Liberty requires we all follow laws

NO ONE could fail to hear the illegal fireworks going off all over the greater Albuquerque area on July 4. We’ve also seen, in person and on TV, large numbers of people in New Mexico and other states ignoring orders to wear masks, social distance and avoid congregating in large groups.

How about the number of drivers speeding and dangerously weaving all over our highways? Why all this illegal and potentially harmful behavior?

I feel it’s mainly because many Americans have never learned, or have forgotten, the true meaning of liberty.

Liberty does not mean that individuals can do whatever they want. Too many people value their personal pleasures and happiness over the safety and happiness of society as a whole. That is a recipe for anarchy. Laws in a democracy are in place for the safety and protection of everyone and they should be obeyed.

I do not want to see some flag-waving idiot, claiming to be celebrating freedom, attending a rally in a crowd without a mask, later driving wildly down our roads with a flag waving from the bed of his pickup, and then getting home and setting off loud and dangerous fireworks. Why? Because all of these actions put me, my friends and family, and innocent people in grave danger. If laws are unjust, then they should be challenged and changed. We can do that because we are free. That is the true meaning of freedom, not yahooism.

ROBERT WILSON Albuquerque