STRAIGHT TALK
MARK BARNES: We have liberty but freedom still eludes us
It is not too late for SA to change its trajectory and build a country where everyone feels whole and safe
Liberty and freedom are not the same thing. Liberty is a state of rights, the absence of restrictions imposed by the authority on its civil subjects. Twenty-five years ago, we were liberated from the restrictive and divisive state imposed on us by apartheid. In 1994, everyone became entitled, for the first time, to have an equal say in who would lead and govern us, as one country and one people going forward. Liberation is an enabler of freedom, but not freedom itself. We have achieved liberty, but true freedom remains elusive. Freedom is like safety, you must feel it as much as you must have it. No matter the height of the walls, the strength of the current in the electric fence or the cyclic rate of the semi-automatic rifles I increasingly see flung over the shoulders of private security guards, if you don’t feel safe in your home, what’s the point? Freedom is about the absence of constraints. If you feel angst, you’re not free. Legislation and our wonderful constitution are prer...
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