independance day

As it is now the 4^th of July I would like to indulge myself in a discussion of semantics. On the fourth, along with the Stars and Stripes, I also display the Culpeper Minutemen flag. For those not familiar with this continental militia flag, it’s the one with the coiled snake and the words “Don’t Tread on Me”. Culpeper being in Virginia also has the words of Patrick Henry: “Liberty or Death”. The flag says “Liberty or Death”, and not “Freedom or Death” We have the Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Bell; and the “Pledge of Allegiance” states: “with liberty and justice for all”. Perhaps some would think that “liberty” is an archaic term for freedom but I think not.

Without getting into the dictionary definitions of liberty vs. freedom, my understanding is that liberty is freedom within a structured setting. Freedom on the other hand seems to me to connote more of a behavior without restraint. If you buy a ticket to a ball game it doesn’t give you the freedom to sit where ever you want. You can cheer and yell just about anything to the players and umpires on the field. You’re at liberty to hurl insults but you don’t have the freedom to hurl bottles.

The Continentals saw the term liberty in relation to being liberated from the tyranny of English rule. Today there are plenty of tyrannical entities out there that we as Americans need to be liberated from. Libertarians in the twenty-first century are sometimes seen as some kind of fringe group. But there are aspects of libertarian principles that appeal to both liberals and conservatives alike. Liberty is one of those truths that we as Americans hold “self evident”. So the next time you’re feeling oppressed by some who believe that they’re free to exercise their basic freedoms while having no regard for yours, think of the other phrase on that Culpeper flag: “Don’t Tread on Me”. Let them know you understand the meaning of liberty.