Chapter 15 Freedom, with Responsibility.
Children and youths need sufficient freedom to advance their hobbies, and talents, and their social, physical and intellectual development. Most parents understand this, and despite backbreaking schedules, they are busily involved in childrens birthday parties, summer camps, and scouts and girl-guides activities. All wise parents grant freedom progressively, with their childrens age and growth of discipline and responsibility. Incidents of broken antiques at late-night home parties are not unheard of, so are those of parents cars being turned into scrap metal by teenagers. We also know that a large percentage of road fatality occurs in the 16 to 26 age group; statistics speak for themselves. Freedom for the young is therefore a package deal; it comes with responsibility, and consequences.
The irony about freedom is: When everyone is completely free, no one is! Complete liberty ends when you deprive others of their liberty. If there was complete freedom, the zoo warden would soon walk his lions in the public park, the Airbus captain would land his aeroplane beside the pyramids to provide better sightseeing, and you would drive over the sidewalk, through the florist shop and create a drive-in shopping mall!
So you see, freedom always has its limitations, you have no right to behave as you please, only the freedom to behave as you should. It is not just your right to use your judgement and choice, but also your accountability and obligation to live with the consequences. Just look back over the years, humans fought very hard for freedom, but soon they had to make many laws to control themselves. America, with the famous statue of liberty, has always been a tolerant and dynamic country, willing to pay any price for freedom, but now, look at its high incidents of gun ownership and divorce.
Away from the public scene, and in the home environment, constraints on your freedom are rooted in your parents deep love and care, and their powerful urge to protect you. Your parents interest in you is far from casual, and anything imaginary or real that may threaten your safety and well-being is of grave concern. Among older teenagers, there is that universal dispute over what time they should get home. Teenagers should put themselves in their parents shoes to suffer the fears when kids do not return at the appropriate time. Parents fantasies include: bad company, beer, drunken driving, horrific car crash, robbed in the park, and the worst, trying drugs. By the way, when you get into drugs, your whole life is ruined and you are as dead as door nail.
I believe youths should, instead of romping in the night, take up wholesome hobbies and fruitful studies to secure a good future. Family outings and activities are better, they are not only fun, they enhance family affection, unity and the resultant growth and good life. As you grow, you will learn that without discipline it is hard to attain much success or happiness; besides, discipline keeps you out of harms way, accidents and loose living. This is also part of your respect for authority, like the authority of parents, teachers and your future employers.
Freedom is also one of the greatest gifts from God. He has taken great risks and made big sacrifices, knowing that liberty in the hands of the irresponsible can lead to troubles, evil, and destruction, and it often has. Liberty was abused right from the start, by our great grandparents in the Garden of Eden! Respect your freedom, it is a great privilege. Freedom must be earned, and the more responsible you are the more will be given to you.
"For free will to exist, evil had to exist, in order that man's choice might be his own...God had to put man's will beyond even divine intervention." - Meyer Levin.
"True, no discipline seems for the present to be joyous, yet afterward to those who have been trained by it, it yields peaceable fruit, namely, righteousness." Hebrews 12:11.
"The price of greatness is responsibility." - Sir Winston Churchill.
"Be happy while you are still young. Do what you want to do, and follow your heart's desire. Remember that God is going to judge you for whatever you do." Ecclesiastes 11:9,10.