In honor of Independence Day, a few thoughts from notable others about the relationship between freedom and responsibility:

• Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.  ~Abraham Lincoln

It's hard to discern, in today's political climate, the difference between a government protecting its citizens and a government controlling its citizens. 

• I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.  ~James Madison, speech, Virginia Convention, 1788



Citizens of Colorado Springs honor the
Firefighters protecting their homes



We are a nation of upstarts!  Rabble-Rousers!  We call them patriots, but England called them rebels and traitors.  We are a people founded on the belief that freedom is the most important thing.  But times were different then.  Responsibility was a given and didn't need legislation.  People relied upon each other in community to survive.  If you didn't do your part, your neighbor suffered.  If your neighbor didn't do his part, you suffered.  People were connected in community.  You did not act selfishly because you didn't want others to act selfishly when you were in need.  There was a code, and it was enforced SOCIALLY.  People cared about their reputations, and took steps to protect the honor of their word.  It was the outlier who bucked the system.  Granted, many of these troublemakers molded our nation for the better.  However, I think we have gone too far in exercising our right to freedom to the detriment of community, and for the sheer sake of seeing what we can get away with. 

• Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry is own weight, this is a frightening prospect. - Eleanor Roosevelt

The secret to any successful relationship is balance, and this country is all kinds of out of whack.  We have moved away from seeking freedom from oppression, and toward a culture of "ME FIRST!"  Maybe that sounds a little cynical.  From where I sit though, greed and a lack of responsibility to community hurts people.  Bosses who out of their own lack of self-esteem confuse leadership with control, parents who out of their own exhaustion forget their responsibility to model respect by showing some to their children and to other people, people of all ages who out and out persecute others for their differences, with very few consequences. 

Without responsibility on an individual level, it is left up to government to step in and be sure people are not unfairly treated.  The more we (and by "we" I probably don't mean people reading this blog, unfortunately) allow greed and fear to rule us, the more we fail to act in the best interest of community.  There's no quick fix, folks.  But the solution starts at home. 

I was touched recently by the outpouring of support and money for the bus assistant wherever it was who was tormented by a group of kids.  People all over the country donated money to send this woman on a vacation.  Awesome.  I wonder how many of those people even know what their next-door neighbor struggles with.  How many of them would take the time to voice appreciation for the mail delivery that day?  How many of them sat on their computers donating money while their kids were up in their rooms alone?  We have lost our balance. 

•  Freedom is that instant between when someone tells you to do something and when you decide how to respond.  ~Jeffrey Borenstein

 We have to do hard things sometimes.  We have to not lash out back when someone lashes out at us.  That would be DE-escalating a conflict when everything coming from our instinct says we'd better escalate it and fight back.  That means putting kids first when we're tired and stressed (and I can say that, because it's a battle I fight as a working mother of 2 under the age of 10 and I know how hard it is to find the energy).  It means standing up for the teachers who try to discipline kids instead of going to the principal because our kid is in detention and that messes up our schedule.  It means not flipping someone off in traffic and screaming obscenities when they cut us off.  It means setting an example for our youngsters to follow instead of punishing them when they act just like us.   

• America isn’t easy. America is advanced citizenship. You’ve gotta want it bad, ’cause it’s gonna put up a fight. It’s gonna say, “You want free speech? Let’s see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who’s standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours.” You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. - Michael Douglas in "The American President."  (LOVE that movie!!)

Freedom is that instant between the realization of what the RIGHT thing to do is, and the action you take.  Each of us have a choice every day about what to do in that moment.  We can make the world a teeny smidge better or a teeny smidge worse.  We are free to choose, and responsible for the outcome.  When we do the hard thing, often with no recognition, when we have the good boundaries to separate IDEAS from PEOPLE when we oppose something, THAT is worth celebrating with fireworks. 

Have a free, blessed, and responsible 4th.