Next week is our Nation’s birthday. We celebrate.
What do we celebrate? Freedom! We commemorate our values, our rights and our freedoms—the right to pursue life liberty and happiness, our freedom of speech and of religion, and so on so forth.
Ironically, one of freedom’s greatest enemies is safety & security. Why is this?
Total unrestrained freedom means nothing more than life-threatening chaos. Take our freedom of mobility to drive anywhere we please. This freedom requires order. If we are going to arrive at our destination safely and securely, we need laws, rules, and regulations—red lights, stop signs, driving lanes, speed limits, etc. Thus, the free exercise of our freedom assumes limitations on that freedom—restrictions—for the sake of order, safety, and security.
All Governments, of whatever persuasion, know this and use various means and methods to maintain safety and security for their people by directly or indirectly limiting various aspects of their freedoms. Indeed there is a direct correlation between an extremely safe and secure State Controlled environment and a peoples’ lack of freedom. You can bet that an extremely well-ordered, clean and safe country is a country whose State-Government is heavy handed and holds the reigns tightly over its citizens. Singapore would be a prime example of this.
It’s a trade-off. Want more freedom? Be prepared to feel less safe in your environment, less secure. Want more security? Be prepared to give up some of your precious freedoms. Thus, safety and security are inherently antithetic to freedom.
Because of this, freedom is constantly being threatened, is regularly eroded by our need for safety and security. And so, maintaining our Freedoms requires constant vigil. It demands hard work. A citizen’s personal freedoms are all too easily lost in the daily shuffle of living a life. While Joe Citizen is busy making a living, he may wake up one day only to discover that he’s lost some precious basic freedom, just when he was feeling the most comfortable, all safe and secure.
Thus, it helps to remember that true freedom—real authentic personal and social freedom—must first ignite from within. Authentic Freedom begins with the recognition that every soul is sacrosanct and every person is deserving of respect, dignity, and honor—Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. That’s why real freedom begins in the heart. Freedom values people, dignifies persons, is respectful of community relationships, and honors personal and social boundaries. And so Authentic Freedom supports just laws, fair and balanced regulation, the principle of fair play and good conduct, community cohesiveness, in short, a rule of law and order that is fair and just, equitable, non-exploitive, non-invasive, and non-oppressive. The respect for and the dignity and honor of all human beings are at its core.
Secondly, Authentic Freedom is ignited by the light of truth. Openness and transparency feeds into Authentic Freedom. The heart may give freedom its passion and value, but the mind gives freedom its content and substance. Authentic Freedom requires wisdom, insight, knowledge and understanding. A free people must be an educated and informed people. Education must be a priority. Authentic Freedom is built on a citizenship that is knowledgeable and not naïve, inquisitive and not gullible, insightful and not credulous, mentally awake and aware and neither dazed nor asleep. It citizenship wants and demands truth and authenticity at all levels and must itself be a true and authentic people or freedom has little chance.
Thirdly, Authentic Freedom must be expressed in daily practice—at work, at play, at home, in the office, the board room, the classroom, or the hospital room. Authentic Freedom must be given shape and form by the actual character and behavior of its adherents, by citizens who walk the talk, who live the value, and play, practice, and perform their free acts without apology or abuse. Free citizens do as Authentic Freedom expects wants and demands of a free people. They exercise their freedom with respect, dignity, honor and consideration for all. They live, act do and behave as authentic carriers of freedom ought to, dignifying persons, honoring personal boundaries and needs, respecting law and order and safety and security concerns, all the while keeping their core authentic freedom principles intact. They do unto others as they would have others do unto them.
So, as we celebrate our Nation’s birthday, let us also be mindful of our responsibility to nurture our freedoms with balanced and just laws, fair and equitable rules and regulations, and just restrictions that keep our people safe and secure as well as free and thriving. Let us therefore continue to build on our Authentic Freedoms beginning with a heart of passion, informing our minds and enlightening our understanding, and living it out in daily practice and participation.
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