over the land of the free and the home of the brave meaning

Jefferson agreed: “It behoves every man who values liberty of conscience for himself, to resist invasions of it in the case others.” Thomas Paine echoed the pact that had won the Revolutionary War: “He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.”

The definition of liberty to be the power of doing whatever the law permits does not seem satisfactory.” John Adams wrote, “I would define liberty to be a power to do as we would be done by. Likewise, liberty no longer means what it meant to Jefferson and his ilk. Now we strive endlessly for more and more private bliss. Society grew strong when those circles were chained together. Those limits created circles that defined our communities. Eudaemonia did not require endless barn raisings or limitless sugar sharing. When happiness included obligations, it was self-limiting. We’ve forgotten this: Everyone’s happier when everyone’s happy. You participated in your neighbor’s barn raising so he would join yours. Sharing a cup of sugar with someone in need benefited your future sugarless self. The enlightenment ideal of happiness was rooted in the classical Greek concept of “eudaemonia.” Collective striving - the pursuit - aimed to achieve a common good.

Over the land of the free and the home of the brave meaning