"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"
- Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence

"WE, the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
- The Preamble of the US Constitution

"But law itself must be subject to limitations. For if the law becomes excessive, if the control by government over its citizens is absolute, there is no liberty, only oppression."
- from Liberty & Law

July 5th, 2003

Wayne from Guardian.net sends this in. I figured it was appropriate after Independence Day.

A SUMMARY OF "FREEDOM"

Thomas Jefferson is reputed to have said "'FREEDOM' is having Choices."

Of course, it is not enough to say You and I have Freedom - it is just as important (if not more so) to truly understand what Freedom is, how we came to possess it, and how we should work to keep it.

A wise person once said that there are THREE basic categories of Freedom:

ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, and SPIRITUAL

No one of these is better or more important than another - in fact, they are all intertwined. A person, a Community and a Country truly possesses Freedom ONLY when all 3 categories are satisfied. Likewise, if any one category is threatened by someone or something, the others are similarly jeopardized.

A Brief Summary Description of the Categories follow.

ECONOMIC FREEDOM

There are TWO economic viewpoints.

One viewpoint says that there is a fixed or set amount of Wealth, and that it is up to the Government (or people who operate with this mind-set) to distribute it "equally and fairly" to all.

The other viewpoint says that there is (for all practical purposes) an infinite amount of Wealth - but it is neither to be controlled by Government or any other entity, nor simply "handed out" to people; rather, a person becomes wealthy by accepting and exercising the Risk and the Responsibility for the operation of a Business Enterprise. Moreover, a person is FREE to acquire the amount of Wealth that he wants, through the exercise of individual initiative and effort.

POLITICAL FREEDOM

In similar manner, there are TWO political viewpoints.

One viewpoint says that Government should make all of the choices for people with regard to determining their quality of life and their standard of living.This is usually accomplished and reflected in a System that contains an abundance of GOVERNMENT-ENFORCED PROGRAMS, with a corrsponding INCREASE IN TAXES ( to pay for these programs), decreasing emphasis on NATIONAL DEFENSE, and the advocacy of DIVERSE LIFESTYLES.

The other viewpoint says that Government permits the Individual to determine his quality of life and his standard of living.A System that supports this viewpoint contains (by comparison) few GOVERNMENT-ENFORCED PROGRAMS, with a corrsponding REDUCTION IN TAXES (i.e. people get to keep more of what they earn), emphasis on maintaining a strong NATIONAL DEFENCE, and support for a set of TRADITIONAL MORAL VALUES.

SPIRITUAL FREEDOM

Just like before, there are TWO "spiritual" viewpoints.

One viewpoint says that MAN is the center of the Universe. If so, then, by definition, MAN is inherently Good. Therefore, if a person does anything "wrong", it is not his fault - someone else or something else is responsible.

The other viewpoint says that GOD is the center of the Universe (NOTE: no preference is being made herein to any particular form of religious practice), and that ALL of us are individually accountable to GOD for every thought, word and action we produce.

It is not the intention or desire of the author of this document to persuade or coerce any person who reads these words to automatically change their belief or value system - rather, the intention was solely to put forward the important factors behind what makes individuals, communities and nations FREE. Possessed of these viewpoints, a person is then empowered to make intelligent choices about issues which may affect his life, and, if such is important to him, the lives of the generations which may follow him.

One should ALWAYS remember that FREEDOM depends on persons being Knowledgable.

(The preceding has been adapted from various sources)