Everyone Wants Freedom – Or Do They?

The Not-So-Obvious Peter Pan Syndrome

Imagine walking into a room full of people and asking them, “How many of you want to be free?” What response do you think you would get? I imagine we probably agree that everyone, or at least close to everyone in the room, would eagerly raise their hand and assure you, “I want freedom! I don’t want somebody telling me what to do!”

And yet, on a consistent basis, laws are introduced that restrict our freedom and often, they receive enthusiastic support. Why is that? Why will people willingly acknowledge their desire for and support of freedom and then, almost in the same breath, speak in favor of socialized healthcare, mandatory retirement programs, minimum wage requirements, and a host of other proposals that, if we look closely, limit our ability to make our own choices?

There are many reasons for this phenomenon. For now, we will address four reasons that may help us understand why “freedom-loving Americans” sometimes beg for bondage. First of all, bondage can easily be disguised as a promise of security. Secondly, freedom and responsibility are inseparably connected, and responsibility does not sound nearly as enticing as freedom. Another reason we will consider is that many people may not really believe in the power of freedom to adequately address social issues. The last reason we will explore is a lack of understanding of the principles of freedom.

Throughout history, bondage has often been disguised as security, with oppressive systems presenting themselves as protectors of order and stability. For instance, during the era of serfdom in medieval Europe, peasants were tied to the land and subjected to the will of their lords. While serfdom was justified as providing protection and sustenance in exchange for labor, it effectively bound individuals to a life of servitude with little freedom. Similarly, in the 19th century, the institution of slavery in the United States was often defended under the guise of providing structure and care for enslaved people, when in reality, it perpetuated a system of brutal control and exploitation. This pattern repeats itself in various forms, where those in power offer a false sense of security to justify maintaining oppressive control, masking the true nature of bondage behind a facade of stability and protection. The same scenario can play out in much less obtrusive scenarios, where freedom is decreased just a little at a time in a barely noticeable way.

In more recent history, I witnessed a group of 8^th graders who decided that they really did not want complete freedom so much after all, at least not right away. This may sound surprising. After all, anyone who has spent much time around 13-year-olds knows that they are generally chomping at the bit to gain any bit of additional freedom that they can. The scene was an 8^th grade Social Studies class. Part of the curriculum was a unit on personal finances. Over the course of several days, the students made several choices regarding an educational path, car ownership, housing, and even the number of times that they would like to go out to eat per week. Their choices regarding an educational path determined which stack of random jobs and salaries they could draw from to determine their imaginary career. When it all came together, each student filled out a budget form with their expected income and their expected expenses, including taxes, insurance, car payments, food utilities, and so on. Some, with dismay, reported that their chosen expenditures were rapidly sinking them in a river of debt. Others had more wisely made conservative decisions that were in line with their pretend income. Whether their imaginary expenditures were reasonable or outrageous, they all gained a much greater appreciation for the amount of money that it requires to take care of yourself. Suddenly, the financial security of living at home with mom and dad seemed worth the price of having chores and household rules.  This is a great conclusion to come to when you are 13 years old. However, when you have adults who refuse to accept responsibility, they are dismayed down the road to discover that they have also diminished their freedom. Freedom comes with responsibility and when individuals refuse to accept responsibility for themselves and their actions, a reduction in freedom is the result.

You have probably heard some version of the joke, “How many ______________ does it take to screw in a lightbulb?” In an insightful essay, “I, Pencil,” Leonard Reed addressed a similar question: How many people does it take to make a simple wooden pencil? Astonishingly, the number of individuals required reached the thousands. When all of the different materials, processes, and expertise needed to create each part of a simple wooden pencil were considered, thousands of “fingerprints” were left on a single pencil. Imagine if one individual set out to control the entire process. It would be completely overwhelming! And yet, when freedom is allowed its creative space, one person here decides to plant trees, another learns how to navigate the boats the wood for the pencils will be shipped on, another starts a factory to build the engines that will power the boat, and another develops the process to create the yellow dye that will be used to give the common wooden pencil its classic look. You can see how this list would go on and on. And yet, it happens! Social problems are abundant in our society and they do need to be addressed. How tempting it is to think that a central agency is needed to take control and solve those problems. And yet, if we look around, we see thousands of people in our communities, effectively and efficiently addressing social problems on a local level. Addressing social problems is an often used reason to increase taxes and regulations, but both of those things decrease freedom. And there is another way to address social problems. Individuals, acting of their own free will and choice, can each do their part and it will come together to produce amazing results.

If you want homemade chocolate chip cookies and you have an empty pantry, then you need to go to the store before you can start baking. Imagine if you had never seen a recipe for chocolate chip cookies and you went to the store to stock up on the ingredients you would need to make some chocolatey goodness. You would probably guess correctly about needing to purchase chocolate chips. But then what? Well, there must be some flour in those cookies, but maybe not. Gluten-free cookies seem to be pretty popular! What else are you going to purchase? You make some guesses about what you think will work and go home to start baking. If you have guessed on the ingredients and guessed on how to combine those ingredients, the result will probably not be very appetizing. Is that because you wanted something less than sweet, chewy, delicious goodness? No, it’s just because you didn’t understand what you needed to combine to produce the desired result. Freedom is the same! There are principles, truths that never change, that if combined correctly, will produce an environment of freedom. But, if you don’t know what those principles are, or how to apply them with wisdom, your best intentions may result in losing freedom rather than gaining it.

So, while we know very well that people yearn to be free, there are so many roadblocks that can get in the way. People also crave security and bondage can do a great impersonation of security. The Peter Pan inside of each of us can shy away from accepting responsibility, not realizing that freedom and responsibility are two sides of the same coin, and you can’t have one without the other.  We look around us with our kind hearts and good intentions and think, “Somebody ought to solve the problems that are all around us!” The most natural place to look is a central governing agency, while the most effective source of help is those who are closest to the problem and acting of their own free will and choice. Finally, we may desire freedom, but not understand the correct principles that must be followed to preserve and expand freedom.

If you are still responding, “I want freedom! I don’t want anyone to tell me what to do!”, then there is good news. Not a single one of these “reasons” to beg for bondage has a valid foundation. There are things you can do right now to increase your effectiveness in the fight for freedom. If you haven’t read it already, check out The 5000 Year Leap. It does a fantastic job of explaining the principles that are needed to produce a free society. Also, we invite you to look around you and find out about groups in your area that are doing a great job of solving local problems on a local level without government involvement. When you find a great story, please send it to tonya@nccs.net. We would love to collect stories that demonstrate to the world that freedom is the best way to live and the best way to solve problems!

Action steps:

1. Read (or invite someone else to read) The 5000 Year Leap
2. Find out about a group in your area that is doing a great job of solving problems on a local level without government assistance – just relying on freely given resources. Send the story to tonya@nccs.net
3. Get involved in your local government and donate some time or money to groups that are responding to the cry for big government to solve problems by saying, “No thanks, we will solve our problems ourselves and stay free!”