The Maverick Observer

Freedom is not license; it is not anarchy.  Under freedom, no man is free to do entirely as he likes. After all, freedom involves morality; it involves discipline, an inner discipline, a conscience within the individual ever reminding him that his freedom stops where the other fellow’s freedom begins, that no man is really free if he renders another man less free. And it makes no difference who lessens freedom, whether it stems from private or public sources.  The fact is that most usurpation of freedom has stemmed from the latter.  As liberal reformer Woodrow Wilson noted; “The history of liberty is a history of the limitations of governmental power, not the increase of it.”

Indeed, this was the design for the American dream, for our Constitutional society.  The design was carefully laid down by the Founding Fathers. They realized that freedom was not a grant of government.  Such a grant would then be but a slender reed, for what government could grant, government could clearly also take away.  In fact, freedom stems from a much higher authority than government.  The Declaration of Independence holds “that all men are….endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

So through the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the authors of our Federal Republic insisted for the sake of liberty that men in public office could not be blindly trusted, that they had to be made accountable and responsible, that the American government was to be strictly limited in its powers, subject to checks and balances, and expressly prohibited from infringing on the endowed freedom of the individual.  Ours was to be a government of law, not of men.  (Excerpt from FEE Freedom Cuts Two Ways, by Robert C. Tyson, dated September 1, 1968)

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Like everyone, our individual history shapes our future. A Colorado Springs native, I was “living the dream” in a town of 60,000 people, born into a family whose business was newspapers. My grandfather, R.C., was the founder and CEO of Freedom Newspapers, Inc. while my father Harry was the publisher of The Gazette Telegraph in Colorado Springs. They both had a profound influence on my life. R.C. and Harry were men of high principles and concrete ideas reinforced in steel. R.C. cherished freedom as portrayed in this quote:

“Freedom is the right of a man to choose how he controls himself, as long as he respects the equal rights of every other individual to plan and control his own life. In short it means self-control and self-governance, no more, no less.”

R.C. disliked public schools as he believed they indoctrinated people rather than taught them how to deduce issues and ideas for themselves. He did not believe politicians were open, accountable, responsible or for that matter honest. My father Harry believed almost the same thing.

I would wind up being the last male Hoiles heir when my cousin, James Hoiles, died in 1964. I was only twelve, and his death changed my life. The family, who believed and preached in individual freedom for decades, succeeded in controlling my future. The “sacred ownership of Freedom Newspapers stocks” now meant I would be subservient to the wishes of my father and uncle – a confusing dichotomy that to this day continues to baffle! Important thoughts guiding me at this time in my life:

• I AM a newspaperman through and through regardless of my reluctant beginnings.
• I believe in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.
• I believe the concept of the Fourth Estate, as championed by Edmond Burke in the late 1700s, has never been as important as it is today.
• I believe in presenting thoroughly researched facts to people in an open and honest way that allows them to form their own opinion. They must have the right to challenge those facts when they are wrong.
• I believe the world needs standards and accurately reported science.
• I believe governments and businesses must be open, accountable and responsible.
• I believe there are people who enjoy lording it over other people, who only care about themselves. They like wearing their Emperor’s New Clothes.
• I believe in the right of differing views. One should not force their opinion on somebody else. Totalitarianism is horrible!
• I believe the use of force, except when protecting your own life or the lives of others’, is unacceptable.
• I believe sheep, shepherds and sheep dogs exist in this world for many reasons.
• I believe the following quote from Ayn Rand is applicable today:

“When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing – When you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors – When you see men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you – When you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice – You may know that your society is doomed.” (Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, 1957)

Finally, I believe with fervent faith, that homo sapiens are capable of doing better, of striving for greatness with respect and dignity for one another. They are forging a future that is in keeping with our founding fathers and the men and women who came before me.