“Freedom is independence of the compulsory will of another, and in so far as it tends to exist with the freedom of all according to a universal law, it is the one sole original inborn right belonging to every man in virtue of his humanity.”

I found a symbol dating to about 4200 BC called an Ama Gi, It literally means liberty in its original cuneiform. This tells me that this has been on the minds of men since the first forms of writing. I had a bunch of these symbols made and there is one in the back window of my truck...right next to the Browning Deer Logo....another symbol of freedom.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aparejador/3841704406/

I like the notion of freedom as "being without compulsion" and I like Kant's conclusion that therefore it is a natural right. What I don't see is that Kant has given a reason to use the word "therefore." For him, it is that freedom tends to be universal according to a universal law. That's weak. Only if your name is famous can you get away with something as weak as that. Maybe something was lost in translation. A more mature reason for natural rights is the economic basis for morality. That through thousands of generations memes that work make that race, that culture more successful.

The quotes today miss at least one very important fact. All society, social organization, limits freedom. Societies by their very nature transform the individual to be like them, to fit in. Is it any wonder that the people in Muslim lands are Muslim, or that Orientals are Buddhist etc. The U.S. has to some extent changed that, where we are free to be whatever, with respect for others. Some may argue that a society that demands or exerts moral suasion for others to be respectful of differences is acting with compulsion. The only way to have the freedom these guys talk about is to live alone in the jungle.

Not at all Waffler you must be from the city.

It's one thing to be compelled by morality or a system of justice Waffler...it's quite another to be compelled by innumerable and idiotic laws of control and coercion that are poorly written and randomly enforced...the system sucks, and it has to change....BACK to Constitutional values. :-)

Absolutely!

I like it a lot. An extremely accurate observation.

Restore the Founder's vision of a free people...