Freedom Needs to Be Defended: Freedom (Part 7)

Categories: Freedom, Léo’s Insights 2021-2022

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Edmond Burke has often been credited for saying, “All that needs happen for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.”  There is a lot of truth to this statement.

Even though freedom is God given and inalienable, there are a lot of opposing forces at work to rob us of these freedoms.

To start, it is important to understand that most people in a democratic society are tricked into surrendering their freedoms in exchange for rights.  We have already discussed that while God’s freedom is unchanging, it can be taken away or given away in exchange for rights.  What most people do not understand is that this is a matter of who is in authority.  While we are in possession of our freedom, we stand in the authority given to us by God.  When we acquiesce to others claiming this authority, we deny our autonomy and embrace the claims of others as legitimate.

In my world, there are a number of individuals and agencies that claim authority in education that I do not acknowledge as legitimate, yet need to seriously consider.  The government claiming to having a better understanding of what children need to learn comes immediately to mind.  Just how much authority is exercised by the government is directly proportional to how much parents are willing to give it.  This is where freedom is challenged, and unless parents stand up and defend their own authority and freedom, the issue devolves into bondage.

This was clearly shown in November of this year (2021) when the gubernatorial election was conducted in Virginia, USA.   The incumbent was adamant that government and teachers know better than parents what children should learn, going so far as to say parents need not know what is being taught to children in schools.

Although this may be an American example, this also applies to schools in Canada.  Do parents know what is happening in schools?  Are they aware of what their children are being taught?  No doubt, the Covid-related, online learning boom showed many parents what was going on behind school doors, but other than a few easily dismissed complaints, did parents band together to demand a say in what is being taught?  Not really.

On another front, I have to deal with a particular bureaucrat who has a history of taking her “authority” to new levels.  This lady’s job description has grown with time and has come to include forays into jurisdictions that are completely out of her purview or job description.  She got there through incremental steps which were not questioned but rather validated as schools acquiesced to her demands.

Whether it is a rogue bureaucrat, or renegade teachers or school systems, the only thing needed for the continuing breach of boundaries is for parents and/or people to simply do nothing, say okay and bend to the demands being made.  This is the perfect formula for the loss of freedom and it is, unfortunately, taking place all too often.

Freedom is worth fighting for.  It does not need to involve guns as in military wars, but it does require vigilance and people pushing back when they see freedom being challenged.

Oh, by the way, the governor who made those absurd claims about parents not having the right to know what their children are learning in school was soundly defeated by a man who defends parental rights.

Maybe it is time for Canadians to find and support an equally sensible politician.

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