The Real Essence of Freedom

We hear a lot of talk about freedom from politicians, pundits, media personalities and partisan strategists. They usually use the word when trying to influence public opinion to their benefit. They feel it adds a stamp of validity from our founders who originally set the standard for the freedoms we enjoy — which it does not.
    What all these people won't tell you, because it is not in their self-interest, is that the most important attribute of freedom is what they try to discard — the freedom not to be coerced into thinking as everyone else does.
    It is no longer enough to say we should just think for ourselves. The manipulation is such that we are meant to believe that we are thinking for ourselves when we mouth the non-sequiturs that feed ideological competition. The words, of course, were carefully implanted in our brains, along with their transplanted logic, by media professionals to germinate on their own. They are specially designed, using inappropriate anger and irrational fears, to stop us from thinking beyond them. This is not just an assault upon our most intimate, individual freedoms, it is a threat to democracy itself.
    Millennia ago, the philosopher Plato believed that democracies were by nature too unstable to work properly. People are just too vulnerable to the sway of leaders who would manipulate truth, generate paranoia and quietly profit from corruption. He felt that common people were too distracted, selfish and intellectually limited to be responsible for self-government. Today's politics seem to bear him out. That is why our founders implemented so many safeguards into the system that partisan bickering seems so committed to crippling today.
    Cautious as they were, our founders were also enthusiastic children of the 17th and 18th centuries. They were hesitant optimists planting seeds for human growth. They believed in the advancement of humanity. They placed their bets on the rise of people whom the benefits of freedom made uncommon. They imagined an educated population of voters who were more discerning, who understood the dangers of ambitious leaders and influential factions. They advanced the idea of a new patriotism based on universal ideals, not merely the boundaries of land or the inheritance of bloodline.
    Democracy depends on an educated and informed votary and intelligent citizen leaders of impeccable integrity. Nothing else will suffice. We, the People, are responsible to carry those responsibilities.
    If we want western civilization to survive, we have to reinstate this expectation as a much talked about patriotic requirement. We have to carefully evaluate our leaders and demand that their loyalty to truth and the good will of the nation supersedes ideological purity — limited and close-minded ideologies that they are.
    Freedom is synonymous with responsibility. Too many people hope we forget that. Indeed, they profit from it. But we must never forget the heart of our inheritance, or we will never be free, no matter how many guns we accumulate or programs implemented to protect our rights. We must be advocates for truth, or we miss the mark. We must think for ourselves, and stand up to those who would otherwise to make mindless followers of us all.

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