The price of Freedom

When I retired from the United Nations almost 20 years ago, the battle for a free world society appeared to be won. The Berlin Wall had come down a few years before and it seemed obvious that the totalitarian, collectivist ideologies of the XX Century had failed, giving way to a new era of negotiations, understanding and peace. People were highly optimistic and even renowned personalities such as Francis Fukuyama, proclaimed "The End of History", that is, "the end point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government", in his own words.

My wife and I traveled several times throughout Europe in the 90s and early this Century and, specially over Eastern Europe, we interacted with people who barely had a vocabulary for what was happening but shared a deep feeling that we were extremely fortunate to witness such a great moment in human history.

That perceived reality has proven to be a mirage, if not a nightmare. While in earlier years we had a clear border with an "iron curtain" or another one with a "bamboo curtain", the frontline of the freedom movement in our days is much harder to locate. The dramatic fight for freedom is taking place practically in all continents and in most countries, even in the United States, a country for so long considered a beacon of hope for much of the world and a refuge of peace, law and order.
The fact that the United States has been a military and economic superpower for the last 100 years ─since the I World War─ makes present reality much more troubling. While in many countries people are still seeking to establish constitutional rights under the rule of law for the first time in their history, the US is going through an unprecedented erosion of the basic human rights that have for so long been part of this great country national identity. Fundamental liberties like freedom of religion, private property rights, and equal protection under the law are constantly under attack. Relativism is the politically correct trend extending over the civilized world and resulting in government overreach exploding in most so-called democracies.

At the core of this attack on basic liberties and morals we must pay attention to a word that is increasingly becoming the rallying point for opponents of free enterprise and of freedom of expression: "inequality". In fact, they are turning this word into a synonym of "injustice". However, they provoke a real injustice in doing so, because when any person rises out of poverty because of his or her ingenuity, skill, and hard work, no one is entitled to condemn his or her success on the grounds that this person has become prosperous while others remain poor and his or her assets must be redistributed among the less fortunate. In addition, it appears to be no longer shocking in the United States to hear about business owners who are forced to choose between their livelihoods and their conscience. In many recent cases in the judiciary system, it is evident that any time a business owner stands for religious principle, there is the threat of legal action that can force the business into insolvency ─ because of litigation costs and/or exorbitant "compensation" rules. And any thought expressed publicly (and sometimes privately) not conforming to what is considered "politically correct" might give way to professional ostracism or the loss of a good job.

More disturbing is the fact that harassment from public officials on these grounds are found tolerable. Lois Lerner, the most prominent among the IRS official who illegally targeted advocates of the free society in the United States, was recently cleared by the Attorney General of all criminal charges. In a letteer to the US Congress, Department of Defense officials conceded that there was "substantial evidence of mismanagement", but that "poor management is not a crime".

Without a moral case for freedom and for respect of the opinions of others, the free world will not be able to raise the people's support needed to protect the right of human liberties in our generation or future ones.

The moral legitimacy of the core concept of capitalism is being called into question by those leading a crusade by pointing to its many faults, but this confusion stems not from a misunderstanding of the data and the economic theories pointing to this system obvious ameliorating effects on poverty, because even its critics are willing to concede this point. But the media instigated protests against capitalism continue because even though world poverty has declined notably during the last 25 years, they decry that people are far from achieving "equality".

Alexis de Tocqueville once warned that no society can survive if the "moral tie is not strengthened in proportion that the political tie is relaxed". Increasing government regulation is a direct result of society's eroding moral tie; and this immorality makes us less worthy of freedom. Everything is becoming permissible, depending on the circumstances, even torture, as government grows more powerful and centralized. And everything is permissible if the ultimate goal is for all of us to be "safe" and "equal".

Rising secularization forced in every aspect of public life, paired with increasing prohibitions on religious expression in the public sphere, has resulted in a viciuos cycle that diminishes religion's influence in society. And without a good messure of the respectful influence of these institutions of moral formation, we are doomed to live in a society that is less virtuous.

People need to learn ─starting with the basic teachings of primary school─ the moral basis for liberty and the moral aspects of living together in harmony. Religious leaders coming to light from the darkness of repression in Eastern Europe in the early 90s had spent many decades in clandestine house church meetings, preaching a "subversive message" about hope and liberty. And they finally found freedom of expression and of religion! And they were praising a new era of tolerance and understanding. How come we have not learned from them what is the dire price of freedom?

It is important to add to these reflections and thoughts a very ominous fact that most analysts fail to consider. Our modern world civilization is under attack. Like scavenging hyenas, the enemies of democracy and freedom ─those who are openly trampling the rule of law and basic human rights─ are sensing the weaknesses, political hesitations and ethical double standards eroding our way of life. They wish to destroy what we have accomplished and create a new world order under their mesianic domination.

They perceive the free world as morally bankrupt. They see drug abuse, alcoholism, prostitution, the breakdown of the family ─the cornerstone of society─ and a general slide into relativism that dissolves the ethical foundations of society. The enemies of democracy and the free world believe that we are more susceptible at this time of our history than ever before of being overwhelmed by a global revolution that should radically change the face of our modern civilization.

We are fighting for the natural rights of all men. Those that have been internationally recognized and subscribed ─even if not respected─ by all nations. We stand for justice and freedom. And to defend our rights we cannot be meek or hesitant. We cannot negotiate liberty.

Gerardo : I agree with you when you referred to the life experience of those who have suffered the repression of totalitarian systems and how much they can contribute to spread the moral aspects of living together in harmony. .
This leads me to comment on how many Cubans complained about the lack of religious freedom in Cuba and after the customary visit to the Hermitage of the Charity, they do not set foot again in a church and live their life breaking all and each of the Ten Commandments. How about it?
About Social Justice, I just follow the teachings of the Catholic Church. You know what it means…

Well, Francisco, we should then agree that it means that the Church's Social Doctrine, recently compiled in a single volume (" Compendium ") stands above existing economic systems, since it confines itself to the level of principles. An economic system is good only to the extent that it applies the principles of justice, and the Church is a clear advocate of those principles.

The Compendium states that: "the Church’ social doctrine is an integral part of her evangelizing ministry (…) nothing that concerns the community of men and women, situations and problems regarding justice, freedom, development, relations between peoples, peace, is foreign to evangelization. Evangelization would be incomplete if it did not take into account the mutual demands continually made by the Gospel and by the concrete, personal and social life of man."

One reads in Paragraph 71: "On the one hand, religion must not be restricted ‘to the purely private sphere’; on the other, the Christian message must not be relegated to a purely other-worldly salvation incapable of shedding light on our earthly existence. Because of the public relevance of the Gospel and faith, because of the corrupting effects of injustice, that is, of sin, the Church cannot remain indifferent to social matters. To the Church belongs the right always and everywhere to announce moral principles, including those pertaining to the social order, and to make judgments on any human affairs to the extent that they are required by the fundamental rights of the human person or the salvation of souls."

These principles of justice are precisely the ones being eroded by relativism. The end result is a weakness and a prevailing atmosphere of political uncertainty placing modern civilization at the mercy of fundamentalists and extremists who proclaim new exclusive dictatorial values.