Recently I saw a protest sign held by a person grieving in the aftermath of one of our many active shooter events. It read, “We are stronger than this act of hate.”
I believe, in fact, that we are clearly not stronger than the acts of hate that keep rolling on through our communities. Those acts are stronger than us by far.
One reason for this is that we keep on telling ourselves there are too many restrictions on our liberty.
This philosophy usually goes, “Every person is free to act as he pleases as long as he allows the same freedom to others.” In effect, every person is a government unto himself, with a personal constitutional law to guide his actions that only he knows about.
This reminds me of the mindset of my 13-year-old granddaughter who does not under any circumstances accept a requirement to pick up her room. She has a hard-core philosophy she has picked up from our current libertarian culture. When asked how she is doing, she answers, “Just livin’ my life.” It’s her life, not anybody else’s.
Here is another sign I saw refuting the idea we don’t need government in our lives. It reads, “When you feel safe, you are truly free.”
