Freedom! Freedom is worth fighting for. Freedom is worth dying for. Most people would say that's part of being an American, and I imagine that most other democratic countries feel the same way.
But many of the people who, with Patrick Henry, cry, "Give me liberty or give me death!" object when they see freedom being abused. This is natural. They understand the harmful consequences of abusing our liberties.
The Book of Mormon explains this principle in terms of choosing God or Satan: "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself" (2 Nephi 2:27).
In other words, we are free to choose Satan over Christ, but if we do, we will lose many other freedoms. As a student of psychology, I am very familiar with ways we can give up freedom. Addictions are the most obvious example; I'm free to smoke a cigarette, but every choice becomes less of a choice. Soon, I could be a nicotine addict seeking help. Plenty of other freedoms are equally self-defeating. Playing a video game for a few minutes is fun. Playing a video game for hours on end can be a form of unhealthy escape, in which we forget that real life is worth experiencing.
I don't know how many ways there are to give up freedom. I'm focusing more on freedoms that create. Choosing Jesus Christ in any way will make us more free, more powerful, more intelligent, and more like Him. Certain mental illnesses can reduce our emotional freedom, but there are ways to improve. We can get help, exercise, or correct harmful thinking errors. We can learn about our own needs and meet them in healthy ways.
I know from personal experience that there is no greater ally than God in the quest for emotional freedom. According the scriptures, He is the best ally in the quest for physical freedom and the only path to spiritual freedom.
Showing posts with label freedom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label freedom. Show all posts
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Political Debate Quote
I wanted to quote a brilliant rant on Facebook that I thought needed to be preserved a little bit better. Here it is:
"I disagree with Obama on some things and I disagreed with Bush on a lot of things. I don't think agreeing with one party or another is necessarily an intelligent thing to do. Seeing as most extremists are equally unreasonable, in this case, left or right wing.
"That's not why I wanted to comment though. My understanding of the constitution is that we have the freedom of speech. Most people believe that means they can say whatever they want whenever they want however they want. That wasn't its original purpose though. It's original purpose was to allow exactly what Monie just did: to question our leaders... Though I will admit that my opinion is not the same as Monie's. But that doesn't mean that she's being untruthful or ignorant. It means that when she looked at the facts, she came to a different conclusion than I did. And there really isn't anything wrong with that...
"I do want to say one thing in general though. This Republican vs. Democrat dichotomy is leading into a corrupt way of doing government. Each party in it's own way wants to take away rights, and completely disregard the constitution and we NEED to recognize that. Look at policies that already exist. We cannot just keep electing people because our party told us to... which by the way is exactly what happens because we the "people" have no say in who the nominees are. We need to stop backing this nonsense and start thinking about each individual topic instead of letting a corrupt group of people tell you what you think.
"I know that's harsh. But neither of your arguments actually said anything useful. It honestly sounded like two gangs fighting over nothing. Our government should mean more than that. We should be fighting the issues, not the parties. We should be discussing whether or not government health care is good or bad. We should be discussing something that never gets discussed anymore: does the government even have the right to do anything it's been doing anymore? Should the federal government have the right to define marriage at all? Should the federal government own more than 50% of any given state's land? Should the federal government have any say in issues like abortions and insurance? Discuss the issues. Because honestly, we are beginning to become a nation of people who whine about our government, but at the same time, expect them to take on our responsibilities. And ranting about a person doesn't change it. Like Xane said, Obama and Bush do have a lot in common. The scariest in my opinion is the obvious act of ignoring the debt and hoping it goes away.
"And if you guys are so scared the government is corrupt and you look to the president for accusation, then you're looking in the wrong place. You should be looking at the Supreme Court. The place we have the least power over, has more power than than the president or Congress. That's a little scary to me.
"I'm sorry that sounded so mean, but I firmly believe that once we reduce the power of the political parties and the government and, yes, embrace the power of God, only then can we honestly be free."
--Nikki D.
"I disagree with Obama on some things and I disagreed with Bush on a lot of things. I don't think agreeing with one party or another is necessarily an intelligent thing to do. Seeing as most extremists are equally unreasonable, in this case, left or right wing.
"That's not why I wanted to comment though. My understanding of the constitution is that we have the freedom of speech. Most people believe that means they can say whatever they want whenever they want however they want. That wasn't its original purpose though. It's original purpose was to allow exactly what Monie just did: to question our leaders... Though I will admit that my opinion is not the same as Monie's. But that doesn't mean that she's being untruthful or ignorant. It means that when she looked at the facts, she came to a different conclusion than I did. And there really isn't anything wrong with that...
"I do want to say one thing in general though. This Republican vs. Democrat dichotomy is leading into a corrupt way of doing government. Each party in it's own way wants to take away rights, and completely disregard the constitution and we NEED to recognize that. Look at policies that already exist. We cannot just keep electing people because our party told us to... which by the way is exactly what happens because we the "people" have no say in who the nominees are. We need to stop backing this nonsense and start thinking about each individual topic instead of letting a corrupt group of people tell you what you think.
"I know that's harsh. But neither of your arguments actually said anything useful. It honestly sounded like two gangs fighting over nothing. Our government should mean more than that. We should be fighting the issues, not the parties. We should be discussing whether or not government health care is good or bad. We should be discussing something that never gets discussed anymore: does the government even have the right to do anything it's been doing anymore? Should the federal government have the right to define marriage at all? Should the federal government own more than 50% of any given state's land? Should the federal government have any say in issues like abortions and insurance? Discuss the issues. Because honestly, we are beginning to become a nation of people who whine about our government, but at the same time, expect them to take on our responsibilities. And ranting about a person doesn't change it. Like Xane said, Obama and Bush do have a lot in common. The scariest in my opinion is the obvious act of ignoring the debt and hoping it goes away.
"And if you guys are so scared the government is corrupt and you look to the president for accusation, then you're looking in the wrong place. You should be looking at the Supreme Court. The place we have the least power over, has more power than than the president or Congress. That's a little scary to me.
"I'm sorry that sounded so mean, but I firmly believe that once we reduce the power of the political parties and the government and, yes, embrace the power of God, only then can we honestly be free."
--Nikki D.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Responsibility and Liberty
Does a Statue of Responsibility impose values on others? Yes. But only values that are necessary for society to function.
Democracy is designed to encourage freedom of religion, speech, belief, and life goals. However, this freedom depends on honesty. It depends on trust. It depends on us respecting each others' rights. Compassion alone does not protect others' rights. We must fulfill our duties: to our families, to our communities, to our country.
Liberty does not, and cannot, mean freedom from the consequences of our actions! If you steal or kill, you are punished. If you are intimate with someone, the girl can get pregnant. If you have children, you have a deep responsibility to take care of them.
Every action has natural consequences. Every choice has responsibilities. It's even true in physics and biology! You reap what you sow. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
If America continues its current route of avoiding responsibility in favor of freedom from consequences, then it will fall apart as surely as the Soviet Union did. We will take out debts with no intention of repaying them. We will have children with no intention of raising them. We will get jobs with no intention of producing the promised goods or services with good quality.
Hence, responsibility is the necessary counterpart for liberty, or the people of the United States of America will never achieve the unity envisioned by George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and, I believe, by God.
Democracy is designed to encourage freedom of religion, speech, belief, and life goals. However, this freedom depends on honesty. It depends on trust. It depends on us respecting each others' rights. Compassion alone does not protect others' rights. We must fulfill our duties: to our families, to our communities, to our country.
Liberty does not, and cannot, mean freedom from the consequences of our actions! If you steal or kill, you are punished. If you are intimate with someone, the girl can get pregnant. If you have children, you have a deep responsibility to take care of them.
Every action has natural consequences. Every choice has responsibilities. It's even true in physics and biology! You reap what you sow. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
If America continues its current route of avoiding responsibility in favor of freedom from consequences, then it will fall apart as surely as the Soviet Union did. We will take out debts with no intention of repaying them. We will have children with no intention of raising them. We will get jobs with no intention of producing the promised goods or services with good quality.
Hence, responsibility is the necessary counterpart for liberty, or the people of the United States of America will never achieve the unity envisioned by George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and, I believe, by God.
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