Freedom from what?
Every time I hear someone say that we are fighting for freedom, or that insurgents hate freedom, I wonder exactly what they mean. What is freedom, for us and for them?
Freedom, without context, means nothing. Freedom from what, exactly? Freedom to do what? We certainly aren’t free to do whatever we want. Personally, I’d love to be free from paying taxes, but I’m not. Even the Bill of Rights lays out specific freedoms: speech, religion, and assembly for example.
Freedom, by itself, is so vague that it whips up whatever notions an audience wants it to. To me, it means the freedom to say what you want without fear of government reprisal. Not to say that you are free from any effects your words might have - a company should have the freedom to refrain from hiring avowed white supremacists.
Freedom means, essentially, that as long as you live within society’s laws you can do what you want. Democracy means that everyone has the ability to influence those laws, but that’s not the same as freedom.
What kind of freedom will our government tolerate in Iraq? Will we grant them the freedom to consider democratic rule and reject it by a vote? Will we grant them the freedom to create a theocratic state if that is the will of the people?
I think they would be better off with a democratic style of government, but I’m not entirely certain how many Iraqis think that.
Freedom, without context, means nothing. Freedom from what, exactly? Freedom to do what? We certainly aren’t free to do whatever we want. Personally, I’d love to be free from paying taxes, but I’m not. Even the Bill of Rights lays out specific freedoms: speech, religion, and assembly for example.
Freedom, by itself, is so vague that it whips up whatever notions an audience wants it to. To me, it means the freedom to say what you want without fear of government reprisal. Not to say that you are free from any effects your words might have - a company should have the freedom to refrain from hiring avowed white supremacists.
Freedom means, essentially, that as long as you live within society’s laws you can do what you want. Democracy means that everyone has the ability to influence those laws, but that’s not the same as freedom.
What kind of freedom will our government tolerate in Iraq? Will we grant them the freedom to consider democratic rule and reject it by a vote? Will we grant them the freedom to create a theocratic state if that is the will of the people?
I think they would be better off with a democratic style of government, but I’m not entirely certain how many Iraqis think that.