Let Freedom Reign

The story is told of the minister and his spirited young filly which a wealthy fancier wanted for his stables. They proceeded to the track to check the filly’s capabilities. When the prospective purchaser mounted and gave the usual “Giddap,” there was no response.

“What makes her go?” he asked.

The minister explained his habit of praying as he rode, and gave the filly the command: “Praise the Lord!” She promptly circled the track at a fast clip, but then failed to stop when the rider said, “Whoa.”

“And what makes her stop?” he shouted.

“Amen,” said the minister, and the filly halted.

The prospective buyer then asked the minister if he might try the filly in the open country. After mounting, he said, “Praise the Lord.” Off they went at top speed. Suddenly, horse and rider approached a 300-foot cliff. The man in his fright forgot how to stop, so he prayed aloud, “Lord save me. Amen!” The filly stopped just a few feet from the cliff, whereupon the man in great relief exclaimed, “Praise the Lord!”

Even the finest of words and the best intentions can lead to disaster.

As I view our current situation, good intentions have brought us to the brink of disaster. Pollution. Inflation. Statism. Disorder. And without knowing the right words to halt our headlong plunge!

That I know precisely the right words is not claimed; indeed, my thesis is that neither I nor anyone else has all the answers.

Yet, it behooves us to bring as much light to the surface as lies within our power. Where are the answers to be found? Not in governmental management of creative activities! They are not to be found in the planned economy and the welfare state, but in the absence of these arrangements, which is to say, in the practice of freedom. For it is only in an essentially free society that unknown answers to problems of this nature emerge from the minds of men and become known. Freedom, with all the answers there are, is allowed to perform when coercion, which has no answers, is removed. This is my thesis.

The wisdom by which we exist is an enlightenment emerging from free men. Were this not the case, we would have to assume that all progress to date has sprung from supermen, not one of whom has ever existed.

Despite the overwhelming case for freedom, it is assailed from every side—reasons and excuses without end. “I’m for freedom, but . . .” is a loud, pervasive, dissonant chorus, bedeviling anyone who would champion the freedom philosophy.

The following chapters will attempt to remove some of the doubts and contribute to a faith that freedom should be the rule.

My own faith cannot be shaken, even though I fail adequately to make the case for this philosophy. Freedom, like righteousness or wisdom, must never be faulted because of my shortcomings. Or anyone else’s. If I cannot articulate the merits of freedom, the fault is in my understanding and explanation, not in freedom as a way of life.