On Liberty: Part 3- Liberty and America

Having examined liberty as it relates to governments in general, I delve now into particulars.

I believe that liberty can be secured in many different forms of government (including monarchy, oligarchy, theocracy, and democracy) and economic systems (capitalism, socialism, and yes, even communism). However, long experience--and wise Founders-- have demonstrated that democratic, capitalistic governments best foster the principles of liberty in our modern world. (More about capitalism later.) This is not to say that other forms of government or economics cannot function in liberty, just that they have not in recent memory. Nor should this be taken as a chest-thumping declaration that our own current brand of democratic capitalism is beyond reproach; there are certainly improvements to be made in both form and practice.

That being said, I firmly believe that, think what you will about our country, the American experiment has resulted in more liberty for the whole of mankind than any other political development in all of history. Since that bold declaration of individual empowerment-- the idea that government derives its power from the consent of the governed-- freedom has been on the march; the world as a whole enjoys more liberty now than at any point in all of history.

I love America, with its beautiful diversity of land and people. But even more, I love what America stands for, what it represents-- an idea. From a the tall, copper woman in New York harbor to the last line of the our national anthem, America is a symbol of liberty. I love the image of a rag-tag group of upstarts standing up to an empire (Star Wars, anyone?) covering two-thirds of the globe and declaring, "Don't tread on me!" and "Give me liberty or give me death!" America, maybe more as an idea than an actual landmass, is truly "the last best hope of earth." (Lincoln said that prior to the Emancipation Proclamation. "In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free -- honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve.")

To quell any accusations of blind nationalism, I fully recognize that we all too often fail to live up to our great heritage. I also would like to say that too much is made of America being "the greatest country in the world." For me, this is reminiscent of C.S. Lewis' admonition, "Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man." America has no monopoly on greatness. That which makes America great-- its dedication to liberty-- can, has, and hopefully will continue to make other nations great. We should strive towards that end, rather than revel in comparative liberty.

Furthermore, if America is to remain great, we must cling to liberty as our life blood. Without liberty, we are lost, as a nation, and as individuals.

On Liberty: Part 2- Liberty and Government

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men..."

On Liberty (a continuation; for the first part of this series, click here)

In my first post on this subject, I tried to evidence a few self-evident truths. Today, I proceed with the topic of liberty and government. While I will do my best to spare you the latin and history lessons I am entirely unqualified to teach, suffice it to say that people, of necessity, must interact with each other-- since the dawn of civilization people have lived together, communicated, loved, fought, traded, and helped one another. In these societal interactions, the question of liberty first emerges as, well, a question. If man were indeed an island, there would be no doubt that he could do just as he pleased (although the scope of his action in such a setting would be inherently limited). As civilized man is neither rock nor island, his liberty will quite naturally collide-- and often conflict--with the liberty of those around him. Thus enters government.

Jefferson tells us that governments are instituted among men as a means of securing god-given individual rights, the foremost among them being life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (and as property is often tacked on to that trio, I'll include it here as well). Indeed, the protection of liberty is the primary, if not the sole, function of government. That bears repeating.

The preservation of liberty is the primary, if not the sole, function of government.

In form, this means that governments should allow people the full exercise of their liberty, provided that it does not infringe on the liberty of others. This is easier said than done. I once received the sage advice that the most difficult decisions to make are ones where a good principle is in conflict with another good principle. In matters of government, liberty MUST be the supreme ideal, no matter if it is pitted against prosperity, equality, virtue, or any other good principle. Liberty must stand supreme.

In practice, this means that except in matters involving infringement on the liberty of others, matters of personal ethics and morality should not be dictated by extrinsic rewards or punishments. This includes monetary and criminal consequences. In essence, governments should follow the pattern established by God's interaction with man in regards to their liberty-- as He will not force us, neither should governments; as He spurns arbitrary punishment in favor of eternal natural law, so should governments.

On Liberty: Part 1

On Liberty

I believe that as human beings, one of the few things we possess that is innately, independently our own is our liberty. (In my faith, we often refer to this as agency-- I will use the terms interchangeably.) Lest I be accused of ingratitude, I fully believe that our Creator has provided us with the means and the environment in which to exercise that liberty in a constant pursuit of becoming more like Him. In this pursuit, He guides us, instructs us, but does not force us-- indeed, it would not be liberty if force dictated our actions. Compliance to His instructions (often called commandments) is not forcefully mandated, nor are the instructions arbitrary-- commandments are in accordance with eternal natural laws. Obedience fosters more liberty, while disobedience (often labeled sin) results in the loss of liberty.

A Father's Day Message

I had forgotten. Despite the omnipresent flow of slick mailbox ads and TV commercials announcing the coming holiday, it had completely slipped my mind.

"We welcome you to church this beautiful Father's Day afternoon, and would like to especially recognize all the fathers and fathers-to-be in the congregation."

The words snapped my chin up and echoed in my ears as I hastily rerouted the red pen in my hand. I had been flipping through the sacrament program, editing spelling mistakes (I'm really not THAT type of teacher) and making semi-witty alterations--changing the statement "Missionaries Love Letters!" to the intriguing title of a future spot in the New Era: "Missionaries' Love-Letters!"--that sort of thing. With this not-so-gentle reminder, however, I quickly scrawled the word 'Dad' on my hand, as a reminder to call later that day. I jotted the note-to-self on the front of my hand so that although I would see it, no one else would notice the mark of an inconsiderate son.

Although I am equipped with a fairly well-functioning brain, it sometimes does not process everything it really ought to. Within moments of the reminder, my brain was already using up all of its circuitry on my upcoming sustaining as a primary worker. The opening hymn registered only a vague "Well, I don't think of sung this one before," completely missing the depth of its title and first line: "Our Father, by whose name all fatherhood is known..."

It wasn't until the sacrament hymn that I finally made the connection. As we sang "God Loved Us So He Sent His Son," I happened to glance down at my hand. There, written in the palm of my hand, in bright red ink, was the word 'Dad'. Not exactly stigmata, but the message was clear.

I imagine that as the Savior hung on the cross, the ultimate act of His love for every person who has ever lived on this earth, He was not thinking about any mortal man. In that moment of utmost love and pain and trial, I imagine Christ looking to His greatest source of strength and support.

I think that Jesus thought about His dad.


I love you, Pop.

Happy Father's Day.

The Burning of Gabriel Jones-- Now in Technacolor!!

In honor of the greatness and technological wizardry that is Gabriel Jones, I thought I'd try out something new on my computer. So I downloaded Inkscape, an open source knockoff of Illustrator, and here's what I came up with as a logo for the rally of the century, inspired by Robert Frost's entry into the poetry contest. After a careful objective viewing, I think it might cause seizures. Admire at your own risk.

The Burning of Gabriel Jones

In conjunction with The Burning of Gabriel Jones: Year 3, the event planners will be holding an art and poetry contest. Now, I'm not very creative myself, but some big shot poets have submitted work to be reviewed by the panel of judges. Here's a smattering:

Fire and Ice
Robert Frost

Some said that Gabe would end in fire,
Some said in ice.
But as the flames grew ever higher,
I held with those who favored fire.
But as if he was to perish twice,
It seemed the river was his fate
And I thought for his destruction ice
Was also great
And would suffice.


Gabryel
William Blake

Gabryel! Gabryel! burning bright
In the forests on that night,
What immortal hand or eye
Did cause thy lanky frame to fry?


Gabriel- A Haiku
Yoshi Pokemarioguchi

Fiery messenger

Herald voice of things to come

No... the other one.

If you'd like to submit some of your original work, you can do so by sending it to the infamous SJ-squared at sjoelsilentio@yahoo.com. Regardless, I hope to see you all on Saturday, February 16th to commemorate this defining moment in the nation's history.