Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaimed four freedoms. Below are his own words as found in his January 6, 1941 State of the Union Address to the Congress.
“ In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression--everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way--everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want--which, translated into universal terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants--everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear--which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor--anywhere in the world.
That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called new order of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb.”
Freedom of Speech and Expression: There is no freedom unless one is free to speak their mind without fear of government oppression. This includes freedom to express ideas that are offensive and foolish. We can disagree with one another, but we must never try to silence another.
Freedom to Worship: Worship that is imposed is no worship at all. Worship can only happen when one freely chooses to engage in it. In our post-modern world we must support all people to worship as they see fit. This is true whether we are speaking of Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Wiccans, Hindus, or any other faith. Equally important is openness to those who choose to not to worship at all.
Freedom from Want: This comes down to economic justice. God gives more than enough for every person on earth to have plenty. Scarcity is due to sins of distribution. Freedom without basic necessities is merely an abstraction. All of God’s children need the basics of a decent and healthy life. A sustained and meaningful peace depends upon this.
Freedom from Fear: One cannot be truly free if they are a prisoner in their own home. Imagine the fear on the streets of Pakistan and Afghanistan. For that matter, there is fear on the streets of Kansas City. We need to work for a safe world in which people are free to walk down the streets at night. We need a world safe enough so that a child can assume that she/he will live to see adulthood.
FDR did not limit the scope of these freedoms to the United States. He laid out a vision for worldwide freedom. Can you imagine a world in which these four freedoms are realized? As a Christian, I believe it will happen. As a human, I believe I have a responsibility to work for it.
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