Monthly Letter: May 2010

Let us consider the beauty of a sunset lay in the eye and not on the horizon. Without seeing and mentally processing this event, it would just be a phenomena void of any aesthetic quality. A rose would simply be a flower if it was not seen, and a symphony would lack any magic if it were not heard. The majesty in life is meaningless unless it is experienced.  Likewise, the value of freedom lies only in the experience. Until it is experienced, freedom is merely an impersonal concept lacking in any real nobility. However, the way in which freedom is expressed will result in growth or retardation for any group of people.

The stature of a society is measured not by the amount of freedom it possesses, but by how its freedoms are expressed. When we perceive a freedom is being used destructively, it is not the freedom that is at fault but its expression. We can, of course, eliminate the freedom when harmfully used, but the result would simply be to inhibit our growth. Instead it is more helpful to consider ways to experience our freedoms in a constructive fashion.  How would we, in the exercise of our freedoms, guard against their destructive use? The ideal, of course, would be to be the example to inspire balance in the various ways freedom is expressed. In the absence of change sponsored by inspiration, we are left with the protection offered by legislative balance. It is important to understand balance is rarely so to all individuals; it is alternately helpful for some and hurtful to others. Balance is not the middle ground, it is instead like the acrobat on a wire, leaning no further in one direction than he or she can compensate by leaning in the other. The sun does not shine on everyone at the same time, but some of us are in light of day while others of us are in the darkness of night. This then is the only way we have a balanced day, and this is the way the laws of nature provide balance for us all.

Inspiration is preferable to legislation, while manipulation is the least desirable way to bring about change. The corrosive effects of manipulation in all forms are eventually destructive to any system because it eliminates freedom, replacing it with repression. Repressive behavior does not promote freedom, it is the antithesis; the real enemy of liberty.

Every law we pass limits us as a society, and it is not in our best interests to be so weighted down that we completely surrender our potential to extend for a moment our place in the sun. Also, when any of us selfishly manipulate the rest of us we do great harm to each other specifically and to freedom generally. If we truly wish for the best for our society, we should do all we can to inspire those in our lives to, in their application find the balance, and in this way to ensure the majesty and glory of freedom is truly experienced by us all.