When it comes to America, one of the very first things that most people believe that America best represents, is freedom. However, what so many people get so wrong, is their misunderstanding of what freedom actually is – because there are an awful lot of people, that believe that freedom somehow signifies, that each one of us is free to do whatever that we want to do, whenever we feel like doing it. Of course, if that was what freedom really represented, then we would be living within a society in which basically anything goes; because each person would thereby be free to do their own thing, even seemingly when such conflicted with sensible laws, other people, and good ethics.
In actuality, in most people’s saner moments, they intuitively recognize that freedom must entail some corresponding amount of responsibility that each one of us has to fully buy into, or else our society would inevitably decay into chaos. That is to say, any time that our freedom or our rights are conflicting with some other person’s freedom or rights, there has to be some sort of middle ground, that recognizes that each person’s freedom is going to have to be circumscribed, so that the road is thereby able to handle well, two-way traffic. Further to the point, freedom necessitates some degree of perspective and equality, in the recognition that all of the freedom and rights that we so demand be respected for ourselves; must logically be respected in the other person or institution, as well.
The above basically signifies that any rights or freedom that we so have, necessitates that we have, in turn, an incumbent duty to that right or freedom. In other words, rights and freedom, so exercised, are going to have consequences to such; and those then that do not recognize that they must own up to those consequences have clearly not understood or have misunderstood what rights and freedom actually represent. In short, in order to enjoy best our freedom, we must utilize such in a responsible fashion, or else we will invariably suffer the consequences for misusing such.
So then, each person should ask themselves the important question as to what kind of freedom that they so want. If they want total freedom, without limits, whatsoever; this can best be found in societies in which there is absolutely no rule of law -- though pretty much, the strong will invariably end up exerting themselves over the weak. For all those that want freedom, but are scared that they might get hurt or find themselves taken advantage of, then they are going to have to live within a society in which there is not only a vibrant rule of law, but such a rule of law must also work in harmony with the justice department and policing arm of the state, that thereby enforces that law in an equal and equable manner, so that the rights and freedom that each is fairly entitled to answers to the incumbent responsibilities that each person is obligated to.
Ultimately, each one of us, desired or not, are responsible agents for our individual lives; and to the degree that we are free to choose, we must thereby own up to those personal choices, as the fair taxation of what freedom so entails.