1197 The Source of Liberty

It’s hard to believe because Americans take it for granted, but liberty is a relatively recent phenomena; only developed in what’s now called “The Age of Enlightenment,” originating in a single small country, Scotland, by 18 men in the 18th century. It was a flash-point in history like no other and probably won’t be repeated again after liberty is lost because liberty is a fragile thing, only kept alive by nurturing a society’s youth to its ideals, who otherwise default to some form of authoritarian oversight. In his famous 1784 essay “Answering the Question: What Is Enlightenment?” philosopher Immanuel Kant said: “Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-imposed indecision and lack of courage to use one's own mind without another's guidance. ‘Have the courage to use your own understanding,’ is therefore the motto of the enlightenment.” Though Kant didn’t exactly express the American understanding of liberty, reaping the rewards or suffering the consequences of your own decisions, he did describe the anti-authoritarianism required to get there. In fact, American-style liberty is even more fragile and is under heavy assault by egalitarianism, seemingly certain to succumb to it, with no other source of liberty in sight.