Why do we desire freedom?

One answer is that we don’t, not all the time anyway, and some of us not at all.  There are prisoners who grow so comfortable with incarceration that, if released, they forfeit their freedom as soon as possible.  There are those who desire dictatorship, whether it be political, spiritual, or domestic.  And of course, it’s commonplace for people to addict themselves to self-destructive substances and patterns of behavior.

But put aside all the reasons for which people sacrifice, limit, or forfeit their freedom, and ask: what do we gain from having it?  What is its value?

In the political arena, if there is only one candidate, the freedom to vote seems pointless.  But even if its value is diminished, there is still some value there.  How so?  Because if we have the freedom to vote, we must necessarily have the freedom to refrain from voting.  We can choose to withhold our vote, and thereby add our voice to the tally of those who do not support the candidate.

But what is the value of that?  It cannot lie in the political consequence of our choice, because the candidate, being unopposed, will obviously win. 

The value therefore must reside, so to speak, closer to home.

And that is correct.  For the value of having choice is that, in choosing, we identify ourselves, and thus create what we are.  Be hanged, that Smith wins the election – I am anti-Smith.

Multiply such choices a million-fold, and you have a life.  Each choice is a brick, and out of the millions of bricks you build a house, and in that house you live.

Without freedom there is no identity.  Without freedom, there is no personality.  Without freedom, the houses are all made out of ticky tacky, and they all look just the same.