Americans Must Internalize the Origins of Freedom to be Free
It is no longer enough to rely on emotion and hope for better election outcomes as a means of preserving freedom
I spoke at a Second Amendment-themed dinner in Grand Traverse County, Michigan, Friday night. While I’m generally booked to speak about my political subject matter area, election reform, my favorite events have usually been those in which I had no rhyme or reason other than to speak my heart. Ironically, as I’ve become more immersed in the political world, I have become less reliant upon my political desires and ideology and more inclined to the things that make men free – hence the start of this journal dubbed The Way of the Free Man.
As is the case with most pro-2A groups and meetings, the members expressed concern that undesired election results would threaten the existence of gun rights, even in Michigan, which outside of the Detroit metro, is a wide open, downhome kind of place full of hunters and sportsmen. When it was my turn to speak, I asked the audience how many of them were ready to stand up for their rights in 2024. Hands went up across the room. Then I asked about two years from now, and four years from now, and the future across a distant horizon.
You see, freedom is not the norm in the world. If it were, then every people group would prosper under it, with a thriving economy, relative peace, property rights, and a healthy respect for one another’s independent human rights, such as those laid out in the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. Freedom allows us to believe what we choose to believe, but also requires us to give room for others to do the same. It does not mean we must respect their points of view, but generally, if someone can defend his or her points of view, I think much more highly of that individual than someone who is purely emotion driven.
Free people must understand why it is that Americans stand by freedom, and the rights afforded to free people. It is no longer enough to simply scream about rights and freedoms without understanding that the source of those freedoms is what makes us unique among nations.
America’s founders believed the following:
God made man in his image, with “his image” meaning an imperishable spirit.
As created beings after God’s image, mankind has dignity.
Because man is created in dignity, he is afforded inalienable rights, or rights that cannot be taken away.
The dignity of created beings is the linchpin of it all. Nations whose subjects view women as property, such as Afghanistan, do not enjoy liberty and legitimate equality. When I was there, women were still being stoned for having been taught to read. Critics of the American concept of liberty are quick to point out that America had slavery for the first 88 years of its existence, but they are very slow to point out that slavery was widely disliked even at the founding, but a necessary evil in order to get the southern colonies on board with America doing its own thing.
While we should care about the outcomes of elections and strive to field candidates who share our values, we do not cease to be free if those opposed to human rights endowed upon us by God wind up in office. Inalienable rights are not up for debate, even if 90% of a country’s citizens oppose them. Freedom lies deep within the hearts of all people, which is why so much effort is expended by the enemies of freedom to manipulate every social event or tragedy – because it is a lot of work to alter the course of the human heart that was designed to be free, as it will be in the afterlife, as I believe. Look at the propaganda pushed after a mass shooting that is designed to chip away at support for gun rights, or how much social pressure was applied to keep people from traveling, visiting sick relatives, or operating a business during the COVID-19 scam. That was designed to erode the notion that we are a free people, and that we should trust a benevolent state to tell us what to do and how to be safe.
Liberty and security do not mix, nor do deeply rooted positions absent knowledge in between the ears about why things are the way they are. Once you realize freedom is part of your DNA, who you were created to be, then the concept of life without freedom ceases to exist, and you realize that you are free no matter who sits in office if you decide to be, and you act like you are.
Author’s Note: This is my non-political journal centered around the concept of living free. Most of my content is for paid subscribers, but since it is still new, I want everyone to take a look. If you’re interesting in signing up, the annual subscription comes out to $3.75 per month, less than the cost of a nasty beer at a ballgame. Thank you!