Freedom & Responsibility

This is a very simple concept.

I’ve been drilling it into my children for years now, just ask them.

Freedom goes hand in hand with responsibility.

The more responsible you are, the more freedom you get.

The less responsible you are, the less freedom you get.

If my children are responsible with their cell phones, they are free to use them.

But if they are irresponsible with their cell phones, there goes their freedom.

Now they might think this is just some crazy idea their dad dreamed up to make them miserable.  But this is actually a law of the universe.  Responsibility and freedom are intrinsically linked.

Let’s talk football.  The University of Georgia produced an awesome linebacker named Odell Thurman.  He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals 2 years ago, and as a rookie he led the team in tackles with 148. 

Then he did something irresponsible.  He skipped a drug test.  For that, he lost the freedom to play in the first four games of the 2006 season.  He was suspended by the NFL. 

Last September he was caught doing something even more irresponsible.  He was arrested for drunk driving.  For that he lost the freedom to play for the entire season.

His irresponsibility also cost him some freedom in society.  Last Friday a judge ordered him to spend six days in a treatment center.

Thurman hopes to be reinstated by the NFL.  He wants the freedom to play football again.  But remember, freedom and responsibility are intrinsically linked.  If Thurman behaves responsibly, he will get the freedom he wants.

Unfortunately, this weekend Thurman got into a well-publicized fight in his hometown of Monticello, Georgia.  Reportedly he was at a party in the wee hours of the morning with his brother, who has been accused of pulling a gun on a couple guys.

I’m not picking on Odell Thurman.  He is just the latest of a long line of professional athletes who are shocked to lose their freedom when they behave irresponsibly.

Like I said, I have drilled this into my kids.  I think it is one of the most important lessons we can teach our young citizens.

The problem is our idea of freedom.  For some reason we think freedom means we can do whatever we want whenever we want.  If we are truly free, we are free to do anything.

Not true. 

Last night my son was helping me with some yard work.  In our conversation I said something like, “Well, you’re 18.  You’re free to do whatever you want.”

“So I can just put this shovel down and go back in the house?”

“Sure,” I said.  “You’re free to do that.  And I’m free to respond accordingly.”

He kept shoveling.

Now let’s say I let my kids do whatever they want.  I raise them that way.  At home they can talk to their parents any way they want, watch whatever they want on TV, stay out late, drink, smoke, cuss, skip chores, skip school – they are completely free.

Well we all know that is not freedom.  They will become totally self-centered, which is actually bondage.

If we want to raise good kids and productive citizens, we must start when they are little, start teaching them the connection between freedom and responsibility.  If we don’t, society will have to do it for us. 

I am no sociologist, and I’ve done no research.  But my gut says that our prisons are full of people who didn’t have Daddy and Mommy teaching them from the youngest age to behave responsibly.  Daddy and Mommy did not take away their freedom when they behaved irresponsibly, so now society has done it.

Another thought.  Daddy and Mommy wanted their own freedom.  They were not responsible in raising their children, and now they’ve lost some freedoms of their own.

Look around and you will find examples everywhere.  Look at your own life, at work, at school and at home.  When you behave responsibly, you get more freedom.  But when you are irresponsible, you lose freedom.

I’m telling you, it’s the “law of the land.”  You can’t avoid it.  These two things always go together:  Freedom and Responsibility.

(As heard on Wave 94.1 FM)

dougapple@wave94.com

www.wave94.com