What is Freedom?

Recently I have had several emails asking me to define just what I mean by freedom. At first I thought this to be a joke or an attempt to lure me into some sort of philosophical argument. However I discovered it to be neither upon replying to those emails. It seems there is quite a bit of confusion about what freedom is and what it entails, so I thought I would post a blog piece about my view(s) of freedom in order to clear up the confusion.

First off it would probably be easiest if I gave a definition of freedom. I found the following to be to my liking: the right to do what you want without being controlled or restricted by anyone. I would like to add that here it is important to note that the "anyone" does not necessarily mean an individual, but can also refer to and entity such as a government agency, or the government itself.

Here is where some people start to get confused. On taking this definition literally it means that I have the right to: take, hit, steal, etc... from anyone, that is not necessarily correct and I will explain. As a human I have the freedom to make those choices if I so choose (it does not mean they are the right or the correct choice). However I must be ready to assume any and all responsibilities/consequences that come my way as well for acting in such a manner.

Freedom as defined by myself and quite a few freedom loving folk around the world quite simply is allowing us to do what we please with our lives, as we see fit, when we see fit, without any outside interference; so long as we do not infringe on the rights/freedoms of others. That last part is very key to our philosophy as a whole. We would not be very good proponents of freedom if we tried to force our will onto others, however we will not stand for others forcing their will upon us either. This may sound confusing, and sometimes at first it is. However you can look at it this way any attempt to subvert, destroy, or limit our freedoms is taken as a sign of force and will/could be met with force itself.

Simply put we/I do not care if you only want to wear one sock and one shoe to work, with a necktie around your arm, and have four or five spouses. That is completely your business, it does not harm us in any way. However attempt to tell us that we cannot own firearms, brew our own beer, drive our gas guzzling SUV's and you will be put in your place quickly.

Freedom is not easy and not for the faint of heart. With freedom comes incredible responsibility and self reliance. However there are great rewards in being truly free and rewards that we feel are worth fighting for. We will not give up our fight for freedom. True freedom that is, not this pseudo-freedom that is plastered across America right now. True freedom would be to repeal all income taxes, repeal nearly every single gun law ever written (quite possibly the only true gun law should be the one that makes it illegal for violent criminals to own guns, and the strict law that enforces it), stop the war on drugs (didn't prohibition teach anyone anything), and follow the Constitution of the United States to the letter.

Quote for the Day

"I heartily accept the motto `The government is best which governs least'; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which I also believe, - `That government is best which governs not at all'." -- Henry David Thoreau