If we are constantly looking over our shoulders because we can’t trust that the people around us will act responsibly and within certain behavioral codes, we can never feel really free. We need to be able to trust that everyone will stop at the red light or stop sign. We must to be able to believe that our neighbor won’t just tear down our doors and take our stuff to sleep peacefully at night.
If we do not have that trust it doesn’t feel free. We cannot feel relaxed and tranquil if we don’t know when and from whom the next disruption will happen. If at every red light and stop sign we had to wait to see if the other cars will really stop, or maybe they won’t if they don’t feel like it that day, our driving experience will be anxious and even paranoid about losing our lives. We can hope that our neighbor won’t violate our privacy, but we can never know for sure and so our lives become suspicious and not liberated from fear.
Freedom and morality go hand in hand. Some people don’t like rules of conduct and laws of behavior, such as The Golden Rule. They feel rules and guidelines hamper their creativity. But even in the realm of art, pattern recognition and rhythm, no matter how abstract, are what differentiate art masterpieces from decorative trinkets.
The idea that “anything goes” fosters chaos, which is not freedom. Different cultures have different ideas of what constitutes morality, but at base, the Golden Rule applies to them all. A well-ordered life that takes other people into account leads to a sense of freedom because we have chosen to do the right thing. The freedom of choice is ours and yet we see the sanity of keeping our agreement with rules that make everyones’ lives more peaceful.
If we do not have that trust it doesn’t feel free. We cannot feel relaxed and tranquil if we don’t know when and from whom the next disruption will happen. If at every red light and stop sign we had to wait to see if the other cars will really stop, or maybe they won’t if they don’t feel like it that day, our driving experience will be anxious and even paranoid about losing our lives. We can hope that our neighbor won’t violate our privacy, but we can never know for sure and so our lives become suspicious and not liberated from fear.
Freedom and morality go hand in hand. Some people don’t like rules of conduct and laws of behavior, such as The Golden Rule. They feel rules and guidelines hamper their creativity. But even in the realm of art, pattern recognition and rhythm, no matter how abstract, are what differentiate art masterpieces from decorative trinkets.
The idea that “anything goes” fosters chaos, which is not freedom. Different cultures have different ideas of what constitutes morality, but at base, the Golden Rule applies to them all. A well-ordered life that takes other people into account leads to a sense of freedom because we have chosen to do the right thing. The freedom of choice is ours and yet we see the sanity of keeping our agreement with rules that make everyones’ lives more peaceful.
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