In the United States today, the issue of freedom is being discussed as a matter of both

foreign and domestic policy. Should we export our freedoms and our democracy to other
countries? Should we give up some of our freedoms to make sure that we are safe from
terrorism? What is freedom anyway, and what is it worth? Many people who say they are
patriots simply say freedom isnt free and leave it at that. Actually, real freedom isnt
just the right to do whatever we want, and we dont get it just by conquering other people.
Freedom is the ability to control our selfish instincts so that we can stop being controlled
by them. Ironically, freedom requires constraints.

The reason we are trying to export democracy to Iraq today, some say, is because we will
be safer if the Middle East embraces some of our values. But we cant jam our values
down their throats, especially values like freedom of choice and speech. Also, we havent
shown that we are restrained enough to be worthy of those freedoms ourselves. Some

mercenary contractors have shot up Iraqi civilians because they felt a slight threat.
Similarly, our administration does not seem to be able to hold back from any fight
because it is filled with people who need to be perceived as tough. But they arent free
because they are still controlled by their fear, and therefore they are prisoners.

In his book, Night, Elie Wiesel talks about being in a concentration camp in Nazi
Germany where he was deprived of almost all of his freedoms. He is whipped for just
talking to a girl, is forced to do hard labor and sees people all around him being led to the
gas chambers. It was in these horrible conditions that Elie discovered that his most
important freedom was his freedom of thought that the Nazis couldnt take away from
him. While his body was imprisoned, he found the freedom of his soul.

When people hold protests for freedoms, like the Civil Rights marchers in the 60s or the
Womens Rights suffragettes, they are not simply trying to assert their rights. They are
also trying to show that they are constrained enough to be worthy of their rights. Civil
Rights marchers were well-known for their noble restraint from violence, which helped
them to rise above those ignorant citizens who wanted to harm or kill them to prevent
them from achieving equality. Through intelligent restraint, both the Civil Rights and the
Womens Rights movements have made great strides.

We cant live in freedom if we are controlled by our selfishness and our fears of others
who are different from us. Freedom isnt about conquering others, it is about conquering
our own worst qualities. Because if we dont, then they will conquer us.