How much do you love Freedom?

Freedom. What is it exactly? I believe that freedom is a word that is too loosely tossed about and carelessly regarded. Before I go on, take a look at some of these quotes on freedom:

He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach himself. ~Thomas Paine

Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. ~Mahatma Gandhi

Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it. ~George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, "Maxims: Liberty and Equality," 1905

The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion. ~Edmund Burke

Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks. Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grandchildren are once more slaves. ~D.H. Lawrence, Classical American Literature, 1922

Freedom is something that is not easy. Freedom comes with hard work, toil, and danger. Freedom means that there unfortunately will be losses. Freedom from government surveillance means that there may be another 9-11. Freedom from unwarranted searches mean that there is a risk that those who despise freedom may do us harm. These are simple facts. Having the freedom to succeed conversely means that there is a freedom to fail. Removing the failure inevitably removes the success. Totalitarianism, socialism, marxism, and communism all place the power in the hands of a few while Capitalism and Democracy place the power with the individual. Greed is in human nature. When we place total control in the hands of the government; be it a king, or a court, only the ruling class have the opportunity to succeed. When we place control in the hands of the individual, every man has opportunity to succeed.

However, it must be noted that when we place control in the hands of the individual there will always be a small percentage who fail. This failure may be by poor decisions, lack of effort, or some uncontrollable event. At any rate, taxing 100% of the people to pay for 5-15% of the people's failure only inhibits the opportunity to succeed for that 85% or more of the population. In doing so, the economic growth, freedom, and well being of the majority of the population is retarded.

So I ask, "How much do you love freedom?" Do you love it enough to fail? Do you love it enough to suffer for it? Or do you simply prefer security as you're told what you will and will not do? Those who came before us, those who died to create this country, and those who died to preserve this country loved it enough to suffer and to die for it. I ask you to consider these things when you hear of the next social program designed to help people.

Lastly, name one government program that created prosperity for anyone other than a politician or political interest group? When you vote for well intentioned social programs, who are you sending your dollars to?