Obama’s Twisted Views On Liberty

Surely by this time most people reading this have heard the audio of President Obama referring to the Constitution as a charter of “negative liberties.” Many people likely heard this audio at some time in the past and dismissed it. More than anything he has said or done in the last four years, this statement reveals who and what this man is.

He was of course correct. The Constitution is in fact a charter of negative liberties. The theory of negative liberty basically holds that the more doors that are open to you, the individual, without interference from the government or other entities, the freer you are. The document spells out what the government is not allowed to do to you, in effect “keeping the doors open” for you. President Obama obviously has deep seeded issues with this fact. Now, since we know by his own words that he is not a proponent of  negative liberties, would it logically follow that he is a proponent of “positive liberties?” The answer unfortunately is yes. Listen again to the linked audio where President Obama laments that the Constitution does not spell out what the government must do on your behalf.

The theory of positive liberty can be looked at as follows: You, as an individual, have a “higher self” and a “lower self” that are constantly at war with each other. Perhaps you are supposed to cut the grass today. Your higher self is saying “Get out there and cut the grass” but your lower self is saying “I really don’t want to cut the grass because it’s too hot outside and the game is about to come on TV.”

Politicians, despots and dictators have used the theory of positive liberty throughout history to manage and control people. In the example above, a possible scenario for the application of positive liberty would be for the government to pass a law stating that all lawns must be mowed once per week. A government agency would be set up to monitor these activities and fines would be levied upon offenders. In nearly every case, positive liberty is applied based on a belief that the “experts” or “elites” know what is best for you. Their rationale is that your higher self would want whatever it is that they are pushing but your lower self is preventing you from realizing it. In other words they know what is best for you even if you are too stupid to realize it.

A perfect example is Global Warming. Despite overwhelming evidence that it is nothing more than a ginned up hoax, the government is still attempting to impose a carbon tax on the population. For your own good. You can see examples of the application of positive liberty everyday if you know what to look for. The “nanny state” is the absolute embodiment of positive liberty. You can’t buy a 24 oz. soda in New York City because an elected bureaucrat decided that it wasn’t good for you and that he had to take action for your own good. There are many other examples and I’m sure you can think of a few.

The bottom line is that the theory of positive liberty is what drives President Obama and his nanny state cabal. An understanding of the concepts of positive and negative liberties answers other questions as well. The extra-constitutional executive orders preferred by this president begin to make perfect sense once you grasp these principles. He feels constrained by the charter of negative liberties that is the U.S. Constitution. Therefore, since he knows better, he goes around Congress and issues executive orders. He is in effect depriving the American people of their representation “for their own good.”

It is important to note that positive liberty is not always bad. By overcoming your lower self and achieving what your higher self knows to be ideal, you have reached a state of positive liberty. Maybe you are overweight and on a diet. Your lower self is telling you to eat that quart of ice cream but your higher self is telling you to eat a piece of celery instead. If you eat the celery you have defeated your lower self and become your own master. If an entity, such as the government, abuses positive liberty and forces or coerces you into eating the celery for your own good, they have become your master.

I believe it is clear that this president will continue to abuse the theory of positive liberty in his ongoing campaign of social engineering and fundamental transformation. The question one must ask is “Who is my master?”