Tyranny of the spirit

Recently the IR printed a column by Victor Morales defining freedom as the absence of any oversight by any individual, organization, or governmental agency. In his essay he questioned both cultural values and economic policies as infringing on our “freedom”.

The arguments he puts forward are not new; they’ve been used by anarchists for centuries, and by teenagers (as parents know) since there were teenagers. That tendency to rebel against any control in the name of freedom seems somehow to be a siren’s call to those who see their own personal interest as the only justification for action.

“They” becomes the dreaded enemy setting out to destroy all that the individual deems of value, and government becomes the ultimate evil while the means of that government, the Constitution, becomes the perfect eternal document equal in wisdom to the Holy Scriptures...at least to those whose skewed understanding of this country allow them to equate poverty with immorality, prosperity with virtue, and happiness with property.

The very nature of man and the limitations of his intellect prevent the perfection that Mr. Morales seeks. The errs promulgated into law by various levels of government should bear evident witness to even the most liberal of liberals that intentions and goals have unintended results, and often require two new laws to correct the resultant situation. Being free means the ability to make amends and correct those errs. It does not mean that any one individual’s circumstances and legitimate preferences and desires should be treated as more important and urgent than anyone else’s.

When humankind come together to form a social contract, two elements must be present for it to succeed - an ability to appreciate the “other guy’s” point of view without agreeing with it, and a willingness to compromise where possible to the benefit of the whole. It’s evident that not everyone has a good heart, but to live as though we’re the victims of evil conspiracies, fearful and bitter over perceived situations with which we disagree, convinced that the world is “going to hell in a hand basket”, isn’t freedom. It is the worst kind of tyranny, a tyranny of the spirit.

Rex Clothier