Freedom (From and For)

(Written August 29, 2012)

Western culture has been about freedom since the exodus of Moses and the Israelites from Egypt. But it has never been about license -- freedom from slavery under Pharaoh did not evolve into freedom to worship the golden calf. To use a secular analogy, freedom of speech does not include the freedom to commit fraud.

For freedom is not merely a right; it is also a responsibility. With the freedom from tyranny comes the duty to do good. Were it otherwise, the Declaration of Independence might well eliminate the words "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights" and substitute instead "permitted by their government to exercise certain negotiable rights."

Without acknowledging that human rights come from the Supreme Being, one concedes that all human rights are conditional upon the current structure of power, the particular fad of the moment. Subjective rights are not rights at all, but merely temporary, revocable privileges.

To recognize that human rights come from God is to affirm that there is a God, and that His commandments are not subordinate to the whims of men, but instead are absolute and eternal.

In short, the written Constitution embodies the highest ideals of thousands of years of Western civilization and culture -- but, crucially, it does not replace them. This is why John Adams wrote that, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

If the Constitution could stand apart from the centuries of context which gave rise to it, then it could be imposed upon any nation, with exemplary results. But it is clear from history, and from current events as well, that no mere document can transform an unjust nation into a just one. No embodiment of ideals can save a people who do not share those ideals. Were it otherwise, the U.S. Constitution could have been forced upon the nations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and today they would be shining examples of religious freedom. Sadly, they remain dark examples of religious intolerance and sectarian brutality, where women are oppressed and free speech is stifled.

It is vital then, to understand and embrace not only the written words of the Constitution itself, but also its underlying values. Those indispensable words are but the edifice which rests upon an equally indispensable moral foundation.

To be sure, there is much room for debate as to which social conservative values should be enshrined into written law and which should not. It is wisely said that morality cannot be legislated; to this effect, for example, the religious foundations of the Constitution must never be twisted so as to institute a state religion. But neither must those foundations be undermined with imported values that contradict the Constitution.

For it is also true that immorality can indeed be legislated, and many laws do just that. Forcing landlords to rent to unmarried couples, forcing professional photographers to accommodate homosexual weddings, and requiring pharmacists to supply abortifacient drugs are just a few examples that come quickly to mind.

In the near future, licensing of brothels, clean injection centers for drug addicts, and a requirement that grade schools teach homosexual propaganda will likely be enacted. To varying degrees, they already have been.

Libertarian thought provides no reliable remedy to the social poisons that society is ingesting. Its values may be those of freedom, but they are also the values of the golden calf.

The full original version of my commentary is at: http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/08/a_conservatives_practical_guide_to_challenging_libertarianism.html#ixzz24xXTC732
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