Freedom that does not respect boundaries is IRRESPONSIBLE. When you cross boundaries, then laws, justice, and authority enter the picture.
Freedom that doesn't respect boundaries is not only irresponsible, it is self-absorbed. That attitude says, "I can do anything I want because I can!"
Freedom and Valuing Others
Valuing others is like love, at least the way we define love. Our definition of love is...
Pursuing the best for others; patiently, kindly, sacrificially, and unconditionally.
When you value others, you set boundaries, create consequences for crossing them AND allow them the freedom to cross them. They are free to cross the boundaries and free to experience the consequences when they cross the boundaries.
For example...
- Is your child free to not clean their room? Yes, they are free to obey or disobey. But if a clean room is a house rule, that is a boundary, hopefully with consequences.
- Is your friend free to curse at you? Yes. You may not like it, but it is their issue. And you are free to associate with them or not.
- Is a person free to rob you? Yes, it is their choice to be evil or not. And, you may protect yourself and your property and seek justice.
- Is an employee free to disobey his supervisor? Yes. His boss may not like it and may initiate consequences also.
Do you think those statements condone lousy behavior?
Some people misinterpret the principles and think so. But that does not condone bad behavior! It is reality. When you ignore reality, you fuel your actions with opinion, subjectivity, and, too often, selfishness.
A great tool to help reinforce this idea of boundaries is the Freedom V.
Freedom and Government
My guess is all people in government, even a democracy, succumb to fearing the freedom of the people. That fear ultimately drives how invasive they are with the population.
The more a government philosophy encourages self-governance rather than individual rights, the less invasive it is. Especially if self-governance incorporates values such as those set out in essential documents like the Bible and the Constitution of the United States.
A legitimate role of government is to protect the people. However, that role works against the people when government leaders focus on the “countless” terrible things that could "hurt" the government and/or the people.
When that fear grows, those in power create laws that choose what is “best” for the people. Most often, the creation of the law is driven by the belief that people aren't intelligent enough to know what is right and good.
Then regulations multiply, which remove individual freedom and set inappropriate boundaries. If there is a benefit from the control, the people will more easily tolerate it. If not, they eventually fight it.
Irresponsible Freedom
And, of course, those who are irresponsible with their freedom cry for more freedom for themselves, which infringes on the freedom of others. That creates freedom for some to the detriment of others. Irresponsible freedom wants NO boundaries on itself but does want limitations on others who might try to limit their freedom. If that is the attitude of those in power, they no longer see freedom for all, only freedom for their ideology.
Even if a person isn't crying for their irresponsible freedom, anyone who violates the law creates the same problem for the rest of the people. Those practicing irresponsible freedom, like criminals and terrorists, are a tiny population segment. But those practitioners impact the remainder of the population.
Their irresponsible freedom ends up limiting the freedom of everyone else. Consider the extreme minority of terrorists that impact the freedom of legitimate airline passengers as they are subjected to lines, scans, and searches at airports.
Freedom and Individual Rights
Government protection works against the people when government leaders focus on individual rights rather than self-governance. By the way, I am for individual rights, but self-governance is required to prevent individual rights from becoming irresponsible freedom. The more individual rights are promoted, the more control is necessary to protect any individual from losing his unique way of living.
So, responsible freedom pays attention to boundaries, but irresponsible freedom doesn't value others; it is self-absorbed, only thinking about "ME."