What I Learned About Liberty on July 4, 2002

I attended the Libertarian Party National Conference: Champions of Liberty over the July 4th holiday this year, interested in hearing and talking about the Libertarian stance on several issues, among them the war and children's rights. There, in the middle of the United States, amongst people meeting to find ways to further liberty, the parameters of our American freedom were more clearly defined for me.

Like much of the rest of the country and the world, I had been watching and listening, reading and thinking and discussing the implication of 9/11/01 for our lives and liberty. I particularly appreciated Dr. Mary Ruwart's ‘Building Consensus on the Tough Issues’ forums, and hope to see places to continue such respectful discussions amongst little-l and big-L Libertarians on the internet. I invite anyone wishing to continue discussion about the Libertarian take on war (and other) issues, to the TCSsociety discussion group at yahoogroups.com.[1]

Sarah Fitz-Claridge, the founder of the TCS (Taking Children Seriously) philosophy, was speaking at the conference, using a burka (a head-to-toe covering women are required to wear in some countries) as a symbol of authoritarianism, so she had a couple of burkas with her. We tried them on with appalled fascination, marveling at the intricacies of getting around and seeing where one is walking from under such a shroud. Our curiosity grew over the next day, wondering how it would be to actually walk around in a burka. So we did, through the hotel and into the convention center, where we were accosted by a Libertarian Party official and a security officer. We had to produce our papers – our convention passes – and were told to take the burkas off if they were not required by our religion, or leave the property immediately. They were worried about terrorism. They had to file an FBI report of the incident. In talking to security and the official the next day, it seemed that we were lucky to not be hauled off by the local police and the FBI. Curiosity killed the cat...

In Ms. Fitz-Claridge's speech the morning after the Burka Incident, she talked about how a person is not free to walk down a street in the country of Belgium with a mask on, as Belgian law requires faces to be visible. Conversely, in some countries, a woman is not allowed to show her face on the street (no matter what her religion or lack thereof) and would be penalized if she did. At the same time, it is legal for a woman to appear bare-breasted in Ontario, Canada. Thus is the arbitrary rule of law, based not on objective morality or truth, but on local custom.

As the fear of terrorism inspires the shrinking of civil rights in America in the name of increased security, the limits of freedom are all too apparent. We can neither conceal too much or too little of our bodies, in public. Is it safe to reveal our thoughts? Where lies real security?

At the Champions of Freedom conference, David Nolan – the founder of the Libertarian Party in the US – gave us a stern warning about the backsliding of liberty. The challenge is ours, to navigate these perilous times, while upholding liberty as the right way forward as a necessary element of the solution to the problems we seek to solve. The consequences of not speaking out for liberty, of not acting to uphold and defend liberty, is too great to bear. The foundation for our security is in liberty – with freedom from being forced into burkas, or out of them.

Footnotes

S. Cvach is a libertarian homeschooling parent, writer, and TCS advocate who lives in Arizona. Reach hir at cvach@mindspring.com.

1. To subscribe to the TCSsociety discussion group, please send a blank message to TCSsociety-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

To photographs taken at the US Libertarian Party National Convention

Back to Sarah Fitz-Claridge's speech, Is That a Burqa on the Bedroom Floor?

Back to Sarah Fitz-Claridge's article, The Burqa Incident

Copyright © 2002 S. Cvach