"Posterity, you will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in heaven that ever I took half the pains to preserve it." -John Adams


Welcome to Patriot's Lament. We strive here to educate ourselves on Liberty. We will not worry ourselves so much with the daily antics of American politics, and drown ourselves in the murky waters of the political right or left.
Instead, we will look to the Intellectuals and Champions of Liberty, and draw on their wisdom of what it is to be a truly free people. We will learn from where our Providential Liberties are derived, and put the proper perspective of a Free Individual and the State.
Please join us!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

What Liberty?

Liberty. What a concept. 
But who's is it? What does it even mean? 
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
--Thomas Paine: The American Crisis
What does Paine mean by "Freedom"? How can we "undergo the fatigue of supporting it" if we don't have the first inkling of it's meaning? And what is the correct way in which to support it, if we knew what it meant?
 Does Liberty mean our Declaration of Independence? What does it mean," All men are created equal with the Right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness?
What Liberty? 
We hear all so often of well intentioned folks ready to "Bare Arms" in defense of Liberty.
What Liberty?
If you are to take up arms in defense of Liberty, what Liberty are you defending? What "Liberty" will you put in place to replace what we have? And who will decide?  
"The greatest tyrannies are always perpetrated in the name of the noblest causes." -- Thomas Paine
We hear all too often that we need to "get back to our foundations, back to what was intended."
And what would that be?
What Liberty are you espousing we revert back to?
What is your concept of Liberty, and what "Liberty" would you force on me?
 Our fight is not with Arms, it is an intellectual fight that cannot be lost. What good does your gun do Liberty, if you are but the next tyrant in waiting?
 "No one can find a safe way out for himself if society is sweeping towards destruction.  Therefore everyone, in his own interests, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle.  None can stand aside with unconcern; the interests of everyone hang on the result." -- Ludwig von Mises
Do you understand Liberty? Where it comes from, where it originated? Do you know that the Right to Private Property is a thought only a few hundred years old? Do you know from whom Jefferson got most of his thoughts from when he penned the Declaration of Independence? Do you understand where Locke got his thoughts from when he wrote the Treatise on Government? Do you understand Locke's "Letter of Toleration" and the influence it had on Freedom of Religion?
Do you understand the importance of a Trial by Jury of ones Peers ? Do you know where it had it's most powerful introduction? Do you know what year the Magna Charta was written, and why it has influenced where you are 800 years later? 
Do you know where your Liberty comes from? Do you understand who Liberty is afforded too?
Do you know the Bill of Rights doesn't give you anything?
Do you know the Constitution didn't give any government the Right to rule over you?
Do you know that Revolution is a state of mind that must constantly be burning in our Souls?
Do you know Liberty is a constant progression, and looking back only chains us to the inadequacies of our Forefathers, not give us more Liberty?
“Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present Generation to preserve your Freedom! I hope you will make good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven, that I ever took half the Pains to preserve it.” John Adams
Do you know being content with the Liberty you have today is stealing from the Liberty of your Posterity?  
Do you know we should constantly look towards a New Liberty?
Do you know that the basis of Liberty is not something you do to someone, rather, it is what we do for ourselves, and what we allow for ourselves, to each his own?

Do you know that the cause for Liberty is still the same today as it has been for all time?

"The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite." -- Thomas Jefferson


Quit looking for governments and man to tell you what your Liberty is. 
Learn it.
And most importantly, Live it! 


"Of liberty I would say that, in the whole plenitude of its extent, it is unobstructed action according to our will. But rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law,' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual."--Thomas Jefferson

1 comment:

  1. "Do you know Liberty is a constant progression, and looking back only chains us to the inadequacies of our Forefathers, not give us more Liberty?"

    When you first told me of this concept, it really furthered my understanding and encouraged me to keep looking ahead and not try to relive the past. Progress forward!!

    ReplyDelete