Whenever I hear words as liberty, freedom, justice or equality I am reminded of the opening sentence in the Book of John. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God . . ." One can replace the predicate as one wishes but the sense is that words are so important especially certain words. It is nice to be reminded that Jefferson immortalized many of them in the Declaration and in his other writing.
These words and their meaning will be debated and praised or conveniently forgotten depending on on one's convictions, but they will not disappear and they have provided ideas that remain essential to a democracy. Democracies may fail but the words will prevail.
No wonder these ideas have seen some of the world's great thinkers as Aristotle, David Hume, Immanuel Kant or those more recently as John Dewey and John Rawls have given attention to them.
"Liberty is a near-synonym to freedom. Liberty is comparatively unproblematic because it reduces dependence of one on another."
I came across this article on LinkedIN after reading your article.[1] There are disputes and discussions in the comments.
The writer posits this:
Liberty is the moral imperative to act in a just and responsible way."
While freedom can be liberating, it can also be dangerous if not tempered by responsibility and morality.
Liberty comes from freedom with responsibility towards oneself and others.
One respondent (Jake) took a different tack:
Liberty: "the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views."
Freedom: "the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint."
I have to say I agree with Moshe (the original author) and his view of freedom and disagree with Jake. I think Moshe has it pretty much right- and exactly so with regards to "freedom." Right now, in American society, we have a plague of Freedom: "the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.Yyes a PLAGUE! Unrestrained freedom freed from social responsiblity is the problem now. People are acting out their freedom unrestrained by social mores or civic responsibility. This was most clearly demonstrated during the recent pandemic.
As to the death penalty, in my view it is inherently cruel and unusual and should be completely abolished. A sentence so final as that should not be available in our "injustice system." Prosecutors abuse it, using it to get plea deals. We know innocent people have been sentenced to death. And we don't really know how many innocent people have actually been executed. When race is factored in, the issue grows even starker. [2]
A curious concept justice…from the Latin word ‘ius’, or law. So long as the law has been properly applied and upheld, justice has been done… But is it morally sufficient to simply uphold the law?
An excerpt from The Winslow Boy:
“…A subject can sue the king by petition of right. And it's the custom of the attorney general on behalf of the king, to endorse the petition and allow the case to come to court.
Sir Robert Morton : It is interesting to note that the exact words he uses on such occasions are, "Let right be done."
Arthur Winslow : Let right be done. I like that phrase.
Sir Robert Morton : It has a certain ring about it, hasn't it? Let right be done.
Catherine Winslow : You still haven't answered my question, Sir Robert. Why were you weeping in Court?
Sir Robert Morton : Very well then, if you must have it. I wept today because right had been done.
Catherine Winslow : Not justice?
Sir Robert Morton : No, not justice - right. It's easy to do justice. Very hard to do right. But right has been done.”
Whenever I hear words as liberty, freedom, justice or equality I am reminded of the opening sentence in the Book of John. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God . . ." One can replace the predicate as one wishes but the sense is that words are so important especially certain words. It is nice to be reminded that Jefferson immortalized many of them in the Declaration and in his other writing.
These words and their meaning will be debated and praised or conveniently forgotten depending on on one's convictions, but they will not disappear and they have provided ideas that remain essential to a democracy. Democracies may fail but the words will prevail.
No wonder these ideas have seen some of the world's great thinkers as Aristotle, David Hume, Immanuel Kant or those more recently as John Dewey and John Rawls have given attention to them.
"Liberty is a near-synonym to freedom. Liberty is comparatively unproblematic because it reduces dependence of one on another."
I came across this article on LinkedIN after reading your article.[1] There are disputes and discussions in the comments.
The writer posits this:
Liberty is the moral imperative to act in a just and responsible way."
While freedom can be liberating, it can also be dangerous if not tempered by responsibility and morality.
Liberty comes from freedom with responsibility towards oneself and others.
One respondent (Jake) took a different tack:
Liberty: "the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views."
Freedom: "the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint."
I have to say I agree with Moshe (the original author) and his view of freedom and disagree with Jake. I think Moshe has it pretty much right- and exactly so with regards to "freedom." Right now, in American society, we have a plague of Freedom: "the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.Yyes a PLAGUE! Unrestrained freedom freed from social responsiblity is the problem now. People are acting out their freedom unrestrained by social mores or civic responsibility. This was most clearly demonstrated during the recent pandemic.
As to the death penalty, in my view it is inherently cruel and unusual and should be completely abolished. A sentence so final as that should not be available in our "injustice system." Prosecutors abuse it, using it to get plea deals. We know innocent people have been sentenced to death. And we don't really know how many innocent people have actually been executed. When race is factored in, the issue grows even starker. [2]
[1]
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/difference-between-liberty-freedom-why-matters-moshe-3-teitelbaum/
[2]
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Documents/Race%20Report%20Preview.pdf
And when is justice also “right”? I prefer Rawls’s definition - Justice as Fairness.
A curious concept justice…from the Latin word ‘ius’, or law. So long as the law has been properly applied and upheld, justice has been done… But is it morally sufficient to simply uphold the law?
An excerpt from The Winslow Boy:
“…A subject can sue the king by petition of right. And it's the custom of the attorney general on behalf of the king, to endorse the petition and allow the case to come to court.
Sir Robert Morton : It is interesting to note that the exact words he uses on such occasions are, "Let right be done."
Arthur Winslow : Let right be done. I like that phrase.
Sir Robert Morton : It has a certain ring about it, hasn't it? Let right be done.
Catherine Winslow : You still haven't answered my question, Sir Robert. Why were you weeping in Court?
Sir Robert Morton : Very well then, if you must have it. I wept today because right had been done.
Catherine Winslow : Not justice?
Sir Robert Morton : No, not justice - right. It's easy to do justice. Very hard to do right. But right has been done.”
quote: So long as the law has been properly applied and upheld, justice has been done… But is it morally sufficient to simply uphold the law?
Apparently so according to Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.[1]
[1]
https://www.vox.com/scotus/2023/6/22/23769886/supreme-court-innocent-jones-hendrix-clarence-thomas-habeas