FREEDOM

FREEDOM

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The idea of freedom, which played such a large part in the early, heroic history of America, and which was especially glorified by contrast with her Cold War opponents, seems to have gone into semi-retirement.

Freedom is no longer regarded as the very substance of our nation, as it once was. There is no great antithesis to remind us of ourselves.

Russia and China have embraced many of our values. As we, sadly, have embraced some of the values formerly ascribed to the totalitarian states, there is today little real difference between us and them. If they have their problems, so have we. If they have their human rights abuses, so have we.

Our economies are intertwined and we are mutually dependent. Since a major war would be disastrous for everyone, we have a common interest in avoiding such an eventuality. We may hear about competitive or strategic advantage, but this is only a superficial quibbling that disguises the larger and more important facts, and seems to persist merely because the speakers cannot adapt themselves to new conditions, or have too much stake in the old way of thinking to abdicate.

All of the major powers are conservative, essentially, which means that the status quo is affirmed by measures that are repressive in relation to any developments that might lead to any radical change, especially if that change were to replace those who are in charge.

The other day the Russian president thanked the American president. American intelligence agencies, he announced, had provided a tip that may have averted a major terrorist attack in St. Petersburg. This, if true, is actually a fine thing and may be acknowledged as an indication of the brighter side of the common coin.

However we may think of freedom, we do not wish anyone to be free to blow up cathedrals or crowds of innocent people. This far at least the world's people may be in agreement. They wish, first of all, to be free from terror and oppression. 

FREEDOM

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The problem is we do not and cannot know if Putin’s statement is true. As long as governments play the game of disinformation, no statement of any such government can be taken at face value.

To the extent that the American people are the victims of disinformation, misinformation, prejudice, spinning, and the distorted or partial interpretation of facts, their inevitable confusion and uncertainty will militate against the formulation of sensible policies.

“Know the truth; the truth will set you free.” Conversely, if you do not know the truth, you cannot be free. You cannot even know if you are free or a slave. This is the situation pictured in the film “The Matrix” and, long ago, by Plato in The Republic.

The very word freedom must be examined, for we must know what we mean by it; what we wish to be free from; and what we wish to be free for. Freedom to do whatever one wishes is not the freedom we have in mind; this would include the freedom of terrorists to blow you up while you are at a concert or shopping at the fruit and vegetable market. We accept that our freedom to act is bounded by the normal restraint that social life imposes.

If, therefore, we would be free from the attacks of terrorists, we must be free from any desire to molest others. Another word for this freedom is civilization. Intrinsic to the idea of freedom is respect for humanity, or the recognition of human rights.

Even in warfare, assuming an actual need to defend against aggression, we adhere to certain principles that impose upon us a duty, for example, to treat prisoners with dignity; at least we do so, if we are civilized.

The implication is that we are free from the tendencies of the base, lower nature. Freedom, like civilization, is an achievement. It sets us above the lower life forms, which are helplessly subject to fear and terror; or to predatory instincts. 

Freedom is a spiritual realization. No one is born free, least of all animals, which have no freedom to be anything except what they have been made to be.

As business has become warfare; and war embraces disinformation as a weapon; we find ourselves in a global war zone. The truth has become collateral damage; and we are incapacitated and insecure as a result. To be free from terror, we must learn to be harmless; we must demand truth from one another and from governments as well.

FREEDOM

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Because we cannot rely exclusively upon the spiritual realization of freedom, our laws are based upon the system of checks and balances. The idea is to prevent the acquisition of undue power by any actor or agency within the whole of our nation. This is for the mutual security of all citizens and for the preservation of the nation itself as a free country.

These ideas are even more significant today, given the extreme polarization and the politicization of every issue within the country. Excessive power is inevitably political power. No individual or group is elected or appointed to act as the exclusive guardian of American security. Elected officials and agencies have the power that is theirs under law; no more, no less.

No foreign threat is greater than the internal threat posed by entities within our country usurping powers or rights in excess of what has been granted under law. This is especially the case when these entities act covertly and thus evade both public debate and due process.

To make the national security apparatus or some portion of it immune to normal scrutiny and oversight is an absurdity.

Men are not angels, as Madison said, and this goes double for the men in our intelligence agencies and police forces, active or retired.

As a result of the excess of trust conferred upon these groups, we now have covert operations on American soil run by unknown and unaccountable individuals that target American citizens who have never even been accused of a crime and pose no danger to anyone. These innocent persons are turned into involuntary guinea pigs in a never-ending obscene experiment.

This is beyond bizarre. It suggests that the people running this show don’t know what country this is.

FREEDOM

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A final aspect of freedom may be noted: the tolerance that does not readily take offense or make an issue of minor misbehavior. This is especially worthy of note in our time, when pointing fingers and accusations are flying in all directions.

Our checks and balances system is meant to operate with respect to the powers of government; it is not a formula for civil life. Today everyone is his brother's keeper; but this suggests not an alert citizenry but a social sickness. The energy we devote to small complaints is subtracted from the great issues that deserve our attention.

It is necessary to restore innocence as a norm of our national life.

__________

The above essay on freedom is quoted from Volume Two of "Surveillance & Control" (2018).