‘How Do I Know I’m Truly Free?’ What’s Your Answer?

The last glowing embers of July Fourth fireworks float gently down from soaring heights. Satisfied with your annual exhaustion of “oohs” and “aahs,” you lean back to relax comfortably in your chair. Friendly conversation renews and life goes on.

But do you ever wonder about what went into that independence you so enthusiastically celebrate? What are its vital elements? More importantly, how do you know those ingredients haven’t passed their expiration date?

It begins with freedom. Or does it begin with liberty?

Thomas Jefferson doesn’t even use the word “freedom” in his Declaration of Independence. He does refer to “Free and Independent States” twice and to “free people” once. Of course, the one time he uses the word “liberty,” Jefferson gives it top billing in his phrase “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

This latter triumvirate of terms goes back to classic times (see “How to Live the Good Life with No Regrets,” Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, August 25, 2022). Aristotle said the three key components to living well include: 1) Being alive (“Life”); 2) The ability to freely pursue whatever we wanted (“Liberty”); and 3) The fact that we must pursue one thing – a good life (“Happiness”).

Closer to Jefferson’s time, John Locke famously wrote that government exists to protect your “life, liberty, and property.” (For the reason why Jefferson chose Aristotle over Locke, see “How To Declare Independence And Start Pursuing Your Happiness,” Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, September 8, 2022.)

That “freedom” and “liberty” are so often used interchangeably sometimes causes confusion. Yet, understanding the difference will help you answer the question posed in the title of this Commentary.

Let’s start by reviewing the definition of each word.

What is freedom?

According to the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary, freedom is “the condition or right of being able or allowed to do, say, think, etc. whatever you want to, without being controlled or limited.” It comes from the Old English frēodōm, meaning the condition of being free.

Google Books Ngram Viewer says the use of “freedom” has remained remarkably consistent over the last 220 years. Its use today is just fractionally lower than its mid-sixties peak. What does that peak tell you? Think about what happened in the 1960s and you might be able to take a guess.

What is liberty?

Citing the U.S. Constitution, the Cornell Law School says liberty is the “freedom from arbitrary and unreasonable restraint upon an individual.” The origin of the word derives from the Latin liber, meaning free.

Looking at Google Books Ngram Viewer, the use of the word “liberty” peaked in 1810 and has declined steadily since then. Today, writers use the word “liberty” 100 times less than what they did in 1810. What does that tell you? Perhaps the French Revolution soured folks on liberte, but I wouldn’t lose my head trying to figure out the answer with any certainty.

What is the difference between freedom and liberty?

Here’s something interesting, though. Compare the use of the word “liberty” with the use of the word “freedom.” You’ll find that “liberty” was used twice as often as the word “freedom” prior to the War of 1812. As use of the word “liberty” tailed off, it finally matched the use of the word “freedom” in 1908, coincidentally the lowest point of the use of “freedom.” Since then, the use of “freedom” has increased while the use of “liberty” has continued to fall. Today, “freedom” is used five times more often than “liberty.”

Although “liberty” and “freedom” are denotative synonyms, in a way they are connotative opposites. “Freedom” implies you have the power to do, act, speak any way you want. “Liberty,” on the other hand, suggests you are clear from any constraints that would impede your freedom. Do you see how the two words are the same but different?

What is true freedom?

Think of liberty as being defined by the “four freedoms” invoked by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his 1941 State of the Union speech. While some associate the other Roosevelt (Theodore) more closely with freedom and liberty, the eloquence of the rhetoric employed by Franklin in this speech cannot be denied.

Roosevelt gave this speech on January 6, 1941. Note the date. It was well before Pearl Harbor. The United States, though not officially at war, nonetheless employed a policy favorable to those allied against Hitler. His speech needed not only to justify this effort, but to encourage support for it. To do so, he evoked a purely American sense of freedom. He distilled it down to what he called “The Four Freedoms.” They are Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear. They represent an easy “hands-on” definition of true freedom.

How do you know if you are truly free?

It starts with looking at each of the Four Freedoms. Ask yourself how they apply to you right now. Here’s an example you might want to go through.

“Do I possess the Freedom of Speech?” Do you? Can you say anything you want without restriction? This isn’t a question of yelling “Fire!” in a crowded theater. This is more like stating an opinion, any opinion, without fear of being cancelled. How many people can say with certainty that, today, freedom of speech truly exists? Only a few. And that’s because they’ve been cancelled but are rich enough to continue to live and say what they want (think Scott Adams, Tucker Carlson, and to some extent Elon Musk).

“Do I possess the Freedom of Worship?” Do you? Are you confident you can express your faith without being vilified publicly? This most assuredly remains the case today. But only for some beliefs. If your religion doesn’t abide by the cultural consensus (or whoever happens to be in charge of saying what that consensus is), are you really free to worship? Sure, you may think you can worship within the safety of your own Church, but how do you know the FBI hasn’t placed your faith on some terrorist list?

Do I possess the Freedom From Want? Do you? Can you purchase any (legal) product you desire? Come to think of it, who gets to determine what’s legal and what’s not? Does the State or Federal government place undue burden upon you to register or otherwise place your name on some list just for purchasing a particular item? Are your purchases in general being tracked by some public or private entity? In other words, how confident are you that you can buy something in complete anonymity without having people think you must be making a criminal purchase? In a similar vein, are the markets free enough to allow true competition so prices can remain affordable?

Do I possess the Freedom From Fear? Do you? This is tougher because, to a certain extent, we all fear something, no matter the extent of our liberty. Indeed, the freest people may fear their liberty may be taken away. Beyond that, it is normal to fear uncertainty, and the future is most definitely uncertain. We all have a future (we hope, but that’s just another thing to fear). The freedom from fear does apply in specific situations, and you’ve seen its ugly head rise in the first three of Roosevelt’s freedoms. In a general sense, however, it’s tough to make practical use of freedom from fear. Fear is just too pervasive. If you use it as a yardstick, then no one can ever be free.

On the other hand, perhaps it’s fear that keeps you free. Think about that for a moment.