Freedom: what it is and how we get it

I may not be an ardent follower of the news, but it’s impossible to be at all socially active online without seeing in one’s feed what makes the “top stories.” As I mentioned in a previous post, I didn’t know anything about Charlie Kirk until after he was murdered, and – before a week or two ago – I wouldn’t have recognized Jimmy Kimmel if I had bumped into him on the sidewalk. All that has changed, of course. I’ve seen two or three clips of Kimmel doing his shtick since, found him exceptionally unfunny, and can’t imagine myself squandering time watching more of him (apologies to those who view him in a kindlier light). When Charlie Kirk was killed, we heard – mainly from those to the right of center – that it was “an assault on freedom of speech,” and when Jimmy Kimmel temporarily had his show axed by Disney, we heard – mainly from those to the left of center – that it was “an assault on freedom of speech.” And while a murder is a far more horrific form of “cancelling” than the short-lived sacking of a TV “wit,” the issue of silencing “freedom of speech” was presented as an urgent problem in both instances. Now, to be clear, I uphold the five “rights” guaranteed under the First Amendment (freedom of religion, speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the government), and it would be a very grim day indeed should those freedoms be lost in America. Regarding freedom of speech, in particular (which undergirds the other four rights), there are those on the political right and political left who would scrap it if they thought they could. Zealous ideologues are always so tempted. But here I am writing about “fundamental rights” and “freedom” as presented to us in American civil philosophy, when my main focus in this post is “freedom” as understood in the context of the kingdom of God. I have begun with the former only to underscore the vast difference that exists between it and the latter. I’m not finding fault with the protective freedoms of the First Amendment, mind you, but they do not approximate the highest or greatest freedom that exists for an infinite human existence. Freedom of speech should be guaranteed as a “right” in the city square (as long as there are city squares). But within the depths of the Christian’s soul, there exists no such intrinsic “right.” A cursory read-through of, say, the Sermon on the Mount or the third chapter of James’s Epistle would make that abundantly clear. What, then, is the freedom we seek to attain through prayer, contemplation, and self-discipline (asceticism)? It’s a simple question, one we may think we know the answer to. And yet, it’s not a matter of what we “know” theoretically that matters. Freedom for us is something we attain only through effort, interior cleansing, and illumination. It’s something we are growing into, in other words. It’s not a right, because we don’t fully possess it.