The Sage Observer

Our Personal Freedom

          There are many of us with whom, on a micro level, I cannot help but agree; but, on a macro level, I cannot agree at all. The difference depends upon one’s focus. Many among us want to be completely free–we want to be left alone to go, come, and do as we please with little or no hindrance. Really, isn't that what is behind the arguments surrounding “big” and “small” government?

To be free sounds good to me. Let’s allow everybody to have complete freedom of choice and, in the end, let God judge us. We don’t need “Big Daddy” to watch over every move we make. But, smoking, public smoking, trans-fats in our food chain, obesity, drugs, our personal dress code, giant soda drinks, governmental monitoring of our lives, legal harassment for the production of government income, free sex, our voting practices–are just a smattering of controls that may (or may not) be placed over us every day. Do we really need all this? – Maybe. Maybe not.

          There was an earlier day when our neighbor was up the “holler”, over the “ridge” or somewhere “yonder”. Today, our neighbor is next door, just down the street “a piece”, upstairs, downstairs, or on the other side of the wall. Today is different. In yesteryear, we were an agricultural nation spread out all over. Today, we are more apt to be clustered in towns, cities, and giant megalopolises–we are congested. You have “heard” me say before, “My freedom ends where yours begins. If for no other reason than to maintain peace and harmony among us, don’t you think we need to be regulated? In a society where your good health is almost as important to me as it is to you (I have to participate in helping you pay for it), do you not think I may have an interest also? If you live in an area or neighborhood with other people, don’t you think you should be expected to maintain your property in a fashion compatible with your neighbors? In my view, the answers to these questions are self evident.

          In the same vein, when you are viewing the size of government, don’t you think the good and well-being of all are better maintained by a more central governing body than one which is local? It’s true that some decisions should and must be made at a local level, the decision being in closer proximity to the problem and more commonly shared. On the other hand, in many instances, problem(s) are more commonly shared by the nation as a whole, in which case I would think they would be better resolved at a central or national level.

At a national level, we are one nation in the midst of many others on this planet, and we need to maintain our security in the midst of such. I think it was Benjamin Franklin who said, “Together we stand, divided we fall”. We vitally need each other and our country. National security is just one example for the needs of a centralized government. Education is another. We don’t want, to express myself in the vernacular, “dumb” states, smart states, and “also runs”. We want an educated, smart, and secure nation with equal opportunity for all. We need communications, roads, bridges, and a strong infrastructure throughout our county as well as a prosperous and affluent people with a decent livable standard of living. We don’t need, on the other hand, a nation of surfs living in human bondage to an oligarchy of the corporate and power elite, and so on.

Let us quit fighting and get along with one another. Let us love our neighbor as ourselves and stick together.

Ronald Miller

mtss86@comcast.net