Thursday, July 08, 2010

I’ve Got A Freedom Attitude

Just the other day, I posted a link to a Lee Harris essay titled The Spirit of Independence: The Social Psychology of Freedom.  I titled that post “So Who Owns You?” - An Attitude.

This morning, stopping by Claire Wolfe’s, I read Claire’s most recent post titled Thinking free, in which Claire references the movie The Shawshank Redemption, and expands on the subject of a freedom attitude.  Both Harris’ piece, and Claire’s essay, are attitude provoking reads.  You are free to consider reading them.

From Claire’s post.

I’ve always talked about how freedom begins with an attitude — with thinking free. Some people just aren’t interested in hearing that because it means they have to shift the blame from other people (their parents, the cops, bureaucrats, Congress) and take charge of their own lives. Others dismiss it as nonsense on pragmatic grounds — because it’s ridiculous to say anyone can be free while stuck in a gulag or living in a police state. Others just think that action is everything and that thinking free is merely a form of idleness.

Even people who understand that you can’t live free unless you think free have a lot of trouble maintaining that belief, day to day…

Yet you know and I know that virtually the only thing that stands between us and the complete triumph of tyranny is our attitude — followed by our actions. We must think free — then act free — according to our own lights, no matter what the rest of the world does. That is literally the only hope for overcoming tyranny.

I’ve got a freedom attitude.

Posted by John Venlet on 07/08 at 06:47 AM
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