The Impregnable Freedom; L. H. Sargent

The Impregnable Freedom LOIS H. SARGENT EVERY fresh economic restriction or control of an expanding bu reaucratic government encroaches another degree upon individual freedom. But, no matter how much freedom of enterprise and action men may lose, there is one free dom that is absolutely impregna ble: a man's freedom to think for himself. This freedom assumes a singu lar importance today because of two opposing viewpoints contend ing for public acceptance. On the one hand, there is the political hu manitarianism which would have us believe that· a benign govern ment should solve the problems of its citizens and create for them the ideal environment and society. On the other hand are the conserv atives, or the libertarians, who beMrs. Sargent, active for many years in the field of personal counseling, is a freelance author from Springfield, Missouri. lieve that people produce and achieve more if placed upon their own responsibility and left free to carve out their destinies, each in his own way.

This controversy raises another question: Do individuals really de termine their own destinies, or are they inevitably the product of en vironment and sociological condi tions? Now, no modern, well-read per son will discount the influence of environment - the family, then the broader environment of friend ships, educational background, community, working environment - upon the development of person ality. As most psychologists ex plain it, they are interrelated and interacting. But logic andreason, when the subject is reduced to its basic principle, accord dominant influence to individual thinking and effort. 57 58 THE FREEMAN January In support of this contention, I offer the following pertinent facts. Everything that has been dis covered, designed, or invented for the improvement or comfort of man has originated in some man's mind. Aside from its physical (na ture) components, the environ ment of man has been created by man himself. And, as men have learned more and more about na ture, they have learned how to adapt, adjust, and to a great ex tent, control it. And this, too, was initiated by mental effort.

Everything that has contributed to the advancement of civilization, and likewise, everything that has brought about its decay, has first been a thought in some man's mind. Some persons may accept this generality, yet fail to apply the principle to/themselves, thus fail ing to realize the extent to which their thinking determines the con ditionsof life. If a man wishes to believe, as the proponents of the social gospel or socialists imply, that environ ment and circumstances direct his path in life, he is mentally free to accept this idea. If he thinks that vvay, the idea takes on reality and the environment looms as some thing that acts upon him, as a mold shapes metal. The opposite viewpoint holds that environment and circumstances are something a man r-e acts to,. he can decide for himself if he wants to accept it as it is, resist it, or change it, as his urges and aims may dictate.

Suppose Abraham Lincoln, con templating in his childhood the utter poverty and limitation of his surroundings, had believed that his future would be shaped by his environment. His desire for learn ing and determination to get it, which paved the road he was to travel, might never have been awakened. Suppose George Washington Carver had thought as a young boy: "I am justa poor black boy, child of slaves. How can I hope to rise out of such circumstances and make something of myself?" Without the vision which im pelled ambition and effort to over come obstacles and alertness to make the most of help that circum stances did occasionally provide, the world would never have heard of either of them. The records of business, ind us try, and the professions abound with biographies of self-made men and women who used their God given freedom to think for them selves, and with will, faith, and labor, rose from humble begin nings to make their dreams come true.

They had to think in that direc tion before they could travel it.

1967 THE IMPREGNABLE FREEDOM 59 Fortunately for them, their na tional environment then presented no insurmountable obstacles, but allowed them maximum freedom to pursue the goals they envi sioned. This can still be done to day, if the initiative and will are strong enough, but the odds are greater than they once were. The fact that this nation has en joyed the fastest progress, and has had the highest standard of living in the world, seems proof enough that individuals are quite capable of working out their own desti nies, and will have better oppor tunity if they live in an atmos phere of political and economic freedom. Further, it seems logical, as a corollary, that sociological prob lems will be solved easier and with less expense within that frame work, where the conditions of each community can be accurately studied and appraised. Many and varied are the causes of the present blight upon our freedom, and so complex and in terwoven are they that it would be impossible to single out the lead ing one.

But we can keep before us this one truth: a city or civilization is but the outward projection of the ideas of men. What men visualize, they will eventually produce, for better .or worse. Free enterprise, republicanism, democracy, social ism, soc ia 1-welf are, sub sid ies , price controls, deficit spending, and all the rest were once just ideas. If we are dissatisfied with what ideas produce, we can re-examine the ideas. Not all ideas that sound good in theory prove worthy in practice, and unfortunately, the originators of inefficacious ideas are ever loath to revise their view points. But this· need not bind the minds of their critics. If we find that economic and other freedoms are slipping away from us, we should regard this as a challenge to discover why and where ideas went astray. Ideas can bring about the decay of a civili zation; ideas can save or rebuild it. Freedom of thought is impreg nable; the one freedom that does not have to be legally protected nor fought for - it has but to be cherished and used. ~ Alexis de Tocqueville MEN THINK they manifest their greatness by simplifying the means they use; but it is the purpose of God which is simple - his means are infinitely varied.