Freedom is a moral concept. It only exists within a moral framework. If you remove that moral framework, you don’t have an increase of the amount of freedom in a society, you have a loss of it. Freedom isn’t doing whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want to. That is not freedom. That is anarchy. And anarchy in a society is a loss of freedom.
That is why, the day after the declaration of American Independence was signed, one of the signers John Witherspoon said, “Civil liberty cannot be long preserved without virtue. A Republic must either preserve its virtue or lose its liberty.”
When moral standards collapse, virtue vanishes and anarchy advances until tyranny regains control.
Benjamin Franklin claimed, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.”
John Adams concurred, “Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
Ron Paul, in his Farewell Address stated, “The Founders were convinced that a free society could not exist without a moral people. Just writing rules won’t work if the people choose to ignore them. Today the rule of law written in the Constitution has little meaning for most Americans, especially those who work in Washington DC.”
Congressman Paul added, “Political action, to be truly beneficial, must be directed toward changing the hearts and minds of the people, recognizing that it’s the virtue and morality of the people that allow liberty to flourish.”
