Axiomatic in my mind is that Freedom is only derived from law. The proper amount of law I might add. Without law, nothing is stable or secure. Laws may be arbitrary, capricious, even downright stupid, but the sense of law or living in a lawful society gives freedom the grounds to succeed.
Too much law or law in the hands of a controller like a dictator or tyrant, allow for some freedom for some people. At some point though, the society feels a collective loss of freedom and endures oppression as best they can. The sycophants of the dictator feel no such loss, they feel power over the losers of freedom. They may go on a law making spree with no end in sight and only enact self serving laws. They can get away with this for some time it seems. But those laws are meant to enhance the pocketbooks of the elite.
At some point, and yes, I’m reading Peter Turchins book, The End Times, at some point, the ire and rebuke of the underclasses start to push back on these destructive laws. Some sort of violent or non violent rebellion rises up and says “this far but no further”.
People for thousands of years have gone through this same cycle. Good laws, palpable freedom, Too many laws turned inward, loss of freedom and control over ones affairs and trouble brews. Not all ancient societies had all parts of this model because the all powerful ones had such a strong grip on the necks of their subjects, until their subjects rebelled at least. But the cycle remains intact. It’s a historical legend in fact. we talk about the rise and fall of some empire as it were the most important piece of history to understand for our day with almost reverence for those that can decipher the meaning of it all.
Boiled down to its simplest forms, Living in a law abiding society that is not opressive and allows me to claim ownership of the things in my possession and go where I want to go and talk with anyone I want to, affords me freedom. It might be quantifiably different from town to town, state to state and country to country, but it is a similar vibe. And the threat of loss of that freedom has a similar vibe as well, a general unrest in the masses and a fear percolating among the elites that causes them to clamp down all the more and make more law.
I actually think we are at a point in time where we should do some housecleaning or at least researching of our current laws and why they exist in the first place. That education can only lead to more freedom I believe. Why do we stop at Red Lights for instance? Assuming you do, which is not a safe assumption today. Every trip I take around town is an exercise in not getting smacked at an intersection these days. We all know we have that law for a good reason, public safety. We also know it is less effective than it was even a few years ago.
Democratic government exists by the consent of the governed. All too often this consent is taken for granted or even ignored. Every red light runner is ignoring its government, even flouting its existence. What does that mean? We are moving into a period, already there actually, where we no longer feel free, and worse, we refuse to be constrained by the laws of our society. That is not an excuse for law breaking of course, only a corollary to a top heavy collection of laws that weigh on us. What good is a law if lots of people break it?
The bigger problem is not just one single law, but laws in general. At some point, we shift into breaking a bunch of laws. We become perennial offenders and rarely get caught. At some point, the law is no longer just or effective. It’s just paper.
This is about the time when you stop feeling like you are free.
I think God was able to give His people a basic law with 10 ideas in it. He had some other laws as well, but the basic 10 are fundamental to a healthy society. Not too many, just enough, well thought out powerful declarations of wisdom and care for living a good life.
We could use less laws about now, so that we might learn to respect the basic laws again. Less may still prove to be more in this case. And we may find a renewed love of freedom as well.