Protecting the Rights of Individuals
The Path that Leads to Perfect Freedom
This is an open letter to everyone who believes nothing is more important than the rights of the individual to possess absolute freedom.
On the surface, this belief seems admirable. Adults know what they want and need. They should be free to pursue any career, lifestyle, or relationship they long for without outside interference. [This line of thinking certainly fulfills the fantasy of every toddler!]
The motto that fits this world view is “Live and let live” or perhaps more precisely “Leave me alone.”
Let’s look at the ramifications of uncompromised freedom of the individual to take any action that pleases him or her.
If I want my neighbor’s car, I am free to steal it. Theft is an easy, quick, and effective way of accumulating wealth. Theft is an alternate lifestyle as legitimate as any other lifestyle. Or if I want to work, and the position I want is currently held by someone else, then hiring a hit man might be my solution.
Remember: all that matters is me and my choices.
But wait, you might protest. We have laws against theft and murder.
Yes, we do, but as many people in recent decades have pointed out, we no longer need police; clearly, it follows that laws have to go. They are unjust and oppressive obstacles to freedom.
If society is going to make progress, we should rid ourselves of the antiquated justice system.
Let’s get rid of our entire government and the IRS while we are making changes. No more taxes!
We are talking about ushering in the New Era — The Age of the Individual Knows Best.
The theme song should be “I Did It My Way.”
Do you want to put grandma out of her misery…permanently? Go for it. Would you like to marry your own sister. Why not? Love is love.
Keep in mind, to be consistent, you cannot stop anyone from doing anything. Therefore, I do have one question: Why are the “freedom for the individual” advocates bothered by so-called “hate speech”? If everyone has unfettered rights, each person should be free to love or hate anything — from tattoos to purple hair to topknots on men.
Silencing anyone’s speech violates the rights of that individual.
Traffic may result in quite the tangled web of mangled metal. But at least everyone will be free to drive without the fear of a speeding ticket. It will truly illustrate the survival of the fittest.
Without pesky rules and laws, you can eliminate value judgments; nothing is right or wrong, good or bad, legal or illegal.
When there are no fixed standards of goodness or truth, there is no concept of evil. There is only neutrality. Everything is subjective. There are only unlimited choices. And you are free to choose anything.
It is all about you, the individual. No one else matters.
If everyone has absolute freedom, then you have the right to enjoy the inevitable result — the absence of order. Absolute chaos.
Unfortunately, chaos has its own special way of enslaving people.
Ironically, when we embrace the opposite world view, the one that acknowledges God as our loving Creator, only then do we experience real love, real joy, and true freedom — freedom to become fully human and fulfilled with our feet planted firmly on the path to heaven.
Jesus said, “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).
Jesus Christ established the Catholic Church and entrusted to it the owner’s manual for the human race. We have Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition as well as the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide us in our quest for truth and lasting freedom.
Perhaps the greatest irony of all is that when people insist on ignoring God and building a purely secular society, nothing can save them from creating something that looks a lot like hell.
