Freedom comes with responsibility

With freedom comes responsibility, and the irresponsible use of freedoms leads to their loss.

We Americans, through the God-given wisdom of our forefathers, have been greatly blessed with a Constitution and Bill of Rights which guarantee to us certain freedoms and protect us from the tendency of government to encroach upon such liberties. But with such freedom also comes responsibility. We are not free from responsibility but ought use freedom responsibly.

Though modern history texts say little about it, our forefathers wrote our Constitution for a people with ethical values and principles based on the Christian Bible and the Ten Commandments. The ethical and responsible use of freedom is assumed. Apart from that Judeo-Christian foundation, the freedoms promised have become subject to great abuse with people seeking to be free from all moral responsibility. And, as we are seeing more and more in our day, the irresponsible use of our freedoms is leading to their loss.

In fact, if the people cannot exercise their freedoms in a responsible way and keep themselves in check, governments will take away those freedoms and keep people in check through repression and tyranny.

The First Amendment guarantees to us the freedoms of religion and of speech, protecting us from government’s establishment of a state religion and from government censorship of people or the press. Yet irresponsibility on the part of some and the outcry of others is leading down the path to legislation and court decisions which restrict these rights.

The Second Amendment guarantees to citizens “the right to keep and bear arms.” Yet, largely due to the irresponsibility of a few and the outcry of a multitude, the government has taken from us much that this amendment guarantees. A weapon in the hands of a person who holds to the Biblical value of life is not a dangerous thing; it would be used to protect life and liberty. But place that same weapon into the hands of one who has no respect for God-given life, and the situation is likely to become threatening and dangerous.

The Fourth Amendment guarantees to us certain rights of privacy and security from government searches and intrusion. But once again, because of the irresponsible use this right by some for illegal and unethical purposes and the public outcry for the government to do something about it, we have less privacy on our persons, in our homes and especially in our communications.

The liberties we have are not the cause for the irresponsible, unethical and criminal use of these freedoms by a few. Rather, it is a turning away from the moral base of Biblical values that has brought about the irresponsible and sometimes reprehensible use of guaranteed freedoms.

Rather than yielding up our constitutional rights, we need to return to the moral basis of the Bible and not the ever-shifting views of modern society. We need to take stronger steps in dealing with those who abuse their rights and commit immoral and unethical acts. Punishment should be for the pornographers, murderers and genuine terrorists; not the law abiding citizens.

Let’s get back to the basics — to that moral law which has been the basis of our codified laws — and learn the responsible use of freedom. If we don’t, we’ll soon lose our liberty altogether.

“Freedom to differ is not limited to things that do not matter much. That would be a mere shadow of freedom. The test of its substance is the right to differ as to things that touch the heart of the existing order.”

Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson West Virginia State Board of Education vs. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)