I consider this article the very first 4th of July gift I've ever received (and I thank you).
It will take a little time, but I am confident that my ability to sort liberty from freedom will come to pass very soon. Once again, I'm gonna start to work this out, out loud.
My first thought was... no wonder I was struggling to understand the reason that freedom felt like chains to me. My mistake was conflating liberty and freedom. I stand corrected; these are entirely different concepts, and they are not interchangeable.
I used to make the same mistake when I conflated Republic and Democracy. Once I separated them, I discovered my belief in democracy was so strong, it overrode my loyalty to the American Republic. Over time, I found myself opposing the Republic and working towards a Democracy.
Suddenly, I remembered this…
“To violate law is to win the admiration of half the populace, who secretly envy anyone who can outwit this ancient enemy; to violate custom is to incur almost universal hostility. For custom arises out of the people, whereas law is forced upon them from above.”
Will Durant, Lessons of History
I surmise, law is related to freedom, while custom is related to liberty.
Superlatives can't adequately describe your brilliant insight. I thank you for the distinction between the words freedom and liberty. From this point forward, I will make sure that I make that distinction in my writing. You are the best. Thank you.
I consider this article the very first 4th of July gift I've ever received (and I thank you).
It will take a little time, but I am confident that my ability to sort liberty from freedom will come to pass very soon. Once again, I'm gonna start to work this out, out loud.
My first thought was... no wonder I was struggling to understand the reason that freedom felt like chains to me. My mistake was conflating liberty and freedom. I stand corrected; these are entirely different concepts, and they are not interchangeable.
I used to make the same mistake when I conflated Republic and Democracy. Once I separated them, I discovered my belief in democracy was so strong, it overrode my loyalty to the American Republic. Over time, I found myself opposing the Republic and working towards a Democracy.
Suddenly, I remembered this…
“To violate law is to win the admiration of half the populace, who secretly envy anyone who can outwit this ancient enemy; to violate custom is to incur almost universal hostility. For custom arises out of the people, whereas law is forced upon them from above.”
Will Durant, Lessons of History
I surmise, law is related to freedom, while custom is related to liberty.
Thank you again.
I am the "gifted" one for I have readers like you. However pathetic it may be, I am validated by them.
Perhaps sad, but oh so true.
Superlatives can't adequately describe your brilliant insight. I thank you for the distinction between the words freedom and liberty. From this point forward, I will make sure that I make that distinction in my writing. You are the best. Thank you.