Freedom

Freedom is a misunderstood and abused concept today. Our founding fathers saw freedom to be liberation from tyranny and oppression, freedom from foreign rule, and freedom from economic exploitation. Ultimately, it was the freedom to do what they perceived was right and just. Many came to the colonies to practice their own religion, to establish their own farms and businesses, and to escape poverty and indebtedness. Others came against their will because some put economic gain over the rights, freedom, and dignity of others. Sadly, the colonies were largely populated by those seeking freedom to determine their own futures and that same freedom was denied to slaves. While the institution of slavery was not a uniquely American blight – the British were certainly responsible in establishing and maintaining slavery in the colonies – it is a sad testimony to how we can be sensitive to our own freedom while at the same time ignoring or denying freedom to others.

By virtue of our fallen nature, we are all prone to selfishness. While we can’t simply write off, ignore, or excuse a sad episode in our history due to our flawed human nature, we must wonder how those who wrote ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness’ could ignore what was happening in the slave states. Yes, economic interests were a factor: transforming an economy and a culture does not simply happen by edict, by the outpouring of huge sums of money, or by good intentions. Evidence of this can be seen in the recent attempts at nation building in the Middle East, which have failed utterly. Likewise, the Soviet Union no longer exists, but that does not mean that Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, etc. are shining beacons of freedom and democracy. It is also apparent that not a few wish to return to Soviet totalitarianism.

Not a few Americans also wish to establish tyranny in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Words are bandied about, such as justice, equality, equity, fairness, etc., but those using these words have a very different understanding of them. George Orwell could not have been more correct, only his timing was off.

What is at work here is again our fallen human nature. Freedom is often seen today as the ability to do what we want to do on our own terms. That is not freedom. It is much closer to anarchy. Only a halfwit could fully embrace anarchy since there is no long term benefit for a moral, social, and political free-for-all. Instead we have those pushing for a socialist or even communist America with the understanding that they themselves will be among the elites, that they will be among those who are more equal than the others. They would happily tell others how to live while placing no such restrictions on themselves. They don’t see the utter hypocrisy of their beliefs any more than the founding fathers did in extolling the God given rights of all, except for some.

The real problem of freedom, given our flowed human nature, is quite simply selfishness. No one wants to be among the unwashed masses, the proletariat, the physically enslaved, the economically enslaved, or the morally enslaved. We want to be among the elites. We are fascinated with celebrities, with royalty, with the rich, and with the powerful. We don’t want to be denied the same luxuries of the rich, powerful, and famous and many go deeply into debt as a result. This is not what we were meant for. True freedom sometimes requires a degree of self sacrifice but is not self-destructive or injurious to others.

No, the freedom of the Gospel is freedom from enslavement to sin that leads to eternal death. Again, St Paul teaches that “you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Gal 5:13-14). Thus, our freedom ought to be directed toward doing what is good and righteous through loving God above all else and our neighbors as ourselves. It also turns out that serving God and neighbor provides greater earthly happiness than the selfishness to which we are prone.

—Fr Booth