House of Eratosthenes

“Freedom,” wrote the fictitious Winston Smith in George Orwell’s famous novel 1984 — Part I, Chapter 7 — “is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that much is granted, all else follows.”

I hate to say 1984 is too rosy and cheerful to reflect reality, but I’m afraid that is the situation. Freedom, says Freeberg, is the freedom to say that two plus two make four — and if that much is denied, nothing else matters.

Freedom is not freedom if it is subject to the approval of others. Freedom, therefore, must possess the intrinsic authority and ability to occasionally piss people off. Or — to not piss anyone off at all…but at least possess the option. Those of superior rank, those of elevated station, those with letters in back of their names, those who hold “chits” on other persons in positions of enormous power — they have to be able to get red-faced, screaming, shouting, plate-throwing goblet-shattering mad, and not able to do a single thing about it. While you go on your merry way. Watching South Park, or blogging, or driving wherever you want.

Eating saturated fat. Drinking beer. Smacking your wife on the ass and telling her she’s still got it.

Babbling away about two and two making four…

I’m afraid the situation is, we have these freedoms as long as those who are in power don’t mind us having those freedoms. So long as that is the case, two and two make four. They’ll be sure and tell us the minute that changes. And that isn’t freedom.

For eight whole years we were told the Bush administration was “trampling” on our “freedoms.” Occasionally a Bush defender would inquire of the agitated Michael Moore fan, “What could you do without the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act, specifically, that you can’t do with it??” And the subject would change. And then it would circle back. Into the comfortable old diatribe. Bush is eroding our freedoms.

Now, we really are losing our freedoms. Sure, we get to do stuff…the same way I get to drive onward, after the checkpoint guard looks at my paperssssssss.

We’re losing our vigilance. Too many of my countrymen call that free. And there are too many others who are looking for excuses to revoke even that much.

To retain our freedoms that we’re supposed to value so highly, we need some widespread education. People need to learn about…people. They need to have it taught to them that there are people running around, all over the place, who are blisteringly offended at the idea that two and two make four. Freedom is something that isn’t popular with everybody. If we have to take a poll on it before it is granted, then it is as good as gone.

Well, Bush did erode our freedoms. Not nearly as much as Obama is doing, but both parties are engaged in ratcheting action, not a pendulum swing.
- thebastidge | 04/06/2010 @ 19:22
You can broadly group people into two groups. Those who wish to be left alone, and those who feel the compulsive need to meddle in the affairs of others by telling them what they can and cannot do.

It is the latter group that is dangerous. They cannot be happy unless they are sticking their fingers in place where the former group feels they have no business being.

The biggest problem is that no matter how much they meddle, no matter many rules they get telling you what to do and what you can do, they are NEVER satisfied. Never.

The second biggest problem is that the former group can’t be bothered to spend the continual and constant amount of effort required to keep these busybodies at bay.

And thus, day by day we continue to lose our freedoms, one rule at a time.
- pdwalker | 04/06/2010 @ 23:58
Having found that 2 + 2 = 4, the Left proceeds to inform us that this, while true, limits the ability to perform social justice.

Social justice is a higher calling than the truth.

The truth is a club being used by the patriarchy to keep the unwilling in line.
.
- OregonGuy | 04/07/2010 @ 09:53
As a related aside from that discussion I blogged about last night, my step-son, during the argument said “if you can’t afford it, you can’t afford it.”

To which the progressive’s response was, “Well that’s your opinion. I have a different one.

Now me, I thought it was math. If an item costs $A, and I have $A-n, where n is a positive number…. I can’t afford it. That’s not an opinion.

But that’s generally the “argument” she uses when she’s got nothin’.

Which is most of the time.
- philmon | 04/07/2010 @ 10:43
Morgan writes- “For eight whole years we were told the Bush administration was “trampling” on our “freedoms.” Occasionally a Bush defender would inquire of the agitated Michael Moore fan, “What could you do without the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act, specifically, that you can’t do with it??” And the subject would change”

Then we get on the very first comment –

“Well, Bush did erode our freedoms. Not nearly as much as Obama is doing, but both parties are engaged in ratcheting action, not a pendulum swing.

– thebastidge | 04/06/2010 @ 19:22 ”

Ya’ just can’t make this stuff up…oy.
- tim | 04/07/2010 @ 12:24
Yeah, I noticed that The Bastard didn’t give us any examples….
- cylarz | 04/08/2010 @ 01:28
“Examples”? That would be racist!
- AnonymousGuy | 04/08/2010 @ 18:03
It’s true that freedom requires vigilance, and that vigilance is hard work, and those who wish to be left alone have better things to do, but it seems that more and more people are waking up to these ideas. We shall see if enough people awake, and if it is not too late to regain our freedoms peacefully.
- chunt31854 | 04/09/2010 @ 12:37
Ooh, that’s an awesome bumper-sticker:

GOP 2010: Let’s try to regain our freedoms peacefully.
- mkfreeberg | 04/09/2010 @ 12:59
Not bad.
- philmon | 04/09/2010 @ 13:01

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Smith Got it WrongTuesday, April 6th, 2010

Smith Got it Wrong
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010