.
(And, which one is indispensable to safeguard the rest of them?)
2007-08-02 08:12:39 · 12 answers · asked by Uncle Wayne 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Rephrase: Is there one that safeguards the others?
2007-08-02 08:18:04 · update #1
Since civilization began, human beings have made heroic sacrifices in order to attain and protect individual freedom. Yet, in today's culture it seems that we have lost an understanding of what true freedom is. Though commonly defined as an "ability to do what I want," real freedom is much more. True freedom leads us to attain our full potential, and allows us to fulfill our greatest desires.
* "Freedom from." That is, freedom from obligation, restraint, duty, commitment, sacrifice, claims on my time or resources, or any other perceived imposition. For example, if I think I need to be better than everyone else all the time, I will begin to look at other people, the world, and even myself, as problems. Rather than seeing dignity and mystery in others, I see only competitors; and as a result, I feel threatened, suspicious, jealous, and afraid of losing. The logical conclusion is that I feel free when I am relieved of any responsibility.
"Freedom from" is not necessarily bad. There are many things that are good for us to be free from, such as tyranny, oppression, danger, and slavery; or even addiction, abuse, or bad habits.
But trouble occurs when "freedom from" is taken to an extreme and is interpreted to mean freedom from all rules, all regulations, all responsibility, all authority, and all commitments. At this point, my understanding of freedom is limited to "doing what I want when I want to do it." What I probably don't realize is that I have just reduced freedom to escapism.
* "Freedom for" - freedom is a condition that allows me to pursue what is truly worthy of me. That condition is "moral agency." Human beings are free where animals are not, because only humans have the capacity to choose between good and evil, to contribute to others and to the world, and to move toward the goal of ultimate Love and Home. Of course, humans are most free, then, when they are choosing to align themselves with what is good, just, loving, true, and beautiful.
Naturally, "freedom for" requires sacrifice and commitment. For instance, in order to fulfill my dream of helping people by becoming a nurse, I would probably need to study. And in order to get a good amount of study time in each day, I would have to choose not to spend all of my time watching television, playing solitaire, or riding a bike. In other words, in order to form good study habits, I have to sacrifice immediate, (Freedom From) desires for longer-lasting.
* Higher freedom, then, the question becomes: "how can I commit myself to best love other people, best serve the common good, and best become the person I am meant to be?"
Ironically, it is only when we accept certain restrictions that we are actually free to choose what is best for us. If there were no traffic laws to govern the roadways, our freedom to get places quickly and safely would be significantly diminished. Higher freedom is extremely important for relationships, happiness, and personal growth. But the problem with this is that human beings are limited, our view of things is partial, and our perception of what we should do is not always correct. Additionally, there will be moments in life where our own willpower is not enough.
* Totus tutus - Surrender to God."No matter how hard I try, I cannot overcome this difficulty without Your help. Therefore, You take care of it; I freely surrender." Or, "Lord, You know the best course to take; guide me to Your will." Then, having placed myself in the hands of Providence, I am free to follow, trusting that God wants what is best for me.
2007-08-02 08:39:26 · answer #1 · answered by Giggly Giraffe 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Freedom of speech and freedom of religion. These are the most important to me and most Christians.
2007-08-02 15:22:23 · answer #2 · answered by ? 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The freedom to be who I am, and the one I can dispense of is the freedom to vote, it is over rated and no one is deserving of a vote now days, because it is a selection of the lessor of two evils, rather than someone good.
2007-08-02 15:19:44 · answer #3 · answered by Perhaps I love you more 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm going to go with freedom to choose, now I personally couldn't choose abortion, but I do like to know I have that option. But freedom is speech is nice too, because I can say that and no one can throw me in jail for it.
2007-08-02 15:35:37 · answer #4 · answered by The Nikki 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Freedom of Speech on Yahoo! Answers... oh, yeah... the nazis just removed that freedom from the Yahoo! services...
2007-08-02 19:30:06 · answer #5 · answered by Nijg 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Freedom of thought,speech, and expression. I suppose that freedom of speech does.
2007-08-02 15:15:06 · answer #6 · answered by Julia Sugarbaker 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
the freedom to live life like i want to without interference as long as no one is hurt
2007-08-02 15:19:18 · answer #7 · answered by woodsonhannon53 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Religion, assembly, the right to bear arms, pretty much everything outlined in the Constitution.
None of them.
2007-08-02 15:16:22 · answer #8 · answered by Joel 2 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Freedom from religion would be nice - if it ever happened.
CD
2007-08-02 15:17:57 · answer #9 · answered by Super Atheist 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
freedom of speech and thought
2007-08-02 15:25:58 · answer #10 · answered by Patrick the Carpathian, CaFO 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋