Bobby Albert - The Freedom Paradox: Is Unbridled Freedom Dividing America?

Is Unbridled Freedom
Dividing America?

BOBBY ALBERT

NEW YORK

LONDONNASHVILLEMELBOURNEVANCOUVER

THE FREEDOM PARADOX

Is Unbridled Freedom Dividing America?

2020 Bobby Albert

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To my wife, Susan, whose support and friendship I have enjoyed for forty-six years and counting, and to our three sons, Rob, Brian, and Kyle, who are my lifes legacy and of whom Im very proud.

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

Abraham Lincoln

A merica, who are you? You have changed so much in recent years that I no longer recognize you.

The leaders of our country said to expect change, and change has indeed been occurring at warp speed. However, change is not always good. I personally enjoy change, but I do not like unpleasant surprises. And in recent years, I have been surprised often, though not in a good way.

While many of the changes to our nation have been necessary and good, may I suggest that we have also changed a few things that should not have been changed? The foundational core values and purpose of our nation should never change, yet they have been subtly shifting for generations.

As a result, our nation is at a tipping point, much like the story of the boiling frog. As the story goes, if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out. But if it is placed in cool and pleasant water that is gradually heated, it will not perceive the danger until it is too late and will be cooked to death.

The same principle applies to people. Those who are unable or unwilling to react to significant changes that occur gradually will eventually suffer undesirable consequences.

The American people sense that the water of our great nation is no longer cool and pleasant. That is why more and more people in America are thinking, Something is not right. I feel like a stranger in my own country.

This sentiment is reflected in a June 2019 Gallup poll, revealing that 66 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time. Only 32 percent of those polled were satisfied.

As I wonder about the legacy we will leave for our children and grandchildren, I am concerned we are drifting into an uncertain and dangerous future.

Reflect to Connect

1. Do you recognize America today compared to when you were a child?
2. How do you feel today about the direction of America compared to when you were a child?

According to these statistics, we seem to be trudging through a deep valley of despair instead of enjoying the fruited plain of blessing described in America the Beautiful. How did we get to this point? I believe we find the root cause of the problem in what I call the Life and Liberty Equation:

Freedom + Responsibility = Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

You see, America was established on the core values of freedom and responsibility. When founded, our country had a healthy tension between personal responsibilities and the vast freedoms that we enjoy. However, we have lost that healthy tension.

The problem is on the left side of the equation: we no longer think, speak, and behave responsibly in our culture, and that, in turn, has created many of the detrimental changes that have occurred in our great nation.

When our focus and motivation are based only on my rights (freedoms) and we neglect our corresponding responsibilities, chaos ensues.

When our thinking revolves around our personal rights and freedoms alone, our attitude and behaviors become all about me a self-centeredness rooted in pride. We have all heard that pride comes before the fall. That fall could be the downfall of We the People of the United States.

Conversely, when our focus and motivation are based on both our personal freedoms and our responsibilities, our attitude and behaviors become all about we an ability to make decisions for the common good.

You are sure to have observed how often we emphasize me or I today: iPhone, iPad, iGod, a .me URL, and other products, services, and movements whose names highlight the letters M and E . Business advertising also makes it clear that it is all about me .

Economists report that about two-thirds of the U.S. economy is driven by consumer spending. Our citizens have access to all the world has to offer. Were encouraged to acquire anything we desire, which intensifies our drive for self-gratification.

The American economy enables you to indulge every physical desire you have. It is easy to crave and accumulate things and obsess over your status and importance, all while neglecting any sense of responsibility. Have you considered the word consume ? The last two letters spell me !

The unbridled pursuit of freedom sees everything through the perspective of me , while the dialogue of responsibility always includes the perspective of we . The warp-speed expansion of this emphasis on me and I is pushing us faster and faster toward the exclusion of we and the worship of me as an idol.

Where do you think our...

Divisiveness,

Disunity,

Detachment by societys elite,

Discord among the poor,

Dishonorable name-calling,

Dishonesty, and

Disrespectfulness

... come from?

You have heard that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Well, when we pursue freedoms without regard to the principles of responsibility, we encounter the emptiness, frustration, and loneliness that are so evident in our divided nation today. Without that healthy tension, the Life and Liberty Equation breaks down, and we now understand why over two-thirds of Americans think the country is on the wrong track.

So, how did our sense of responsibility disappear? It is a subject we will explore in this book.

Being responsible is not about freedoms you give up; its about freedoms you choose not to exercise.

Some might argue that binding our freedoms with responsibility will limit our freedoms. But dont miss the wisdom of The Freedom Paradox :

The more we behave irresponsibly, the more freedoms we lose. The more we embrace responsibility, the greater freedoms we enjoy.