Have the Freedoms Lasted?
WITH the Declaration of Independence in 1776, there began an unusual, large-scale experiment in human government—modern democracy. At that time most other nations were ruled by kings or other forms of authoritarian control.
But the United States felt that only a ‘government by the consent of the people’ could protect the freedoms desired. These included the freedoms of speech, religion, press and assembly.
Such freedoms were proclaimed as “unalienable rights.” And in 1787 they were incorporated into the official document that was to be the foundation of the United States—the Constitution.
What Does the Record Show?
The test of proclaimed ideals is how well they work in actual practice. It is not too difficult to write noble words on paper. But it is something else to uphold them.
The historical record in this regard is a contradictory one. In many cases the proclaimed freedoms have been preserved quite well. But in other cases the abuses and neglect of basic freedoms have been disastrous.
On the positive side, the basic ideas involved in the freedoms of speech, religion, press and assembly have been largely maintained. At times, though, this has meant a hard struggle through the courts to obtain the freedoms the Constitution provides.
A Struggle
In seeking to exercise religious freedom, minority beliefs have at times suffered. For example, in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s Jehovah’s Witnesses were persecuted in the United States. Not only mob action, but actions by certain biased officials denied them their Constitutional rights.
As a result, Jehovah’s Witnesses had to take many legal cases to the Supreme Court of the United States. Happily, one decision after another by this high court pushed back the forces of oppression. Freedom of religion was maintained.
That freedom has been of real benefit to the earth-wide preaching work of Jehovah’s Witnesses, since their world headquarters is located in the United States. And there is no doubt that the basic freedoms of religion, assembly, speech and press guaranteed by the Constitution have been important to all religions in the country.
This contrasts with the situation in many other lands. One needs only to think of how such preaching work was suppressed in Hitler’s Germany. It is also not possible to do such work openly today in Communist countries, as well as a number of other dictatorial lands where the free worship of God is banned.
Hence, there have been many intense struggles to keep the basic freedoms people want. In the United States, as of now, they do still exist.
Better than No Freedom
It is better to tolerate abuses of freedom than not to have any freedom at all. And an example of this is the Bicentennial celebration itself. While many groups have had dignified assemblies related to the country’s 200th anniversary, others have used it for selfish purposes.
U.S. News & World Report states: “If everybody isn’t careful, this year may be remembered as the 200th anniversary of the American huckster. Some of the hustle and bustle to cash in on the Bicentennial celebration is beginning to reach absurd proportions.”
The newsmagazine reports that you can buy Bicentennial “T-shirts, ice buckets, copies of John Hancock’s chair, chips from the timbers of the original Independence Hall, replicas of George Washington’s pistols, Bicentennial ball-point pens, a red, white and blue toilet seat, and a garbage bag with a Liberty Bell on it.”
The Wall Street Journal also commented: “Sad to say, the Bicentennial has attracted more than its share . . . of vulgar commercialism decked out in patriotic colors.”
It has also attracted tourists to historic sites. In some cases the tourists have not respected the rights of the people living there. For instance, in a Philadelphia neighborhood visitors have flocked down historic streets, peeked into the windows of homes of private citizens and littered sidewalks and streets.
One woman, in desperation, said that she finally found a way to keep the overly curious tourists away. She said that she took a page from the past and began to get rid of her garbage in the same way that some of her Colonial forebears did: She threw it out her second-story window! “If that doesn’t keep the tourists away, I don’t know what will,” she stated.
In a few places, some have insisted that workers must dress in certain colors, or conform to certain styles of grooming to observe the Bicentennial. But trying to force people to do this is a violation of the very freedoms the Bicentennial commemorates.
Of course, if an abuse becomes intolerable, there is recourse to the courts of the land. Those courts are obliged to protect Constitutional freedoms. But again, it is better to have abuses of freedom than to have no freedom at all.
Basic freedoms have been the privilege for many in the nation, true. But the noble ideals of freedom embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution have sounded very hollow to others. Who? And in what way?
[Blurb on page 5]
Freedom worked well for some, but its abuses were disastrous for others.