On Freedom
There are two types of freedom- positive and negative. Positive freedom is the freedom to do or own something- the freedom to own a gun, or house, or to own slaves, or to vote. Negative freedom is freedom from something- the freedom from intimidation by gun owners, to be free from slavery. Most positive freedoms can be reframed as negative freedoms. The US Constitution’s 2 nd Amendment, as currently interpreted, guarantees freedom to own firearms. But what about other people’s freedoms to not be shot by a gun, or not be intimated by a someone carrying a gun? The US Civil War was fought over the freedom to own slaves. But what about the slave's right to be free? The current debate about abortion, in the right-wing framework, defends the life of the fetus. (I don’t think fertilized eggs or fetuses are unborn children.) But what about the freedom of the woman to decide when she chooses to be pregnant and give birth? Republicans frame anti-...