The Difference Between Liberty in Europe and the United States
By a European millennial who clearly recognizes the difference.
European countries like the UK, France and Germany are considered part of the “Free West.” No doubt, compared to a lot of downtrodden third world nations, these countries would be considered “free.” What then is the difference between the so called “freedom” in Western Europe and the freedom in the United States of America – or is there any difference at all?
President Lincoln explained this difference back on April the 18th, 1864 during a speech in Baltimore, Maryland: “We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men’s labor. Here are two, not only different, but incompatible things, called by the same name—liberty.”
Indeed these words of Ronald Reagan were no exaggeration, “If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on Earth.”
