The limits of freedom

January 26, 2014

The old adage about freedom ending at the point of another’s nose has significant meaning for us as we run around testing the waters of freedom in our society. Today we were asked to sit in as substitutes in the six year old class in Primary. One of the teachers was feeling poorly so our job was to pinch hit for her. I was absolutely amazed by the maturity and wisdom of these youngsters. They had obviously been taught manners, respect, and faith. One child had a possession problem and thought the teacher was his private tutor and that no one else mattered. He stayed right with her, sitting in her chair and playing with her jewelry. He is a wonderful child, full of love and energy. He simply did not care to observe the normal limits provided in a classroom in which each person should respect the others and understand the ground rules.

We play the same game over and over in life. We know, for example that the simple courtesies of holding a door for someone, speaking calmly when a wrong needs to be rectified, or avoiding road rage and the dangerous aftermath of such nonsense, will get us much further than the negative alternatives to these actions. An ancient book written in the seventies titled, “All I need to Know I learned in kindergarten ,” gives us some clues into the mind of adults as we try to infringe on the freedoms of others. This year 217 people died on Utah roads from crashes. Lots of statistics are involved in this count, but I am going to go without them and simply state my perspectives. When we go beyond the common courtesies noted in kindergarten we lay siege on those around us. We cancel their freedom to communicate, to travel, to live, and to enjoy.

I used to travel/commute daily to and from Salt Lake City to Orem, Utah; about 41 -45 miles each way. I learned that when I was angry, or otherwise distracted, I would be much more likely to ignore speed limits, impending danger signs, weather conditions, and generally not be a defensive driver. On at least one, or two mornings, Jean and I had a discussion (cat fight) before I took off. One morning I jumped in our red Volkswagen bus and roared out the driveway, only to slam into the side of our blue Ford. The only good thing that came from that circumstance was that because we owned both cars there was no deductable.

On other occasions I would leave angry, drive to about Pleasant grove fuming, get to American Fork, beginning to see how dumb I had been, get to Lehi and call Jean and apologize. Then I could go on to work and do my best. Clearly I had infringed on Jean’s freedoms, but I had put many other drivers in danger because my best side was not facing forward. Now comes the twenty-first century and we are all looking for ways to protect our Constitution and the freedoms we enjoy. Without admitting that I have become a Libertarian, I will go on the record as saying that in my never-to-be-humble opinion we would do well as cities, as states, and as a republic, to scrap most of the arcane laws and regulations, and go back to kindergarten.

I watch with fear and trembling as we trample on the freedoms that we have so cherished in the past. Without getting in to politics, I am quite convinced that God has provided us with some excellent basic tools with which to govern our lives, beginning with the Ten Commandments. We, for example have fought the good fight to eliminate drugs and alcohol forever and all have really accomplished is to make some people filthy rich, others, spend the rest of their lives in jail, while others have become slaves to these nasty tools of the devil. I have my thoughts on this and most other matters of interest, but the real issue is what we wish our government representatives to create that will provide equitable oversight into the lives of all Americans.

May God bless each of us as we attempt to forgo the pleasure of messing with others for our own personal satisfaction.

Duane Jacobs, grandfather, father, brother, uncle, cousin, and fond friend.