What exactly does it mean to be "pro-freedom"?

[Ptrmbrs88]

Maybe it means you like good quality furniture

I ask because someone told me that was what she was, here on GAG just a few minutes ago. I responded by saying that the concept itself wasn't exactly very well defined, and at the very least required some context and a little more information in order to make any amount of sense (ex. political freedom, personal freedom as encapsulated in the concept of bodily autonomy, freedom of movement and so on).

I'm just as confused about this as you are.

Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.

I'll explain in the comments section by writing an essay about it.

Something else.

[Anonymous]

The English word freedom comes from "free dominion" which is to say a free domain. A domain is a "A territory or sphere of influence or control; a realm."

For a domain to be free means it is free of such control.

Hence to have your freedom is to not be subject to someone else's control.

This is related to the concepts of rights, liberty, and the original state of nature.

In the state of nature such as an animal in the wild, you are free to do whatever you want to do with the caveat of what others might do to you. Thus the wild is a free domain without such control.

Likewise the concepts of rights refers to everything that you could do in that State of Nature. Because this is the state in which God created men they are called Gifts of God. Liberty refers to the state of having retained theses rights or some valued set thereof.

For security, we trade a small number of theses rights for protection from said threats, thus ending the State of nature and reducing the domain of freedom.

[Ptrmbrs88]

Good answer! :)

[Opinion Owner]

@ptrmbrs88 Always shocking how many people don't understand this. The words are in fact descriptions the only issue is our politicians constantly and in some cases deliberately misuse the terms. often conflating the concept of freedom and Rights with services.

Hence why we now have to qualify rights as "natural rights" to distinwish them from the services politicians sell.

Even the "Bill of rights" which is just the first 10 amendment to the constitutions has nothing to do with rights, but rather limits upon the federal goverment in the interest of preserving per-existing rights and is not so called except by politicians.

it is as such nonsense to say you have a 1st or 2nd amendment right but rather the goverment has 1st or 2nd amendment limits to prohibit them from infringing upon your rights. This of course is what is meant, but people today now think their rights come from the state because of how politicians speak of them.

[najekim]

Good post except the sentence enacting the religious dogma. A religion is designed to control a person's life and choices, so it is contrary to freedom.

[Opinion Owner]

@najekim As religion cannot control a person only inform them, it would therefore not be contrary to freedom. Don't confuse religious institutions with power of force with religion.
A religious institution with such power is simply anther form of a state.

Only force controls people, and only if it is conditioned, otherwise it is just blind threat regardless of your choices.

[nolabels]

It can carry many meanings.

The meaning that jumps out to me the most lately is when people use it as if they're acting as if they're saying something, when what they're actually doing is not saying anything.

It's similar to saying that one is anti-poverty. Gee, how about that? Let's find some pro-poverty people for them to debate the subject with.

[SoIcyGang]

Everyone believes in freedom. But everyone has a different definition.

My version is like this:

Freedom, in a political context, has only one meaning: the absence of physical coercion.

Others believe freedom to be something else entirely. Such as living in a society of all people of the same color. Or a society where no person has more than another and everyone is exactly equal.

[WanderingLoveWizard]

It's really not a hard concept to understand. The fact that you think it is is disheartening.

It's simple. We want the government to stay the hell out of our lives and quit putting red tape around everyone's nut sack in an effort to keep us "safe" and compliant. They work for us, not above us.
For me, this applies to guns, tobacco, abortion... all of it. All that shit everyone wants to ban just because they don't agree with it. Quit telling us what we can and can't do.

[WanderingLoveWizard]

But I also believe that the right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins

[Ptrmbrs88]

It's not that simple though, and the fact that you think it is is "disheartening" to me, because your approach to this issue is one-dimensional (i. e. political). There are many different kinds of freedom, and the person I had the discussion with that prompted my question here, didn't seem to understand that.

[exitseven]

boyfriend Skinner wrote a book called Beyond Freedom And Dignity. He said that freedom did not really exist. It was a man made construct

[exitseven]

he is not boyfriend skinner. he is B. F. Skinner. There is a utility that translated abbreviations

psychology.fas.harvard.edu/people/b-f-skinner

[Ptrmbrs88]

I was wondering about that. "Boyfriend" Skinner? :D :D :D

[TooHot2Care]

Pro a person's right to choose within reason.

That's it.

You want a gun? Fine, I think there should be tests and barriers due to mass shootings.

Maximizing freedom means restricting certain rights.

One example is your ability to kill with impunity.

There.

You may go home now.

[Ptrmbrs88]

I'm already at home.

[TooHot2Care]

Then go to Super Home.

[RealMarek]

In this country it means freedom from every traditional social institution and concentration of power that is used to coerce loyalty to the liberal state, global corporations, and the oligarchy that controls them.

[Adam1978]

It's supporting freedom of choices even bad ones. Ie if it doesn't harm or impact others you should be free to do what you want. It's basically a liberal view.

[msc545]

If it's a woman talking about it, she probably means she is in favor of giving women the right to murder unborn children.

[Ptrmbrs88]

Not every woman is a feminist. Anyway, the topic was the war in Ukraine.

[LiamJHayden]

Leave people alone as long as they are not violating the person or property of another.

[AviatorTom]

I'm with Janis Joplin...

[Ptrmbrs88]

Me too! :)

[AngryCarl2]

Freedom is being able to do whatever the hell I like.

[CuriousMufuxka]

Dunno. I just practice freedom. It's going pretty well.

[Dargil]

It means anti-bondage.

[Ptrmbrs88]

Being against kinky sex?

[Dargil]

Haah. No, bondage like Communism or Nazism.

[astrophelle]

Like supporting UKRAINIANS.

[Ptrmbrs88]

Support Ukrainians in what way? Through virtue-signalling on Twitter or Facebook?

[astrophelle]

Twitter? Facebook? Are you calling them support? These are just simple advice from someone who shows support by putting a flag on their profile picture on GaG.:)

[chicken_nugget24]

Are you from Russia?

[Ptrmbrs88]

I have the flag of Russia as my profile image because someone else here has the Ukrainian one. He's engaging in a bit of virtue-signalling, so I thought I'd do the same but for the opposite team :D
No, I'm not Russian, but I can understand their perspective, their belief, whether justified or not, that their country is being encircled by hostile powers (and if you compare maps of NATO member nations in Europe from 1989 to those of today, you might agree with them).

[chicken_nugget24]

Cool