23 Sep 2026

It’s A Free Country … No ?

When I was in grade school so long ago, a hard-headed classmate named Joey delighted in breaking “the rules,” i. e., disciplinary regulations the nuns enforced with stunning (and I do mean stunning) force. When the Good Sisters took Joey to task, he’d use the feckless excuse, “It’s a free country…”

Of course, Joey’s alibi carried no weight with the ever-wise Sisters, whose guidance in-and-out of the classroom lasted a lifetime in the minds and hearts of countless children. Happily, the influence of those Good Nuns was not limited to the facts of our Faith. Here’s an example…

A large American flag hung conspicuously in the front of every classroom. Each school day began with students reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America (do you remember the words?). We recited the Pledge in unison, our right hands pressed against our hearts. Our Pledge was led by the Principal, Sister Patricia, whose voice over the loud speaker flooded every classroom and taught us that we were - and are - proud to be Americans.

The Sisters also invited members of the military to address the students and describe the life of service to our nation to which they were committed. Clearly, Patriotism was as fresh and vibrant to us as the necessity of self-discipline which, we learned, was the logical basis and ultimate purpose of “the rules.”

Patriotism And Faith

We also learned that Patriotism and Faith are clear affirmations of personal beliefs and commitments - statements of a heritage with specific responsibilities and personal obligations to God and Country.

Given this thorough explanation of Patriotism and Faith, one can see that the modern emphases on individual “freedom” without limits denies both the laws of God and our nation’s hard-won heritage of limited rights. With the rise of Marxist ideology among some voters, America courts annihilation by false assimilation.

Secular individualism today denies the natural limits of true freedom which always carries restraints. History is clear: Marxism is deadly to our way of life and brings profound risks for our American heritage … yet this lesson is lost on some citizens.

The discipline we experienced with the Good Nuns was rigorous and demanding, to be sure … but the principled education we received from them has been profoundly valuable for a lifetime. Patriotism and Faith were given to us not only in our curriculum but (on a deeper level) as part of our identity as Americans … and as human beings.

The “Why” Of It All

This mutual emphasis on Patriotism and Faith was based on the belief that every human person is created in the image and likeness of God and therefore possesses inviolable dignity which the State must respect.

Furthermore, we were taught that belief in God and Country is enshrined with historic acuity in our U. S. Constitution and its Amendments, which are the result of decades of suffering by individuals who – to this day – embody the universal struggle for God-given human dignity and true freedom.

We learned that true freedom always - always - exists within limits (“the rules”) which are legally and morally defined on natural and supernatural levels for the Common Good. And we learned that true freedom is not (and cannot be) determined by individual whim, by emotions or by fleeting urges.

Given this context of discipline’s link to true freedom which our education stressed, it was clear to us that no ideology of hatred or contempt for another person is morally tolerable or patriotically defensible. And we learned that it is not our Constitutional system which fails; it is people who fail to honor the dignity of others, expressed by Divine mandate and Constitutional principle.

From the truth of human dignity, we were taught to reject every form of intolerance, discrimination and hate speech that threatens peaceful coexistence in our world and, thus, undermines the Common Good.

The Common Good

What is the Common Good?

The Common Good represents a variety of conditions in societies and social life which allow various groups and individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their fulfilment.

To be sure, the Common Good is not a clear-cut reality in every circumstance, so this definition requires caution and good judgment in real life. Over time and History, cultures vary about what’s required for fulfillment of peoples’ basic needs. These differences spawn responsibilities which require every nation to consider the honest, essential needs and legitimate aspirations of groups, in light of the general welfare of the entire human family.

Thus, discernment about what constitutes the Common Good can be a complex process, requiring decades of study and research. It demands great patience, many prudential decisions and different public policies at different times.

Every society differs; every generation demands understanding. But let us also never forget that societies are really persons, individual human beings with hopes and aspirations and dreams and loves and fears and talents. To build and maintain a culture which has no false ideas about Good and Evil … a culture in which the dignity and future of each person is paramount … that ideal underpins the Common Good.

In the secular world, securing the Common Good should be the overriding concern of men and women whom we elect in our politics and our social action leaders. It is (or should also be) the ultimate point and guiding principle of business and industry.

In the spiritual world, the Common Good is furthered (or should be) by the moral lessons of our churches and by our educational systems … and, most of all, by adult example in family life.

Obstacles

Unfortunately, evils exist in our society which undermine the Common Good as they undermine human dignity. Society is not served by many morally untethered beliefs which have wide acceptance in the Western world today.

Practices which oppose the fundamental right to life and violate the dignity of human person are rampant. Examples are plentiful: murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia and suicide.

In addition, there are accepted practices which also violate the integrity of, and respect for, the human person. These include mutilation, slavery, human trafficking, use and sale of illicit drugs, trans-gender practices, prostitution and child abuse.

Some people have no regard for human dignity, reverence for the human body or for our responsibilities to one another and to ourselves. Unfortunately, our society still disagrees about which practices must be abolished. Technical advances also obliterate the primacy of moral judgments and cloud our ability to make plausible claim that we honor the Common Good as the priority in our culture.

Finally . . .

Our mutual dignity as human beings is written in the soul of humanity, but it is often lost on some people, forgotten by many, ignored in the heat of the moment, ridiculous to those who see others as threats or to whom life is a chance to “… get all you can before the selfish guys do …”

Despite our human frailty and lapses of reverence for moral restraint which haunt humanity, we have a spiritual component within us: we have a soul, created by Divine mandate. God is often elusive to us, yet is ever-present … and ever-smiling.

Thus, our choice to follow the moral path is always before us. The Way still beckons; the Truth still exists. God understands our foibles … and He forgives. He is ever forgiving … and He smiles upon us.

So, despite our forgetful natures and our moral blunders, let us remember our final destiny with repentant heart … and let us be grateful to our forgiving God. Our alternative is darkness, a deep and endless darkness with no light from God’s smiling face, no breath of relief and solace when we hear Him say, “I understand you – and I embrace you, faults and all… for you are mine, and always have been.”