Civics The True Meaning of Freedom

Discussion in 'Freedom and Liberty' started by The Expendable, Jun 3, 2009.


  1. The Expendable

    The Expendable Bread and Circus Master

    I'm a fairly new monkey, and I hope I'm not repeating anyone here. I did a quick search and haven't found this question asked yet...

    What is freedom to you? I ask it as a serious question. Most Americans would say that freedom allows them to shop where they want or choose any program they want from 500 high-def channels. Others might say that freedom allows them to attend whatever church they want, or to criticize the government. But is this all there is to freedom?

    So I pose the question to you. Think carefully before you answer. What is freedom to you?
     
  2. Tango3

    Tango3 Aimless wanderer

    "Sovereignty of the individual". Being left alone to live and prosper to the best of my ability. Owning what I produce. or what I purchase through my labor. Freedom to express my opinions, read what I choose to, watch what I choose to think as I choose to.. Contribute to society or not as I see fit.
     
  3. The Expendable

    The Expendable Bread and Circus Master

    Excellent.
     
  4. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    One might say that freedom is the absence of law, as laws tend to restrict choices. I tend to believe that laws are like stones in a river-bed; too many, too deep and the water ceases to flow, thereby creating a lake. The problem with a lake is that someone down stream, where the river used to run, is now without water while the ones with lake-front property catch all the fish. Some rocks are essential to guide the river and stopping it from eroding all the way to China. Some restrictions are necessary to create a faster flow to generate energy that propels other industry than fishing. Some Lakes are necessary to provide a reservoir to maintain a level of water during drought periods. Freedom is intelligently deciding how to navigate these obstacles and still maintain the right to make choices and decisions on your own.
     
  5. The Expendable

    The Expendable Bread and Circus Master

    Very eloquently stated.
     
  6. tacmotusn

    tacmotusn RIP 1/13/21

    Boy have you asked for a lot. I have been on God's green earth for almost 59 years now. For the first 5 years of my life we had no indoor plumbing except cold running water. No shower, built in bath tub or toilet. Gi sponge bath at sink or big galvanized tub to bathe in. Both my parents worked for someone else and I spent more time with my grandparents than with my own. At least during the day. Both set of grandparents had indoor plumbing before we did. I remember quite clearly the construction of each of their bathrooms. A year later just before starting first grade we moved about 20 miles away to the town where my dad worked in a factory. A new house in a huge housing development at the edge of town with indoor plumbing was amazing. My dad was frugal. We had city water and plumbing and sewer hookup. We also had a garden almost from the very start. Dad and a few of the like minded neighbors dug and or pounded their own wells, and we all used them for the gardens and lawn, and trees instead of paying for city water. The trees Dad and I dug from the forest where we hunted morel mushrooms in the spring and where we shot Fox Squirrel, rabbits, and pheasants in the fall. Those trees are still there and now huge today. The forest is gone and now a huge upscale housing development. The TV I watched at home was Black and White through my High School Graduation in 1968 and departure for Military Service. I joined the Navy rather than being drafted. I was warned by a family friend my selective service number was quite low and that I would shortly be drafted. My parents had done more for me than their parents had in the form of material things, but there was no way they could afford to send me to college. There was no advanced placement testing or anything like it when I went to school 1 thru 12. I had not applied myself as I really should have in public school because most of the time I was bored out of my skull. I spent a lot of time in the school library and public library. I read all the time. Navy ASVAB testing was a breeze except for sonar. I was tone deaf. I can't sing either, except as a comedy routine. ............... Oh, wait a minute, this question was about FREEDOM.... well as a child I had some freedom, but it was limited greatly by my parents, and what they considered right and wrong. I got my butt beat to put an exclamation point on the wrong things I did. I hunted, fished, and ran a late fall / early winter trapline. A small group of us local boys hung out together, and pushed the parental limits of right and wrong. We were not bad or evil boys, just a little rebellious. Okay, lets move on to my first enlistment in the Navy. Boot camp was rough. My Company Commander chose me out for whatever reason, God only knows, I have my own ideas, to pick on and make an example, and really ride hard. His last name and mine were the same. This was 1968. He was black, and I am white. He brought up the last name thing, and got in my face and asked if my family were slave owners. I told him quite frankly that I had no idea... then I let my mouth run, and said why. do you assume that's where you got your last name? I then added, that I had read it was a common practice in the days of slavery for slaves to take the last name of their masters. With that he struck me with his fist and knocked me to the floor. I had been at attention at the time as ordered. It was quick, and unexpected. It happened once more before I graduated boot camp. I let it go, because I wanted in the Navy. I didn't want to be kicked out of boot camp. I stored it for future reference. I actually got quite lucky and encountered this individual 2 weeks before getting out at the end of my first enlistment. In a bar, I saw him, approached smiling, bought him a drink, asked him if he remembered me from boot camp. He smiled back and said no, that he had so many go through that they were pretty much all a blur. Still smiling, I said, oh well, drink up. Then I sucker punched him, and beat the crap out of him. Before I left I told him my name and told him he was wrong in boot camp, but now all was right, and we were even. Was it the right thing to do? Who knows. Water under the bridge now. Point is during military service, your butt belongs to Uncle Sam. Some things are tolerated, but for the most part you don't have much freedom. I only had to serve 2 years active, as I was a 2 x 6 reservist, and got off active in 1970. I didn't apply myself much in service either. I didn't plan on making a career out of it. It was the Vietnam War time, and it just didn't feel right to me then. 1970 was hard economic times. I went thru a lot of jobs and school of hard knocks over the next 6 years. In 1976 I went back into the Navy, and stayed and applied myself pretty much until I retired in 1994 as an E-7 Chief Petty Officer. Freedom in the service was still the same..... Uncle Sam pretty much owns your butt, and you have to toe the line. All this time I am reading and planning. I am sick and tired of BS rules and regulations, and big cities. I bought 20 rural acres in Florida in 1985 for what 2 acres would sell for today. I paid it off in 8 years. I just wanted to retire in peace on a nice chunk of land. Build my dream house, barn, smaller outbuildings. Have a garden, small livestock, a catfish pond / swimming hole, and pretty much do as I pleased in harmony with my neighbors. I am working on that dream. Their have been ups and downs. Thats life. I vigorously object to the socialist leanings of todays politicians. I object to the multitude of federal intrusions into my life that have absolutely no legal basis from the Constitution. All politicians lie. It's about power and money. We the People are forgotten and unimportant to the Federal Government. I remind them on a regular basis with my letters and emails. I am an OATH-KEEPER. I am a Constitutionalist. I love this country and I have seen many. I am tolerant of most religions of the world, but I have been shocked by how organized religions of most every ilk, especially when closely linked with governments wage war, and kill in the name of their specific god. I believe in one God, and the holy trinity. I do not support organized religions. To each his own. Many past Presidents of the US have trampled on the Constitution. I pray that we survive this presidential administration without this country being torn apart. I want to live and love and work and prosper and not harm others. I believe in the golden rule and the ten commandments. I have at this point pretty much earned all that I have with my own sweat and blood. I will share it if I choose to, when I choose to, with whom I choose, without government demands. I believe very strongly in the Second Amendment to the Constitution. I will not willingly or without bloodshed, give up my guns to the government. Life liberty and my unfettered pursuit of happiness without harming others is my concept of FREEDOM. IT IS WORTH DYING FOR !!!
     
  7. The Expendable

    The Expendable Bread and Circus Master

    Tac... awe-inspiring. The best thing I've read today. Thank you.
     
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