Freedom is the Price For Love
One of humanity’s most prized ideals is freedom. “A dependant man cannot obtain happiness even in his fantasies,” stated Tulsidas, a great Indian poet. Freedom, according to Moshe Dayan, is the soul’s oxygen. To gain independence from foreign powers and oppressive rulers, wars have been waged. People, on the other hand, find means to limit freedom and pass laws that restrict freedom.
Every legislation in a country aims to limit a citizen’s freedom. However, it is a fact that the more free a country claims to be, the more rules it must enact to keep that freedom contained.
We frequently ponder what it is about freedom that we can’t live without it while simultaneously being unable to live with it.
Love and Liberty
If humankind’s greatest yearning is freedom, man’s greatest demand is love. Man is the only animal that can experience love in all of its forms, including affection, companionship, reverence, and passion. Man is also the only animal capable of enforcing moral and social constraints on its own independence. Every human culture has imposed certain limitations on freedom. You can’t have more than one wife. You can’t have a relationship unless you’re married. When the light is red, you cannot cross the road. You are not allowed to harm another human being. The list of limitations goes on and on.
We just cannot exist without such limitations. Any civic society that does not impose restrictions on its citizens is hard to find. Without restrictions on men’s freedom, no community can ever survive.
Why is it necessary to impose such restrictions?
Love appears to be the answer. If we dig deeper, we’ll discover that all limitations are due to humanity’s love, particularly for the vulnerable. Individual liberty must be surrendered for the sake of greater humanity. All restrictions are in place to prevent powerful individuals from exploiting the vulnerable. Man-made laws vary in this sense from the rules of the jungle, where might is right.
The inherent inclination of love is to limit one’s freedom. Love is a tying factor that binds couples together and limits their independence. If a man is not in love, he might have several relationships with various women. Once he falls in love, however, he must maintain control over his relationships; else, love would not last. Similarly, if you love your children, you will have to sacrifice your independence and devote your time and money to them. Your patriotism necessitates that you give up your own freedom for the benefit of your nation.
If man is compared to an atom, love may be compared to the bonds that bind numerous atoms together to form molecules that offer stability to the individual atom’s life and create stable molecules. Following that, millions of molecules give up their freedom to create solid substance, which is what makes up our bodies and the Earth. There is no chance for the survival of any living organism without the sacrifices made by atoms, as even the atom is made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons who have given up their freedom to form an atom.
As a result, life must strike a balance between love and freedom. Unrestricted freedom is similar to being a gas molecule that can move anywhere on the world but has no attraction to anyone. It attracts no one and merely repels them. However, once the molecule gives up its freedom, it might adopt the form of a liquid, limiting its freedom and merging its identity with that of the liquid. However, only when all molecules give up their total freedom to stick together and contribute stability does the molecule adopt the structure of a solid.
Excessive liberty suffocates love.
Countries that have granted their citizens more freedom are increasingly losing love in their societies. People can’t live with each other for too long because they demand their freedom. Marriages are rapidly vanishing, and people are choosing to stay together through living-in relationships rather than relinquishing their independence. What they don’t know is that they’ve lost their love in the process, because love can’t exist without reliance and trust, which means they’ve given up their freedom. Libertarians must understand that they cannot love without willingly sacrificing their freedom, as freedom is the price of love. You can’t purchase something from the market without paying a price for it, and you can’t receive love without paying the price of freedom.
