De Tocqueville on the Difficulty of Freedom
“Nothing is more wonderful than the art of being free, but nothing is harder to learn how to use than freedom.” (Alexis de Tocqueville)
There have actually been people in history who have found slavery to be more comfortable than freedom, and indeed, I would argue that many such individuals exist today. They would rather be taken care of by the government (or, socialism) than risk the “freedom of opportunity” necessary to provide for themselves. Sadly, that just feeds the egos and lusts of power-hungry politicians who live to control other people and tell them what to do. And when you control somebody’s finances, you definitely control them. Congress can’t even go home for Christmas until they try to pass some kind of budget that gives them trillions of dollars to spend to enslave the masses.
We today don’t call such government oppression “slavery” (our Founding Fathers did), but in one sense, that is exactly what it is. People are “enslaved” if it is only the government which allows them to have and do. “Allowed freedom” is not freedom, it is indeed another term for slavery.
But many who do want freedom do not really understand what it is or where it comes from. It is a gift of God, as Jefferson said in the Declaration of Independence, and thus is defined by that Author. “There is no liberty without morality,” Edmund Burke wrote, and by that, he meant the morality that comes from on High. Modern Marxist Leftism has rejected that morality for a human-defined selfishness and decadence that starts with “every man does that which is right in his own eyes.” But this godlessness and immorality will end in tyranny, not freedom. And Leftists know it.
Burke explained this very nicely: “Society cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere; and the less of it there is within [i.e., self-control], the more there must be without [government]. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters.” Self-government is not Washington, D.C. Self-government is a person governing themselves, controlling themselves in harmony with the laws of God, which provide true freedom. Otherwise, as Burke said, a person’s “passions forge their fetters.” They will be self-destructive, and destructive of others.
Burke further wrote: “But what is liberty without wisdom, and without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils; for it is folly, vice, and madness, without tuition or restraint.” This is what de Tocqueville meant in the quote at the beginning of this article. Too many people do not know how to use freedom for they do not know from whence it comes. Such has long been a curse of man and the main reason why “slavery” (government oppression) is far more common in history than true freedom is.
Licentiousness is not freedom, as modern Democrats seem to believe. To have a “license” to drive a car does not mean you can do anything you want to with it, like drive through masses of humanity like that terrorist did in Germany before Christmas. Freedom has rules, freedom must be bound by laws, personal restrictions. If I hurt myself, I will eventually hurt others because if I cannot control my actions towards myself I will, at some point, cross the line in my actions against others. If I lie to myself (i.e., the person I love the most), I WILL lie to others (people for whom I have lesser concern). If I am unfaithful to myself, I WILL be unfaithful to others. Morality starts with self. All of the Ten Commandments regulate the actions of individuals, they are not rules for government organization and oversight. If we don’t control ourselves, however, the government will have to do it for us. Or, as Burke said, “Society cannot exist, unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere.” Self-control or government tyranny (slavery). “There is no liberty without morality.”
Too many people believe that “as long as I don’t hurt others, I can do as I please,” but that fantasy does not exist in real life. Such selfishness is the very antithesis of liberty, for “no man is an island,” no one lives to themselves. Our actions can, do, and will affect others; such is inescapable. Morality starts with self, but does not end there, and indeed, in one huge sense, can be defined as selfless, concerned behavior towards others. Start your own country, live by yourself, and yeah, maybe you can do what you want. But there is no such utopia. A person simply cannot be immoral without, at some point, hurting himself and others. We live in a society, communities, and our behavior affects those with whom we come into contact. The less we control ourselves, the more we will need the government to do it for us. Or “society cannot exist.”
So, de Tocqueville is exactly right: nothing is more wonderful than the “art” of [true] freedom, but nothing is harder to learn how to use than freedom, i.e., the freedom “endowed” to us by our Creator. The Democratic Party, the Left, has made its living by creating chaos, by teaching that selfishness and licentiousness are “freedom.” No, they are not. They are the worst kinds of slavery, and they WILL inevitably produce government tyranny. Just look at America today, especially the fruits of sexual decadence and inner-city poverty and crime, to see just exactly what Democratic Party/Leftist “freedom” has produced. Only a deluded, degenerate Democrat would call that “freedom.” But it is exactly what they want because it gives them the power they crave.
Godly morality is freedom. We need to be teaching that to our children, but we aren’t. Licentiousness, unhindered “freedom” eventually leads to anarchy which is the forerunner of totalitarianism. As William Penn said, “Those who will not be governed by God will be governed by tyrants.”
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