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["Melody O." <melody AT crecon.com>]

At 08:46 AM 6/7/05 EDT, James wrote:

>For the lifetimes of most of us, freedom will be a personal thing.  Don't 
>look for any restoration of the Land of the Free.

Unfortunately, I think you are right.  And the reason for that is
*citizens* don't give a damn about freedom.  It appears that they honestly
believe that the social programs *create* freedom.  Unfortunately, it is
directly because of those social programs that our true freedoms go out the
window.

For an example of what I am talking about, I will illustrate using my 11
yos.  The other day he wanted more of the cookies his sister had made.  She
said that everyone got 2 and that the rest were going to be saved for
later.  He called for a democratic vote.  I told him that in our house we
are not democratic, but libertarian.  I said that he could eat all of the
cookies he wanted ("Yay!" said he) provided *he* bought the ingredients and
cooked them himself.  I wouldn't say anything about how many cookies he ate
then.  His face dropped and he said how he doesn't like libertarianism
much. <g>

He thought that freedom was the ability to eat as many of the cookies as he
pleased as long as mom and dad bought the ingredients and his sister made
them.  What I taught him was what *true* freedom is.  While it appeared
that he would have had freedom if allowed to eat as many cookies as he
wanted that day, because he hadn't selected and bought the ingredients for
the cookies, he had no say over what type of cookies were made, and since
he hadn't baked the cookies himself he had no ability to choose whether
they were soft or crisp.  On the surface it appeared that he would have had
freedom, but in reality it was simply giving him what his dad, sister, and
I wanted him to eat.  

Very few want to eat the No Child Left Behind flavor of education, however
few are willing to purchase the needed ingredients and bake according to
their desired educational plan.  They are willing to eat something they
hate because it is free.  What kind of freedom is that?  And the examples
go on and on in the same vein....

Best wishes,
Melody