In this third decade of the 21st Century, we find ourselves fighting for democracy and political freedom against a planet-wide authoritarian backlash. At such a time, the mystery of freedom comes up for review. Especially important for our religious thinking is this question: How does the essential freedom of the human spirit differ from political freedom?
Consider this formula: political freedom is something granted by a human government to its citizens. Essential freedom is something granted by an “Eternal Governance” to its human beings. This is a big difference, but the two are closely related in real life.
Political Freedom
Political freedom is created by human beings. Political freedoms are “rights” allocated by human governments to their citizens. Political freedom can include the rights outlined in the U.S. bill of rights. Political freedom can also include the proposals of Franklin D. Roosevelt: the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear.
The degree and scope of our political freedoms depends on what we human beings struggle to achieve and institute in the form of laws and their enforcement by governments of our creation. In other words, we do not wait for our existing governments to become more benevolent. We build better forms of governing with our advocasies, protests, voting, and steady work of all sorts. We can and do build governments that grant, maintain, protect, and further improve our political freedoms.
Today we are adding to the older lists of political freedoms: the freedom from corporate wealth ruling our lives, the freedom to vote in a convenient way and have our vote counted, the freedom to have affordable healthcare, the freedom for women to have control over their own bodies, the freedom for everyone to have equality before the law, and the freedom to enjoy a fair share of our common economic wealth. These statements are currently aspirations that are yet to be achieved as the common practices of our society. These aspirations become political freedoms only when they exist as law—offerings articulated and enforced by the power of human government.