Statue of Liberty (National Park Service)
Freedom and the Rule of Law
By Frank Dixon
Freedom doesn’t work so well without laws to curb its expression. Liberty is what’s left after those laws have been enculturated. Our constitutional government presents a framework for defining liberty, and that process involves restricting freedom.
Every constitutional law implies a universal acceptance of the notion that liberty is to be preferred over freedom; and that rather debatable contention implies that the master agreement—the Constitution—that establishes and protects the processes by which liberty is to be defined, must be sacrosanct. This sanctification appears to be nothing more than an expression of common sense: Every person is free to do as she pleases, while simultaneously wishing to be safe.
The clash of liberal and conservative forces is, therefore, nothing more than an inevitable disagreement over what freedoms ought to be limited. This Constitution of ours establishes a framework within which the limits of freedom can be freely determined. That does not mean that everyone is to be, or even ought to be, satisfied with the laws.
Dissatisfaction is implied in the democratic process; few laws obtain unanimous approval. But when dissatisfaction becomes so rampant that it threatens to destroy the framework under which agreement has been made possible, then we have a “debate” that transcends the mere defining of liberty. We have instead a situation in which freedom is elevated to the godhead and has no limit.
It could be argued that the natural freedom of the people allows them to do what they must to relieve their pain. If the pain is so severe that it cannot be attenuated unless all liberties are cancelled, then the human desire to live together in peace, necessarily dies.
But then, those who wish to abandon the American constitutional experiment, obviously do not think of themselves as anarchists. They appear to believe that the legal processes of voting have been violated, and that the solution is to abandon rule by law in favor of dictatorial control. That is, they feel that their pain is so severe that the very idea of constitutional government must be discarded as a bad idea.
When “they” are taken to be ordinary people who have been coaxed into disobedience by a so-called “freedom lover,” the questions can no longer be solved by convincing arguments. No law can change the psychological makeup of a robotic mind. Extended to its fullest, the so-called “constitutional crisis” currently facing the American people, has no imaginable solution. The minority—those whose “pain” is primarily imaginary, having been created by sleight of hand—cannot be expected to merely go away. They are here until they die, and we violate our own most fundamental principles if we try to speed their way to the grave.
This does not mean that we should permit the master magician(s) to “go gently into the night.” If they have in fact attempted to overthrow the rule of law, then they must be prosecuted and, if found guilty, removed from public life.
But given the almost unique circumstances of the current situation, the law must move easily lest the baby of liberty be thrown out with the bath water of tyranny. Those the magician has brainwashed must be told, in clear-as-day terms, the nature of the crisis: that it is not this or that law that is at stake but the very existence of lawful discourse itself.
And that is all I have tried to do here.
—Frank Dixon is a long-time member of the Environment and Social Justice Committee of the Unitarian Universalists of the Blue Ridge. Author of the book Spinoza’s God, he continues his lifelong interest in reading and learning.
Wall at FDR Memorial (National Park Service)
Freedom from Want
In his 1941 State of the Union address, President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke of a world where all people had four essential freedoms, including “freedom from want.”
But all people are not free from want, and food security is an ongoing problem that the Unitarian Universalists of the Blue Ridge (UUBRidge) have taken on. Church members were involved in the founding of the Rappahannock Food Pantry and in the “Grow a Row” program, where backyard gardeners designate some of their harvest to the pantry. UU members continue to volunteer at the pantry, donate food, local produce, and other items, and contribute funds. Members also volunteer with and contribute to the Page One food pantry.
Federal nutrition programs, such as SNAP and WIC, are a necessity for many families. Locally, children benefit from free or reduced cost meals at schools. Food pantries, churches, and individuals help provide food for “backpack” programs, where children take food home for weekends, and for summer feeding programs at local parks. During covid-19 school closures, food was even delivered to students at home. While meeting USDA nutrition standards, some of the food provided to children is processed ,and it comes in single-serving packaging.
The community gardens in Page and Rappahannock counties help supplement produce from the local food pantries and provide healthy, locally grown, nutritious vegetables and fruits.
The newest community garden plot in Rappahannock was donated by a church member. It has been planted with lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, squash, eggplants, and more. We are looking for one or more volunteers from the Flint Hill area who could stop by to help water and weed as needed.
In Page County, several new container gardens have been planted at the Page One food pantry in Luray, and a “Farm to Fork” initiative is being developed to connect local food growers with food providers. In addition to providing food for community members, this may help the growth of “agritourism” in the area.
Page One Food Pantry Director Lois Shaffer and a volunteer survey the new planters
The three community gardens at Valley Health locations in Page County are producing a variety of salad greens and strawberries. Some of the vegetables were grown from seed by local students. Work days and “Free Market Friday” events have been scheduled by the Page Alliance for Community Action (PACA) The gardens are open for anyone to work in and harvest produce.
Lettuce at Page Community Garden (PACA)