Jun
22
Freedom Isn’t Free?
June 22, 2009 | Tagged freedom | Leave a Comment
I know you have seen the “Freedom Isn’t Free” bumper stickers.
These are usually designed to support American troops and American military actions by proclaiming that we must somehow pay a price for the freedoms that we enjoy as an American.
This has bothered me lately for a couple of reasons.
First, without a government to take away our natural freedoms, freedom is free. Only when a government forces us to submit to it’s laws do we start to lose freedoms. Are we, as Americans, free to privately communicate with each other? Are we free to travel without government restrictions? Are we free to assemble and have our voices heard? While these are some of the basic freedoms we think we take for granted in the United States, the answer to each of these is no.
Second, what price do we pay for freedom and who pays? How many dead Americans does it take to protect freedom? How many have died in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past eight years? And to truly count the price of this freedom we should not forget the many more Iraqis and Afghans who have also given their lives for our freedom. Or are their lives less valuable than American lives? I argue no, but I would say that people displaying these stickers may have a different answer.
No, freedom isn’t free, but it’s not for the reasons that the bumper sticker implies. Freedom isn’t free because our government has taken away what is naturally ours. Then they have the audacity to tax us for the freedom they have stolen from us by sending our young men and women to kill and be killed.
That’s not freedom, and it’s not something that I am willing to pay for.