Freedom Vs Safety in Society

Is it fair to ask for freedom and safety? Whether it is in society as a whole or watching a small child romp around a playground, the delicate balance of safety and freedom tips and teeters back and forth like playful toddlers on a seesaw. A prominent question looms in society today. What is more important, freedom or safety?

In order to fully understand the issue, definitions must be provided. Freedom is defined as "the condition of being free from restraints" (Freedom). Safety is defined as "the condition of being safe; freedom from danger, risk, or injury" (Safety). Interestingly enough, these definitions overlap. The definition of safety actually contains the word freedom. Ambiguity and confusion seem to be intertwined in this case. Discussing freedom and safety naturally should start somewhere that we're all familiar with, the stage of society in the .

Norman Scott Mills of Freedom4ever.net says that "We have to be free to choose our own destiny. Free to make our own choices. We should be free sovereign autonomous individuals. Free to have the Power and Right of self-determination over our own minds, bodies, lives and souls. There is No Greater Tyranny then to take away the Freedom and Power of Individual Choice, there is No Greater Tenant to Liberty and Freedom than the Freedom and Power to Choose, for everyone individually, and No Greater Power can be given the Individual, than the Freedom and Power to Choose, to Foster within every one of us, the human spirit, which yearns to be free" (Mills). Obviously, Mills is not afraid to take a stand in regard to freedom in . His words echo that of many of our founding fathers, such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. However, a larger question looms when this freedom is coupled with the question of safety.