The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-04-13
German Freedom.

I'VE are the freest people on
earth, declares Prof Lasson, and
no doubt his view is the prevailing
view in Germany A good deal OF
nonsense in fact, has been written
about the supposed enslayement Of
the Germans and the need of emanci-
pating them. Germans themselves
had a similar delusion about Alsace
and Lorraine in 1870 and it was Il
bitter disappointment to find that
they were not welcome as deliyerers
from the French yoke. When any
people has the government 1t wants
it is free, when any other government
is forced upon it, freedom is lacking,
even if the franchise is granted. An
autooyat Mr.. Dooley has wisely said
is a ruler that does what the people
an takes the blame f'r Il: "A
constitutional ixicutive, Hinnisy, is
a ruler that does as he dam damn
pleases an blames the people"
1t is natural that every nation
should look at freedom from its own
point OF view, and disparage the free
doN of other people. and nation
like United States, which was found
ed on republican principles, is rather
specially given to this narrowness OF
view. 1t has always been hard for
good Americans to realize that
people ruled by king could be free,
and the recent decision of Norway
when il separated from Sweden to
set up monarchy caused no little
wonder.
The case is, of course, that no peo-
pie possesses or ever has possessed
the whole OF freedom, thing as i'm
possible as the squaring of the circle.
Freedom is a matter of compromise,
a giving up of one kind OF liberty to
get more liberty of another sort
which is esteemed more valuable,
and the main thing is for the people
to have the kind of freedom they
want. Germany's greatest thinker,
Kant, saw very clearly the eternai
paradox. Man has an inclination
to enter into society. because IN that
state he feels that he becomes more
of a man, or in other words, That his
natural faculties develop. But he
has a great tendency to isolate him
self, because he is at the same time
aware of the unsocial peculiarly of
desiring to have everything his own
way; and thus, being conscious Of an
inclination to oppose others, he is
naturally led to expect opposition.
from them In this warfare be-
ween opposite forces, centripetal and
lies the force which
makes for human progress, and it is
idle TO expect an eternal equilibrium
TO be reached.
Probably in no country is every
body satisfied with the kind or de,
gree OF the liberty allowed In tl,is
country, for exemple. some people
are striving for constitutional amend
ments to grant more liberty for the
making of laws which will take away
liberty of another sort. Yet of the
they are hardly aware.
because they recognize as liberty
only the kind of liberty they want.
and other kinds they stigmatize as
license. If the idea of liberty IS
made to include simply the right Of
TIC IlbJOl ltN u enact ldWS ~ EONtFI
all. country may nominally be free
though in reality tyrannousB over
regulated And ON the other hand il
a despotism is wise enough not to in
terfe.e with the freedom of people 10
think, say. and do as they please.
they may be amazed and indignant
at being told that they were not free
because they had no vote.
When Germans. then, say they are
freer than the people of other conn
tries, as great many Germans do in
all sincerity. they meant that they en-
joy what seems TO them the modest
and highest kind OF freedom, in
which men can cooperate most pol
fectly for great ends. If they are
not allowed to water plants on the
balcony, TO the peril OF peoples CLOTH
ing beneath. they remember that
they would not like to he sprnEled
Themselves. If they are not allowed
TO play the piano with open windows
at unreasonable hours, they in turn
are protected from annoyance of ,hc |
same sort. All the petty regulation
which Americans in Germany hud |