing. Freedom is about not being bound by an oppressive force. Sometimes that force is the government telling you how to live your life, but sometimes it is a social or economic system which forces your life in a direction you do not choose.
Before I end, let me remind you that the issues used as examples above are not cut and dry issues, but have much more depth. When looking at political issues, it is important to look at as many perspectives as possible, in order that you might come closer to the truth than if you only looked from the perspective you are used to.
