Revisiting the Heinlein Doctrine

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I’ve been writing this blog, both here and at the old WordPress Site, for close to thirteen years. Over that time period, from the very beginning, I’ve stressed that traditional American value of “liberty.” Liberty, of course, has different meanings to different people, but in my estimation, it boils down to the freedom to make the choices that best suit your individual goals and desires and needs, so long as those choices do not unnecessarily or avoidably interfere with others’ ability to do the same.
The problem we have today is that too often, modern Americans define anything that moderately inconveniences them as an infringement on their rights and privileges. We scream and rant and curse because some “dirty, smelly, hippies” are staging a protest on the highway, and that interferes with our ability to travel, and engage in commerce. The government sees a bunch of the unwashed masses roaming the halls of the US capital without the limits of an official tour guide to control their movements, and define it as an “insurrection.”
The fact is, freedom has never been “free,” and it’s not the US soldier, sailor, Marine, or airman that pays the toll. If you want to be free, then YOU—and only you—pay the toll for that, regardless of the cost…or, you don’t. The choice is yours.
A number of years ago, I wrote a short article on the WordPress site about the Heinlein doctrine. I was thinking about it the other day, and realized it was due a revisit. That’s what today’s article is about.
“I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them.” –Robert Heinlein