Compromising Freedom for Security

Bethany Van Dyke

English 121

Response Paper 3

February 25, 2008

Giving up freedom for any reason sounds crazy but it definitely happens.  Why?  From reading the texts I have decided that freedom is compromised for security and an overall feeling of stability.

To me, giving up freedom means allowing someone else to rule your life and decide what is best for you.  Just as the Israelites gave up some of their freedom to have a king, we also give up part of our freedom for government.  Why do we do this?  I’d say mainly for security.  We select leaders and agree to follow their rules/guidelines—but in return we expect them to provide us with protection.  This is exactly how is was for the Brahmins in Agganna Sutta.  They compromised some of their freedom and selected a king who would in return “be indignant at that whereat one should rightly be indignant, censure that which should rightly be censured, and banish him who deserves to be banished” (The Agganna Sutta 102).

Life is about giving and taking, so giving up some rights in order to obtain others is only natural.  Think about it, any healthy relationship requires some sort of compromising—ones with parents, teachers, bosses and even law enforcement.  They all take giving up some right in exchange for another.  For example, we give up our right to speed in our cars, to drink underage, to use illegal substances in return for protection.  Some people aren’t willing to give up these types of behaviors (ones that they claim they should be free to do)—but most people are willing to follow the rules in exchange for the protection of some of their other rights.

It may not be easy to compromise freedom for something else—such as security, organization, stability etc—but it is essential.  As long as this “compromising” doesn’t become unbalanced, with one side gaining or losing more than the other, then I think it works out best for both sides (or the best that it possibly can for having to compromise a bit of freedom).