What Price, Freedom?

 

Watched The Winter Soldier this Christmas eve and, as always, this line stood out in what's already a pretty poignant film. 

 

Freedom isn't gained at the expense of other people's lives, whatever side of the line you're on.

 

No paradise can grow in a tightly controlled state, whether the tools are rape and torture or social media monitoring or profile cards. 

 

True freedom is about individual agency and the willing participation in common cause.  Emphasis on willing. 

 

When the conservation switches more towards security, it's entering the foggy territory often feared by those who mistrust mention of the public good.

 

To be free is to take personal risks in the moment and be prepared to live with their consequences.

 

I cannot ask you to be free - that's a choice only you can make. 

 

The price may be high, but I'm willing to bet we can whittle it down a little together.