FREEDOM
Societies
do not usually lose their freedom at a blow. They give it up bit by
bit, letting themselves be tied down with an infinity of little knots.
As rules and regulations increase, their range of actions is gradually
compressed.
Their options slowly lessen.
Without
noticing the change, they become wards of state. They imagine
themselves still free, but in a thousand
and one ways, their choices
are limited and guided by the authorities.
And always, there are what seem to be sensible reasons for letting
their autonomy be peeled away -
"safety",
"health", "social justice", "equal opportunity." *
It is easy to become accustomed to docility. That is why eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. Not because liberty is easy to shatter. Because it can be softened and dismantled with the acquiescence of the very men and women from whom it is being stolen.
Jeff Jacoby,
columnist, Boston Post
* You may add to this list the latest versions: 'terrorism' and 'homeland security', 'flu-pandemics', 'illegal aliens, and 'security risks' of all kinds etc...
There is another word for all of these . . . Hobgoblins
You may
wonder what any of this has to do with a music site. . .
* You may add to this list the latest versions: 'terrorism' and 'homeland security', 'flu-pandemics', 'illegal aliens, and 'security risks' of all kinds etc...
There is another word for all of these . . . Hobgoblins
Absolutely everything! And as the song says: 'Everything Hangs Together'
