A Voice on the Right Defines Freedom

The 3rd most powerful GOP voice in the Senate, Rick Santorum, defines freedom:

In Santorum's view, freedom is not the same as liberty. Or, to put it differently, there are two kinds of freedom. One is "no-fault freedom," individual autonomy uncoupled from any larger purpose: "freedom to choose, irrespective of the choice." This, he says, is "the liberal definition of freedom," and it is the one that has taken over in the culture and been imposed on the country by the courts. Quite different is "the conservative view of freedom," "the liberty our Founders understood." This is "freedom coupled with the responsibility to something bigger or higher than the self." True liberty is freedom in the service of virtue -- not "the freedom to be as selfish as I want to be," or "the freedom to be left alone," but "the freedom to attend to one's duties -- duties to God, to family, and to neighbors."

contrasted to Goldwater's view
...Goldwater wrote, "Every man, for his individual good and for the good of his society, is responsible for his own development." Note that first "and": Individual and social welfare go together -- they're not in conflict. All the government needs to do, Goldwater said, is get out of the way. "The conservative's first concern will always be: Are we maximizing freedom?" Reagan spoke in the same tradition when he declared that government was the problem, not the solution to our problems.

It was Goldwater that got me to think about this and to realize that I ought to ve voting republican instead of democrat. Unfortunately, the GOP has cut the ropes to those anchors and charted a course back toward authoritarianism and big government.

It remains to be seen if the Democrats have the balls to pick up Goldwater's discarded mantle.

Hat tip to Sully