But what is liberty and is it the same thing as freedom? No, they are not the same. According to Dr. Marlene McMillan who has written several books on the subject, freedom implies a license without thinking about anyone else or the consequences. In other words I can do anything I want, as long as it doesn’t hurt someone else or if taken to the extreme, I can do what I want and it is okay to infringe on your rights. This is on display today through the Homosexual agenda.
Liberty, on the other hand, implies and demands more from us. Liberty, n: the opportunity to make a choice to assume responsibility and accept the consequences. That is why it is so hard to keep because not many want to take responsibility for their choices. We have to be willing to take responsibility for the choices we make and even more willing to suffer the logical consequences both good and bad. Thomas Jefferson said “Educate and inform the whole mass of people. They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty”. In order for liberty to prosper and abound society must be both educated and a thinking people.
It isn’t freedom that moves citizens to sacrifice their lives for their county but liberty. Alexander Hamilton wrote in The Farmer Refuted in 1775, “There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism.” So this Veterans Day let us think in terms of liberty instead of freedom as we celebrate those who are currently in harm’s way and those who have gone before us defending our liberty. You will notice that freedom has been substituted for liberty in just about every instance when eulogizing all the many brave and courageous men and women who have served this country.
God created us with the ability to think things out and to make choices based on logically drawn conclusions. It is called free will. This ability comes with a sense of personal responsibility which is why today the two words are used interchangeably. “The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time; the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them.” –Thomas Jefferson, Rights of British America, 1774. Personal responsibility and duty are things that today’s society shy away from because these are considered to be old-fashioned values. In societies eyes, yes, but in God’s eyes, no. His laws are written in stone and never change so these values are just as important to Him today as they were three hundred years ago.
If you look in the new versions of Webster’s Dictionary for the definition of liberty you will find that it is interchangeable with freedom until you get all the way to the last definition where it says “the power of choice”. The very first edition of Webster’s had the correct definition that describes the power of choice and accepting responsibility for the choice. Words and definitions are important. In order to change society the definitions of keys words had to change. However, since liberty is something that lives in the hearts of men and women, we have many examples of what liberty means. For one thing it is liberty that causes men and women to stand and fight for what is right.
Sgt. York, is an excellent example, for us. He started out a devout pacifist but after being drafted into WWI, he studied the matter and learned that when evil is present it is up to the righteous to stop the evil. What a war hero he turned out to be. There is an ongoing controversy regarding a service member, 1st Lt. Garlin M. Connor, who was one of the most decorated soldiers in WWII but has been denied the Medal of Honor because of a bureaucratic statute of limitations time technicality. The Congress can and should grant him a waiver. Lt. Connor was wounded seven times and each time disobeyed doctors’ orders and sneaking out of the hospital to return to his men. Even when severely wounded he refused to quit and showed great courage and was hailed as a hero by his men. Why did he refuse to quit? I believe, the common thread in all of our heroes on the battlefield is the love of liberty and a sense of duty and honor to their fellow brothers in arms and country.
It is liberty alone that inspires that kind of sacrifice. In this time in our history where so many are so into their own individual rights and freedom, there are few who volunteer to serve their country to protect our liberties. The ones who do deserve far better respect, honor and treatment than they receive when they come home. Very few since the Vietnam War have returned unscarred in some way. With the advances in modern medicine more are surviving injuries that used to kill. Other have deep and hidden emotional trauma that cannot be so easily seen. These servicemen and women deserve our gratitude and support.
On this Veterans Day please take time to think about liberty and what it really means and I pray that you will choose to embrace using the word liberty where you used to use the word freedom. Pray and support those organizations that minister to the wounded warriors among us.
Next Week: More on Liberty and Gratefulness
Dinner Table Discussion: Share remembrances of those in your family that have served their country and discuss how what they did matters.