Opinion: Rebel, but make it responsible

This past year has been hard on liberty.

It started with world-wide government overreaction to a pandemic. This was still going strong when some focus shifted to choosing a politician to run your life.

Recently, as the pandemic hype began to fizzle in many places and after most of the post-election drama had faded, the push to further violate your natural human right to own and to carry weapons was triggered by the horrible crimes of a few evil losers. Making good people helpless won’t make bad people harmless.

If it wasn’t one thing it was another.

This has probably always been the case, but sometimes it feels worse. This has been one of those times.

Did the past year signal the end of liberty, or just put a few more nails in its coffin? Is liberty under a greater threat these days or is it only a matter of perception? I hope it’s the latter, even though I suspect it’s the former. I plan to pry some of those coffin nails out before it’s too late to salvage what we’re losing. I hope you’ll help.

The question is, how can this problem be fixed?

Most people don’t think about liberty very often. It may even scare them if they do. They won’t miss it until it’s so far gone it will be hard to win back.

Liberty is responsibility and people don’t like responsibility. Too many people want to believe someone else is protecting them and doing the thinking so they won’t have to. I hope you’re not among those who want to be treated like a child, needing ‘round-the-clock supervision and care. But if so, government is happy to oblige.

It’s easier to control a population of people who won’t think for themselves and who feel dependent on you. Those who don’t want to be shielded from the real world are a danger to those whose plans require mindless compliance.

Most people comply too quickly.

It’s going to take commitment to win back the liberty that has been lost. Part of that commitment will involve standing against politicians and the legislation they impose.

Rebel, but rebel responsibly. Good people never intentionally harm another’s life, liberty, or property as a way to show they can think and act for themselves. They rebel only as a way to responsibly exercise their rightful liberty. Do you have it in you to stand for liberty?

Farwell’s Kent McManigal champions liberty. Contact him at:

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