What is freedom?

1. 67

   Justin Earickposted 10 years ago

   Freedom & Liberty - founding principles of our nation.  Strewn about so ham-handedly and haphazardly, they now seem abstract terms used by selfish people to prop up their self-righteous ideology.  So, what do freedom and liberty really mean anymore?  Nouns or verbs?

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2. 67

   Justin Earickposted 10 years ago

   By the by, I couldn't help but roll my eyes when asked to define freedom earlier today.  This in the course of my being informed that freedom means meth labs should be illegal while heroin is okay, slavery should be illegal while sex-slavery is a grey area, and property rights trump supremacy clause. 
   All specifically in the name of freedom - some people's kids...

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3. 78

   Kathryn L Hillposted 10 years ago

   Hi Justin
   Good topic.
                                                          What Is Freedom?
   
   PS Nerver heard of "ham-heartedly."
   
   ( PSS  What were you going to say? "... in the name of freedom, some people's kids…"……?  Very curious.)

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   1. 67

      Justin Earickposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Sorry I wasn't clear., I meant that the above policies (ie slavery, etc) were offered to me as this person's definition of freedom.
      I scoffed, and was asked what my version of freedom means, to which I responded with an eye roll and this forum.

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      1. 78

         Kathryn L Hillposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         ...so have my posts been at all helpful?

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4. 78

   Kathryn L Hillposted 10 years ago

   liberty |ˈlibərtē| noun: Dictionary
   1 the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views:
   2 the power or scope to act as one pleases:
   
   Liberty: Wikipedia
   Liberty is the value of individuals to have agency (control over their own actions). Different conceptions of liberty articulate the relationship of individuals to society in different ways— these conceptions relate to life under a social contract, existence in an imagined state of nature, and related to the active exercise of freedom and rights as essential to liberty. Understanding liberty involves how we imagine the individual's roles and responsibilities in society in relation to concepts of free will and determinism, which involves the larger domain of metaphysics.
   
   Liberty, noun: Thesaurus
   1 freedom, independence, free rein, license, self-determination, free will, latitude. ANTONYMS constraint, slavery.
   2 independence, freedom, autonomy, sovereignty, self-government, self-rule, self-determination; civil liberties, human rights. ANTONYMS tyranny.
   3 right, birthright, prerogative, entitlement, privilege, permission, sanction, authorization, authority, license, power. ANTONYMS constraint.

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5. 78

   Kathryn L Hillposted 10 years ago

   freedom
   noun
   1 a desperate bid for freedom: liberty, liberation, release, deliverance, delivery, discharge; literary disenthrallment; historical manumission. ANTONYMS captivity.
   2 revolution was the only path to freedom: independence, self-government, self-determination, self-rule, home rule, sovereignty, nonalignment, autonomy; democracy. ANTONYMS dependence.
   3 freedom from local political accountability: exemption, immunity, dispensation; impunity. ANTONYMS liability.
   4 freedom to choose your course of treatment: right, entitlement, privilege, prerogative; scope, latitude, leeway, flexibility, space, breathing space, room, elbow room; license, leave, free rein, a free hand, carte blanche, a blank check. ANTONYMS restriction.

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6. 78

   Kathryn L Hillposted 10 years ago

   Freedom: |ˈfrēdəm| noun
   the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint:
   freedom |ˈfrēdəm|
   noun
   the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint: we do have some freedom of choice | he talks of revoking some of the freedoms.
   • absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government: he was a champion of Irish freedom.
   • the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved: the shark thrashed its way to freedom.
   • the state of being physically unrestricted and able to move easily: the shorts have a side split for freedom of movement.
   • (freedom from) the state of not being subject to or affected by (a particular undesirable thing): government policies to achieve freedom from want.
   • the power of self-determination attributed to the will; the quality of being independent of fate or necessity.
   • unrestricted use of something: the dog is happy having the freedom of the house when we are out.
   • archaic familiarity or openness in speech or behavior.
   ORIGIN Old English frēodōm (see free,-dom) .

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7. 78

   Kathryn L Hillposted 10 years ago

   Some thoughts about freedom / liberty:
   
   * Without boundaries there is no freedom and without freedom there are only boundaries.  Freedom and discipline, (following boundaries,) are two sides of the same coin.
   
   * The highest good is for the sake of itself and something else, therefore, freedom is never good only for the sake of itself, or only good for the sake of something else.
   Freedom is good for the sake of itself and something else.
   
   * Justice requires that one cannot do what one likes without regard for one's neighbors and fellow man.
   
   * Liberty is the God given right of the freedom to choose, but freedom can be abused. This is where boundaries come in and we must know what are they based on.
   
   *Free will has to do with guiding one's will in a condition of liberty. It is not free-will so much as self-guided will, for the benefit of oneself and others.

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8. 78

   Kathryn L Hillposted 10 years ago

   In the name of freedom, some people's kids become spoiled, become tyrannic over their parents, addicted to technology, throw temper tantrums to get what they want to the point of banging their heads on the floor and run through the markets and stores and screaming and crying.
   
   - In conclusion, all in the name of freedom, some parents do not properly guide their children and these kids become very bratty.

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