Being one of my highest priorities in life, one of the things I cherish the most, I use the Fourth of July/Independence Day and Election Day, here in the United States where I live, every year, to "formally" discuss freedom, where it really comes from, and how it's maintained with my son, who's now twelve years old, correcting the misinformation he's taught in school and filling in the parts they leave out.
In light of recent events here, I'd like to share with you the gist of what I've taught my son on the subject, ever since he was old enough to understand...
Here it is:
Although there are those who'd like to have you believe otherwise, the "founding document" of the United States of America is the "Declaration of Independence", written primarily by Thomas Jefferson in 1776.
In part it reads:
"When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them..."
Notice the use of "Laws of Nature" and "Nature's God" here...
Interesting. :-)
It continues:
"... a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed..."
Granted by their very birth...
"... by their Creator..."
God...
"... with certain unalienable..."
Though I can't pronounce it...
That means impossible to take away...
"... Rights, that among these..."
But not limited to...
"... are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
And...
"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
Now...
If you've ever wondered why there's such an effort to take the teaching of the "Declaration of Independence" out of the public schools here in the United States (a number of school systems here already ban its teaching) or why there's such an effort, not just here, but worldwide, to remove "God" from the picture, there you have it.
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, "freedom", are birthrights from God, NOT privileges granted by government.
Governments are formed by "the people" solely for the purpose of protecting those rights and when they become destructive of that end "the people" have the God-given right to alter or abolish it and replace it with a new one.
Simply put (and in the "early days" this is exactly how I put it to my son)...
God outranks King (government)!
This scares the living daylights out of those who have the insidious desire for power over other people.
Now...
After "the people" of the United States won their independence from England, a constitution was written to form the new government that began with these words:
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
Therein, in three little words, "we the people", is what makes the United States different (not "better than", mind you, just different) than just about every other nation on earth.
We believe, or at least some of us do, that our rights inherently come from God and "we the people" formed a government to protect those rights. In other words, government is the "servant", NOT the "master".
I couldn't possibly explain this difference any better than the late Ronald Reagan, former president of the United States, the man to whom I owe my understanding of this simple concept:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?vGlgTwp93E48
So...
Whence comes freedom?
It comes from God and what God giveth, no man or woman can taketh away...
Regardless of where you live!
We the people. :-)
Reference...
"Declaration of Independence" Transcript:
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document