Sunday, June 02, 2013

Liberty is our Resistance

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Freedom takes work.  Liberty requires an informed electorate, and an active citizenry, acting in a manner that is best for limiting the power of the overall system of governance.  To fail to do so is to allow the leadership to become a ruling elite, and the citizenry to become nothing more than mere subjects.

Liberty is a rare bird.  Throughout history, tyranny is the rule, and freedom is the exception.  Freedom, democracy, and the fundamental rights of the people are concepts accompany liberty, so those that seek power use those terms to convince the people that the leaders are not socialists, fascists, dictators, or purveyors of a theocratic totalitarian system that demands one's allegiance to rule of law like Shariah, rather than individual free will and free association.  The Orwellian elites use their power, and deception, to convince individuals to follow their big government schemes, promising enslavement through dependency upon the governmental structure, calling such reliance on government a cause of true freedom, while reducing the power of what they consider to be freedom-stealing concepts like capitalism, religion (or in the case of Islam, any non-Muslim religion), and local control.

Liberty is a term that means something, and though statism constantly tries to hijack the term, its definition of freedom is unmistakable.  Liberty includes freedom of association, where we freely associate with who, and what, we desire without armed officials watching our every move.  Liberty exists when government does not dictate what a person can, or can't, do, but exists to ensure the civilization it represents can function as necessary in order to protect the citizens from those that would try to take away their freedom, or invade the land for its resources.  The government, however, must be restrained so as not to infringe on the individual's rights to life, liberty and property.  Justice may be established to resolve disputes, as a moderator, but not to act in a legislative manner to force the people to accept government dictates that their own representation would never have approved of.

A free market and economic prosperity gives the people more power, but without individual involvement in the political system, ensuring that the governmental system remains within its limitations, the eventuality of corruption and bureaucracy setting in becomes a reality, and economic freedom becomes lost.

In oppressed societies, living standards are poor.  In nations that practice economic freedom, their liberty is greater, as is their living standards. . . which is no accident.

But liberty is not free.  It must be fought for constantly.  Those that would rule with big government constantly wish to take away elements of liberty, and by doing so they take away from the civilization progress, opportunity, and happiness.  Without the individual members of a society being able to pursue happiness, the result is the presence of stagnation, poor living conditions, suffering, a loss of innovation, and a growing feeling of desperation.

Liberty lives even if only one person in a society strives for it, and that aspiration exists in every culture because deep down we all desire liberty.   The question is, are we willing to fight for it.  Are we willing to demand it.  Because when we practice liberty, that is the ultimate resistance against tyranny.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

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