Freedom and liberty.Dennis Behreandt's excellent article "Man's Upward Reach" (THE NEW AMERICAN, December 27, 2004 issue) touches on a point needing further clarification: the distinction between freedom and liberty. Freedom means the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in one's choice or action. The essence of freedom is having a choice. Freedom embraces every aspect of our being. It applies to our physical, mental, social, and spiritual dimensions because we have the capacity--called free will--to choose what we do and how we behave in all those dimensions of life. Physical freedom means freedom from the elements and other dangers of the natural world, and from hunger, thirst, and other biological needs. It also means freedom to move about and travel, to associate with others, to change jobs, to live where we want and as we want. Mental freedom means the absence of fear or coercion in our thinking and our emotions; it also means unfettered access to information, as in freedom of education and freedom of the press. Social freedom takes the physical and mental freedom of individuals and extends it to members of a community or society, so that the institutions of that community or society are likewise structured to remove physical and mental barriers to exercising choice and self-determination. Although liberty is often used as a synonym synonym (sĭn`ənĭm) [Gr.,=having the same name], word having a meaning that is the same as or very similar to the meaning of another word of the same language. Some are alike in some meanings only, as live and dwell. for freedom, strictly speaking Adv. 1. strictly speaking - in actual fact; "properly speaking, they are not husband and wife" properly speaking, to be precise it is not. Liberty (from the Latin liber, meaning free rather than slave) is the sociopolitical so·ci·o·po·li·ti·cal adj. Involving both social and political factors. sociopolitical Adjective of or involving political and social factors aspect of freedom. A person may be captive, enslaved Enslaved may refer to:
tr.v. im·pris·oned, im·pris·on·ing, im·pris·ons To put in or as if in prison; confine. [Middle English emprisonen, from Old French emprisoner : en- in his or her own fears or vices and self-destructive desires, and thus not enjoy that liberty and not know happiness. The highest aspect of freedom is spiritual freedom. In the entire spectrum of human knowledge, exploration, and aspiration to unlock the mystery of existence and find enduring happiness, there is only one key, one answer: spiritual freedom. It was stated clearly by Jesus Christ Jesus Christ: see Jesus. Jesus Christ 40 days after Resurrection, ascended into heaven. [N.T.: Acts 1:1–11] See : Ascension Jesus Christ kind to the poor, forgiving to the sinful. [N.T. when he said to his disciples, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). Jesus was referring to sinful behavior or failure to live in accordance with the laws of God. In other religions and sacred traditions, there is a similar understanding of spiritual freedom as freedom from self-ignorance and self-delusion, from vices and character flaws, from negative emotions negative emotion Any adverse emotion–eg, anger, envy, cynicism, sarcasm, etc. Cf Positive emotion. , destructive compulsions, and anything else which generates human unhappiness and prevents us from living God-centered lives of love and service to humanity. The Declaration of Independence states the theory of freedom governing America, and it is based on the spiritual truth which sets us free. The Founders of America held two intimately related principles which they expressed in our founding document. First, God is the mighty author of our being and the ultimate moral authority for our laws and government. Therefore, we have a duty to reverently rev·er·ent adj. Marked by, feeling, or expressing reverence. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin rever acknowledge God in our lives. Second, we are made in the image and likeness of our Creator. Therefore, by virtue of our spiritual nature, human beings are sacred, sovereign, and inviolable. All else in our free society flows from that: our liberty, our rights, our justice, our human dignity Human dignity is an expression that can be used as a moral concept or as a legal term. Sometimes it means no more than that human beings should not be treated as objects. Beyond this, it is meant to convey an idea of absolute and inherent worth that does not need to be acquired and , and the primacy of the individual over the state. From the American perspective, freedom is given to us by God, the source of freedom. It is given to be used responsibly to show forth God in our lives--that is, to glorify God, Who is also the source of morality and law. God is the supreme lawgiver; the purpose of human life is to reflect the law of God and thereby glorify God. We have the free will to use our freedom irresponsibly and to break God's law of moral, righteous living, but the divine purpose of freedom is to realize the presence of God in every aspect of our existence and to ever deepen our capacity for expressing that realization Therein alone can we find unalloyed un·al·loyed adj. 1. Not in mixture with other metals; pure. 2. Complete; unqualified: unalloyed blessings; unalloyed relief. happiness and ultimate certitude cer·ti·tude n. 1. The state of being certain; complete assurance; confidence. 2. Sureness of occurrence or result; inevitability. 3. about the human condition. That is the highest metaphysical wisdom of our nation. That is the spiritual truth on which America is founded. Send your letter to: THE NEW AMERICAN, P.O. Box 8040, Appleton, WI 54912. or e-mail: editor@thenewamerican.com. Due to volume received, not all letters can be answered. Letters may be edited for space and clarity. JOHN W. WHITE Cheshire, Connecticut Cheshire is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 28,543 at the 2000 census. The center of population of Connecticut is located in Cheshire [1]. |
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