This week’s “Daily Journal” guest columnist is Michael Moore, Program Specialist for the John Locke Foundation.
Where did this idea called liberty come from, and why do we care so much about it here at the John Locke Foundation? To answer this briefly I would have to say it has evolved over time, and the United States of America has been the greatest experiment of liberty.
We in the liberty-minded groups have to keep our eyes open for issues that might endanger liberty. This is one reason I always love getting into discussions with people during election years. It is amazing that some folks have somehow forgotten about one core component that makes America great: the idea of liberty. As we as Americans embark on a historic election, and in just a few weeks we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, the idea of liberty is one that we should all ponder and reflect upon, now more than ever.
David Boaz, President of the CATO Institute, compiled a book filled with writings on liberty, The Libertarian Reader. In that book, he notes that the most influential book in the development of Western Civilization was the Bible. Boaz notes that the idea that government was not the ultimate authority in society comes from the Jewish and Greek idea that there was a higher law, and this evolved into the bedrock of Western civilization. This idea was articulated in the writings of John Locke and ultimately worked into the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution.
As the great patriot from Virginia, Patrick Henry, pointed out in his speech to the Virginia Convention on March 23, 1775, on the eve of conflict with Britain, “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” The mindset of the Founding Fathers was that the principles of liberty were worth fighting for, and — if need be — they were worth dying for as well. Strong convictions back then, right?
French statesman Alexis de Tocqueville toured America to observe the American people and their institutions in the 1830s. He observed of American culture, little more than 40 years after the Constitution was ratified: “The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other.” This idea shows that Americans during that time had a clear understanding that liberty was given by a higher authority and not by the government.
During the past two weeks, the John Locke Foundation has hosted two speakers who reminded us that the core principle that holds America together is the belief in liberty. Cal Thomas explained to an Asheville audience what happens when we forget about liberty. This week a Raleigh crowd heard from David Bobb, who spoke about the core principles of the U.S. Constitution and the dangers of adopting the “evolving Constitution” mentality.
Over the last few years, we have seen some mindsets shift away from individualism and toward a willingness to accept government intervention in every little issue. I believe we are at critical point in the United States’ history as an experiment for liberty. Too many people believe liberty has always been here, so it will continue to be here. Not really. If children and adults are not taught about the patriots who formed this nation and the documents that have sustained this nation, we could be in for a rocky future. We as liberty lovers do have a glimmer of light, as the great economist F.A. Hayek wrote in The Constitution of Liberty. “Our faith in freedom does not rest on the foreseeable results in particular circumstances but on the belief that it will, on balance, release more forces for the good than the bad.”
Let’s get back to the principle of liberty, and I believe that can happen.