Liberty

We, as Americans, are guaranteed liberty in the Declaration of Independence. What can we say that this unalienable right represents? According to dictionary.com, liberty is freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control. In order to understand this in more depth let’s look at the definition of arbitrary. We are told that arbitrary means “subject to individual will or judgment without restriction; contingent solely upon one’s discretion as in an arbitrary decision.” It also refers to judgments decided by a judge or arbiter rather than by law or statute. In this reference we can also see that liberty means that we are protected from a government that has unlimited power, uncontrolled or unrestricted by law; despotic or tyrannical.

This was an extremely important point that our founding fathers wanted to guard against. This country was founded by individuals who were fleeing from an arbitrary government. England was governed by a king, King George. The rule of law was totally at the discretion of the king who had unlimited power. Every aspect of their lives was determined by the will of the king, including religion.

The writers of The Declaration of Independence and The United States Constitution wanted the citizens of this nation to be free from an uncontrolled, tyrannical government. This is truly evident in the first three word of the Constitution, “We the people.” These three words speak loudly to the intent of our founding fathers. These three words were written huge and bold as if shouting their intent. We the people are declaring our right to govern ourselves, free from the tyrannical whim of a despot! We shall live by the will of the people, neither by an individual nor a select group of elitists. The government shall make laws that reflect the will of the majority of citizens. Neither an individual nor the government shall have the power to enact ‘arbitrary laws’ that do not reflect the will of the people.
Since we are guaranteed ‘liberty’ by these documents, The Declaration of Independence and The United States Constitution, we cannot allow our government to enlarge itself and force its will (the will of a few) on the people.

We are a nation of free thinkers, entrepreneurs, innovators and generally charitable people. We have experienced great success in building a country that is strong spirited and a leader among nations. It is ours to question now whether we have allowed complacency to temper our drive to remain a nation that enjoys individual freedom. Have we become so comfortable in our daily lives that we have let our guard down?

There are those, radical liberals, who are constantly creating circumstances that are eroding our liberty as a nation and individually. Can we simply turn a blind eye to these radical liberal influences, denying the possibility that our liberty is at stake, allowing our unalienable rights to be eaten away bit by bit? Society, as we believe it to be, is not evolving. It is dissolving.

As we watched our football games, went out to dinner, rented a movie and passed our time thinking that everything was ok, our nation has begun a fundamental transformation, ever so slowly at first. Sure, we realize that many of our fellow Americans have lost their jobs and their homes. We know that the economy is in crisis. Still, anesthetized by the sense of calm resonating from our leaders, we look through glazed eyes at the world in which we live and do nothing.