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View Full Version : What is this freedom we are fighting for?




bnyles
01-15-2008, 08:46 PM
Can freedom be a contract between people? You can be free either if people agree with You or there is nobody to disagree with. So there are two roads that lead to freedom -- a contract or violence.

But there is something else, too. There is the truth. If someone enforces a contract by violence and everybody accept it out of fear, then can this be called freedom? I disagree. Freedom must then be a contract between people to accept the truth and live according to it. So it seems that freedom has a lot to do with responsibility, willingness to see life as it is and honesty towards Yourself.

However one can accept the truth and still commit atrocities towards other people. Could it be that freedom means a voluntary contract between people to live according to the truth and avoid the initiation of violence?

The answer depends on whether we have perfect knowledge and there is something inherently sacred about human life that should not be violated. Obviously we do not have perfect knowledge if we are inquiring ourselves about it. That is the truth. Therefore it is impossible for us to rationally know whether something is naturally sacred or not. All we can do is to bear true witness to our conscience. What does it say?

I feel that the writers of the Declaration for the Independence of united States captured an important message from our conscience: that all individuals are created equal and every one of them has the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. These rights are not to be violated in order for freedom to reign.

So there we have it: All individuals are created equal and every one of them has the natural rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Freedom is a voluntary contract between people to live according to the truth and avoid the initiation of violence against natural rights.

Corydoras
01-15-2008, 11:37 PM
Freedom can't be a contract. A contract can exist only between multiple parties. Freedom does not depend on the participation of another party.