It seems like talking heads on the news, in all kinds of mass media really, use the word “Freedom” as a cudgel to bludgeon opposing arguments with. Bills are drafted that will “save our Freedom,” others are condemned for destroying Freedom. Politicians, the public, and the journalists themselves are all accused of not caring about Freedom.
The problem with this, other than the political infighting it causes, is that it treats freedom as some indivisible thing. People speak of freedom as if you either have it or you don’t. Freedom isn’t like that.
There’s no such thing as “Freedom,” there are only freedoms. I have a freedom to vote (when I’m old enough), to say what I want (as long as I avoid certain topics in certain places), and to date who I want (as long as I don’t mind being mocked or worse if I date the wrong person). These and others are freedoms that we have, and I think that losing sight of this and treating Freedom as one homogeneous thing is dangerous.
By living in the society that we do, we agree to give up certain freedoms in return for certain guarantees. Everyone gives up some “freedoms to” so that everyone can expect “freedoms from.” I don’t have the freedom to beat you up and take your hat, but I can expect to remain free from beatings and hat thievery myself. It’s important to realize that we make these trade offs so that we don’t start making the wrong trade offs, or not realizing it when a trade off is being made.
If we treat Freedom as an indivisible thing, we may go around thinking we have Freedom because we can do X, even though our freedoms to do y and z have been reduced. If we’re too focused on what Freedom means and whether we have it, we may not notice that our freedoms are being eroded until all that’s left is a little island of freedoms that exactly defines what we thought Freedom was. This is the situation that I think we’re in now. People are getting wrapped up in what Freedom is and who has it, and they aren’t noticing that many of our freedoms are being revoked or wrapped in stipulations and conditions.
Another risk is that we might start to think that we have Freedom and those other poor folks over there don’t. Maybe we should bring them our Freedom? This despite the fact that they may have freedoms we don’t have and we may have freedoms that they don’t have. There’s more than one possibility here.
Next time you hear someone (or yourself) start talking about Freedom, unpack the statement. What freedom is it that you’re talking about at the moment? What are the effects of that freedom and how might that freedom be affected by what you’re considering? How would what you’re talking about affect other freedoms? This case-by-case treatment will lead to a much more Free country.