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Too Much Freedom?
Are We the Land of the Free?
Given the widespread lack of critical-thinking ability, and the equal lack of exposure to philosophical studies, Americans have virtually no ability to distinguish between significantly different ideas. “Freedom” and “license” are chief among these.
When liberty becomes license, dictatorship is near. — Will Durant
The Founders of America knew that human beings were not perfect. The Founders thought of the Laws of Nature as the only governance necessary in a perfect world, but they realized that in order for a society to function and not break down in a wild state of anarchy, of “might makes right,” they would have to interpose some laws, some regulations.
In our early history, the indigenous peoples of North America — the First Nations in Canada, the American Indians, the Mexican indios — lived in harmony with the Earth. They recognized that they were never owners, but only stewards, of the land. They knew they had a relationship with Mother Earth, such that they had to protect her, cherish her, and keep her resources safe and used in non-destructive ways, for the sake of each band, each nation. And so they lived, for many thousands of years, in accordance with “the Laws of Nature.”
