A Culture of Freedom

Did William Wallace really shout, "Freedom!" as he was being drawn and quartered? There is no way to know for certain, but it was really inspiring when Mel Gibson did it in Braveheart. It is more likely that Hans Scholl shouted, "Long live freedom!" before the guillotine blade was released as depicted in the film, Sophie Scholl: The Final Days.  Who among us does not root for Luke, Leah, and Han when watching Star Wars or John Spartan in Demolition Man? All of these roles portray the rebel going against the establishment and the audience has no confusion about who are the good guys and who are the bad guys.

So why does mainstream society feel discomfort, if not downright hostility, when it comes to the idea of resistance to authority in the real world?  Can we see injustice when we are outside of the story but not when we are in it? Have we been so indoctrinated by the media and our government-run school system that the very idea of ignoring an unjust law or ordinance is unthinkable? Or are we so attached to our comfort zones that our freedom is no longer worth fighting for?

One need only browse the comments sections of various articles and videos on the internet to see how deeply this indoctrination has permeated our culture. Here are a few examples:

     "Just comply and this won't happen." (In response to the death of an 18-year-old after a law                    enforcement officer held him down by stepping on the back of his neck during an arrest)

    "The TSA can grope me all they want if it will keep a terrorist off of the plane."

    "It doesn't matter if it's right or wrong. It's the law."

    "If you don't want to get raped in jail, then stay out of jail. They don't send people there for a
     vacation."

     "I don't care about that, (referring to the 4th Amendment). Those checkpoints keep our roads
      safe."

     "It starts with keeping chickens in your back yard and the next thing you know people will be
     wanting to drink fresh milk."

Ironically, many of those who most vehemently espouse these beliefs are the ones who claim to be the most "American" or "patriotic" in spite of the fact that the country that they love was founded in order to thwart such a government. Our society has eased comfortably into this authoritarian system. Many not only accept it, but embrace it, causing libertarians everywhere to shake their heads in frustration. How did we go from a rowdy group of "traitors" fighting royal oppression to a weak-willed society that reveres our oppressors?

There is no simple answer to this question but taking away freedoms in stages that seem innocuous at the time are to blame to some extent. A more important question might be, how do we get our freedom back and keep it this time?

Perhaps the answer lies in beating the system at their own game. The culture of obedience must be replaced with a culture of freedom. Our society must cherish freedom so deeply that there is a swift and impassioned reaction to any attempt by authority to encroach upon it.  It must be the one thing that cannot be compromised.

All cultures, religions, and ideas must be tolerated, but the right of each individual to follow their own path must supersede any other doctrines within these cultures, religions, and ideas. Freedom must be respected at all costs, bounded only to the degree that the individual must, in turn, respect the freedom of other individuals. Individual freedom must be the one tie that binds together the fabric of our society. Until this is achieved, an authoritarian state cannot be held at bay.