In 1980 the synthpop band “Devo” produced an album called Freedom of Choice, and the song by the same name sparks the imagination regarding life, not that the lyrics are particularly philosophical. But the chorus, “Freedom of choice, it’s what you want,” say a huge amount regarding our default human nature.
‘Choice’ is such an expansive word. The Merriam-Webster dictionary has it, amongst its definitions, as:
“The act of choosing” i.e. when we find it hard to make a choice; and “a number and variety to choose among i.e. a plan with a wide choice of options; or, care in selecting.”
Isn’t it strange yet totally explicable that when we have the choice we often go the wrong way, which is our own way. We see polarised relationships and stalled progress on projects and fighting politicians and countries and cultures at odds with each other... what are we seeing? Individuals and whole people’s (represented often by a small minority charged with the public interest) doing what conventional wisdom calls for--they make their choice, for themselves—intuiting both meanings. First, they make the choice, and second, they make it in their own interest first and foremost. This is by and large the default drive of humankind to self-satisfy.
We fight for our freedom of choice in the consumerised market economy we have in the Western world. The customer is always right, apparently. What this drives is an attitude on the part of the vendor that it’s okay for you to be right (even when you’re not) if you’re spending your money on my stuff. Again, we place our value in what holds values for us; in this case it’s money that wins out over truth. The vendor’s choice, in this example, is wrong. It’s morally wrong and freedom is issued for the wrong reason; it deceives the relationship. The relationship is based at least partially on non-truth.
We have to acknowledge that with freedom of choice comes civic responsibility. Franklin Roosevelt’s “four freedoms,” upon which I wrote a recent article, make the precise point. Freedom that is true and right and God-blessed is that which holds for all, not any one individual or group. Freedom of speech, of worship, from want, and from fear are universal rights. These four freedoms are moral freedoms. True freedom is enshrined as a moral construct.
We will only ever succeed in life when our choice is made for such freedoms as these. Sure, we are free to choose, but therein lies the trap for the lazy and the greedy. Citizenship is indeed one of the most important values to hold; the value for civic responsibility in the discharge of our day-to-day behaviour, which ought, I could add, carry through also to the home. Freedom of choice should ideally be about safety for all. It’s intrinsically linked to morality.
Copyright © 2008, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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