The Freedom to Do What You Want
There is a guy in my apartment building who wants the freedom to go unmasked in the elevator despite the building's rule requiring masks. So, he violates the rule.
His perceived right to do what pleases him, regardless of the effect on others, drives his behavior. His position is supported by some and viewed as adolescent and narcissistic by others.
And this is only one of many stories that make the pursuit of freedom a complex issue.
No Practical Absolutes
Rules take away freedom, hopefully, to benefit the community and ensure the kind of freedom that matters. In the pursuit of freedom, circumstances and intention determine if setting or violating rules and ethical values are acceptable.
There are no practical absolutes. For example, in conflict with the absolute freedom of speech, we have rules against yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater when there is no fire.
What freedoms matter? In the 1930s Roosevelt defined the freedoms that matter as the freedoms of speech and worship and freedom from want and fear. Today, people claim the freedom to marry whom they wish, own guns, vote, violently overturn a "rigged" election, get an abortion, stop people from getting an abortion, publish lies and unfounded theories as facts, and more.
In the name of freedom, soldiers kill. Intelligence operatives lie, torture, and kill. Political activists manipulate the truth. Whether they are heroes or villains depends on your beliefs.
Code of Ethics
Rules and actions are based on beliefs and accepted ethical values.
Humankind has long had a broadly accepted code of ethics - refrain from killing, stealing, lying, harming yourself and others - as the basis for deciding on who the heroes and villains are.
In the name of the love of freedom, each group decides how broadly to apply its ethical values. Is it just within the family, tribe, community, country, species or is it universal? Each group prosecutes its enemies' crimes and lauds their heroes, hiding or justifying their crimes.
A Conundrum
Pragmatic freedom lovers face a conundrum - when is it ok to violate rules and ethics?
Priests bless their crusaders and curse their enemies. Mobs kill, burn, and drive away 'heretics.'
In Buddhism, while there is a precept that says refrain from killing, the Buddha condoned killing under certain circumstances. For example, in self-defense or to save others, as in the story of Captain Great Compassionate who kills a passenger on a ship to save 500 others. The killing was justified because the captain acted out of compassion, saving the one who planned to murder from the consequences of his actions and saving the lives of the others.
Pragmatic freedom lovers are convinced that freedom is an end worth fighting. Dying and killing for. I would like to think that all freedom lovers value freedom in the way I do. But history tells us that they do not.
Freedom-loving pragmatists may be fighting for fundamental rights, but some have fought and still fight for the freedom to own slaves, discriminate based on race and gender, fix prices, pollute, impose authoritarian rule, and more. Self-interest alone drives some pragmatic freedom lovers.
Altruistic pragmatic freedom lovers want to ensure that others have the freedom to do and say what they want, within reason. They are willing to restrict their own and others' freedoms by establishing rules and making difficult choices. They insist upon the ability to say two plus two makes four and to objectively question beliefs.
Individual Responsibility
Know where you stand. There is no objective clarity. There are no absolutes when it comes to freedom. Look inward to your intuition, your heart. Question everything, particularly what you mean by freedom, why you want it, and what you are willing to do to get or keep it.
Are your choices based on compassion, loving-kindness, and rational pragmatic thought with a sense of long- and short-term outcomes?
It is up to you to become an altruistic pragmatic freedom lover by cultivating the self-awareness and courage to continuously look deeply at what motivates you.
