FREEDOM = SLAVERY

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9502E0D91E3DF934A25750C0A9629582 60

March 17, 1994
Some Free Speech On Mayor's Words

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani discussed his philosophy of what freedom means in a democracy yesterday at a forum on urban crime, and his remarks left a civil libertarian puzzled and worried.

The Mayor, a former United States Attorney in Manhattan, said New Yorkers were inclined to "see only the oppressive side of authority."

"What we don't see is that freedom is not a concept in which people can do anything they want, be anything they can be," he said at the forum, sponsored by The New York Post. "Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do."

Asked later about his remarks, Mr. Giuliani said governmental authorities in American society had fallen into disrepute in the last 30 years. He said anarchy would result if everyone were allowed to behave exactly as he wanted and cited Oliver Wendell Holmes's adage that freedom of expression does not include shouting 'Fire!' in a crowded theater.

Norman Siegel, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said he was "floored" by the Mayor's definition.

"Order is an element of freedom," Mr. Siegel said. "But to put the emphasis on order rather than on a just and fair society is inverting the meaning and significance of freedom."

hmm, where have I heard that before?

Can't recall..


* WAR IS PEACE
* FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
* IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

free·dom (frē'dəm) pronunciation
n.

1. The condition of being free of restraints.
2. Liberty of the person from slavery, detention, or oppression.
3.
1. Political independence.
2. Exemption from the arbitrary exercise of authority in the performance of a specific action; civil liberty: freedom of assembly.
4. Exemption from an unpleasant or onerous condition: freedom from want.
5. The capacity to exercise choice; free will: We have the freedom to do as we please all afternoon.
6. Ease or facility of movement: loose sports clothing, giving the wearer freedom.
7. Frankness or boldness; lack of modesty or reserve: the new freedom in movies and novels.
8.
1. The right to unrestricted use; full access: was given the freedom of their research facilities.
2. The right of enjoying all of the privileges of membership or citizenship: the freedom of the city.
9. A right or the power to engage in certain actions without control or interference: “the seductive freedoms and excesses of the picaresque form” (John W. Aldridge).

[Middle English fredom, from Old English frēodōm : frēo, free; see free + -dōm, -dom.]

SYNONYMS freedom, liberty, license. These nouns refer to the power to act, speak, or think without externally imposed restraints. Freedom is the most general term: “In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free” (Abraham Lincoln). Liberty stresses the power of free choice: “liberty, perfect liberty, to think, feel, do just as one pleases” (William Hazlitt). License sometimes denotes deliberate deviation from normally applicable rules or practices to achieve a desired effect: poetic license. Frequently, though, it denotes undue freedom: “the intolerable license with which the newspapers break . . . the rules of decorum” (Edmund Burke).