Freedom To or Freedom From?

<p>At the core of legal theory is this idea that there are essentially two forms of liberty—positive and negative. Positive liberty is the freedom <em>to</em> do something, such as the freedom of speech or the freedom of worship. Negative liberty is freedom <em>from</em> something, which is a little more complicated. For instance, in the United States, the Third Amendment to the Constitution stipulates that the government cannot quarter troops in the home of any private individual. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures. As FDR famously pointed out, freedom from want and fear are just as important as speech and worship.</p><p>The complicated part of all this, of course, is where somebody else’s freedom <em>to</em> do something intersects with somebody else’s desire to be free <em>from</em> it.</p><p>You get to speak your mind...but that may offend or hurt someone else. You should be able to do whatever you want on your own property...but walking around naked blaring music makes it hard for your neighbors to do the same. You should be able to make your own medical decisions for your family...but the decision not to vaccinate affects everyone they meet.</p><p>The specifics of these issues are the proper realm of politicians and lawyers and not really what we talk about here. Where it does intersect with Stoicism is in that tricky and <a href='https://el2.convertkit-mail.com/c/preview/dpheh0hz/aHR0cHM6Ly9kYWlseXN0b2ljLmNvbS9lcGljdGV0dXMvP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9Y29udmVydGtpdCZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWNvbnZlcnRraXQmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPWZyZWVkb20tZnJvbQ=='>timeless question from Epictetus</a>: <em>What is up to us and what is not up to us?</em></p><p>In a world of <a href='https://el2.convertkit-mail.com/c/preview/e5uph7h9/aHR0cHM6Ly9kYWlseXN0b2ljLmNvbS9kb250LWJlLWEtc25vd2ZsYWtlLw=='>snowflakes</a> and <a href='https://el2.convertkit-mail.com/c/preview/78i7h8hv/aHR0cHM6Ly9vYnNlcnZlci5jb20vMjAxNC8wMi9vdXRyYWdlLXBvcm4taG93LXRoZS1uZWVkLWZvci1wZXJwZXR1YWwtaW5kaWduYXRpb24tbWFudWZhY3R1cmVzLXBob255LW9mZmVuc