True Freedom or Ordered Liberty: Facing Corruption and Reclaiming Our Responsibility

Charles "Ghost" Coutts
6 hours ago
8 min read

(Opinion) For educational and informational purposes only.

True freedom, in its purest form, is anarchy—no laws, no consequences, no restraints. You can do whatever you wish to anyone at any time without fear of punishment. That is absolute freedom.

Yet most of us, when honest with ourselves, do not want that kind of world. That is called barbarism, and we created civilization to get away from that kind of world. We want safety for our families, prosperity through work and innovation, and a relatively comfortable life that we control. We want to build, trade, raise children, and plan for the future without constant fear of robbery, violence, or chaos, including from our government. Achieving this requires rules, laws, and—yes—control.

This control doesn't start as tyranny; instead, it arises from a mutual agreement among individuals who choose not to live at the mercy of those who are simply stronger or more ruthless. They create a society based on mutual respect for the individual while also promoting collective benefits such as jobs, commerce, infrastructure, healthcare, and security. They refer to this system as free market capitalism, distinguishing it from crony capitalism. The corruption that capitalism as a whole gets blamed for by the same people practicing crony capitalism. See how that works? Check out the video for more context/clarity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1I9bXDW8HI

The society establishes criminal offenses with real consequences—such as fines, imprisonment, exile, or worse—because actions must have repercussions.

The keyword is agreement. When laws reflect broad consent and serve the common good, societies can grow and prosper in relative safety. But agreement frays because human nature intrudes. Ever notice how people seem to get along with each other pretty well until the government starts dictating how we have to get along with each other? Something to think about.

The Inevitable Reality of Corruption

“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help” ~Ronald Reagan

Contrary to popular belief, humans are not born inherently good, with society corrupting us. Both history and psychology indicate that we are flawed by nature—selfish, prone to greed, and capable of great evil when unrestrained. Civilization is not our default state; it is a continuous and hard-won effort to resist our base impulses. We must be taught virtue, accountability, and self-restraint. Those who do not learn those lessons become criminals, outcasts, and untrustworthy people. In other words, they inevitably become the very people civilization was created to protect us from.

During our early years, we learn how to be "good" and how to resist our natural instincts so that we can function within society. While cultural differences may vary widely, the core principles that define a 'civilized' society remain essentially the same everywhere. Civilization is not merely a state of mind or a belief system; it consists of a set of rules and the consequences for breaking those rules that the majority of people in that society agree to follow. Refuse to follow the rules, and society rightfully rejects you. This foundational system, as imperfect as it may be, is what makes civilization possible.

Corruption occurs when individuals or groups alter rules and consequences to benefit themselves rather than the society they are meant to serve. It represents a betrayal of trust that arises because we give too much power to imperfect individuals and systems, expecting them to be flawless. There are indeed bad people in this world, and they are often drawn to power like moths to a flame. This is why we must pay close attention to what our representatives—not leaders—are doing and understand who they truly are before granting them authority over our lives. To me, this seems like common sense.

Corruption has been a constant throughout the entire history of governments, whether large or small. Power tends to concentrate, and self-interest often takes precedence. The recurring outcomes are cultural decay, economic strain or collapse, and eventually, tyranny. We cannot eliminate corruption any more than we can eliminate human flaws; it is an inherent part of entrusting authority to imperfect people.

But here lies the crucial discipline and harsh reality check: while we cannot prevent corruption’s existence, we can and must control how we respond to it.

Our Choice: Capitulation or Action

This is where Stoicism, my favorite discipline, serves as a powerful and practical framework. We may not be able to control “it”—whether corruption, flawed leaders, or external events—but we can always control how we react or respond to whatever “it” is. Understanding the difference is critical.

Reacting is emotional, impulsive, and often feeds the status quo: complaints of “That’s not fair!” followed by resignation, outrage without follow-through, or continued apathy. Responding, by contrast, is deliberate and leads to meaningful action—to prevent further damage, reverse course where possible, or support what is right, depending on the circumstances.

Stoicism teaches self-mastery and self-accountability above all else. It begins with the individual and projects outward. As Carl Jung observed, the psychology of the group is rooted in the psychology of the individual. Leo Tolstoy adds to it: everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing themselves. More on this HERE.

Adopting Stoic principles—focusing on what is within our control, cultivating virtue, and taking radical responsibility—gives us the pathway to real change. If we choose to walk it. We made this mess through our own apathy and complacency. We cannot blame anyone but ourselves, and that means only we can clean it up. By improving ourselves first through self-accountability and discipline, our impact on society becomes more positive. Just as negativity spreads, so can positivity. It can catch fire once it begins. If we are sick and tired of the negativity around us, we have a choice: stop contributing to it and start putting more positive, accountable energy into the world.

In the United States, this responsibility falls squarely on us. We, the people, are the source of the government’s legitimate power. We granted it authority through the Constitution and our consent. Yet through generational inattention, complacency, and self-centered focus on our own lives, we allowed that power to expand unchecked. Officials abused what we handed them while we looked the other way. Now, many are shocked by how much control resides in distant bureaucracies and institutions.

Blaming only the government overlooks the real issue and continues to perpetuate the problem. The government isn't the solution—it's part of the problem because we failed to limit its power. Through our neglect, we contributed to this situation. Recognizing this truth is uncomfortable because it requires us to take action. It demands that we risk our comfort, reputation, and social approval to stand up, pay attention, and resist. Are you afraid of being labeled? I grew up with the sticks and stones rhyme, so I'm not afraid of words; they can't hurt me unless I let them. No one can offend me unless I allow it. No one can make me angry unless I permit it. That's a choice. Call me whatever you want, and I don't care as long as it's not too late for dinner. This is called emotional maturity, and if words hurt your feelings, you haven't achieved it yet, and that's not opinion; it is a fact.

The positive aspect is that (minus pathology), you can alter that fact whenever you decide to. Watch the videos I provided at the bottom, which will explain precisely how to do it using ancient knowledge that schools no longer teach. I wonder why that might be?

Harsh reality check: Words cannot hurt you unless you allow them to. Feeling offended is a natural reaction that we can't control, but choosing to stay offended and letting it escalate is a conscious decision. It's important to be emotionally mature enough to let it go. If you're not, that is your issue to resolve; it’s not the world's responsibility. The rest of the world is not obligated to tiptoe around you or anyone else. Your emotions are yours, and you are the only one responsible for them. It's time to grow up!

Reclaiming the Agreement

Addressing this situation does not mean, as some might believe, reverting to pure anarchy by adopting lenient crime policies, such as those that allow dangerous criminals to return to the streets and victimize innocent families under a twisted understanding of altruism. This inevitably leads to unsafe communities and chaos—essentially, it leads to anarchy. And don't kid yourself, the people pushing it all know this. So we should all be asking some serious questions about that and many other things, don't you think?

Our goal is to prevent and end such extreme scenarios because we understand the future consequences they bring. Instead, we should focus on returning to the original intent of our mutual agreement: to establish laws and institutions that protect individual rights, apply consequences fairly, and remain accountable to the people who created them. These are the fundamental principles upon which this nation was founded. We have allowed corrupt individuals to undermine these principles and use them against us. Laws are only effective when they are enforced, and ultimately, it is our responsibility—through our voice and our vote—to ensure that we elect the right people to office to uphold these laws. To do our will, not their own, and that means we have to pay attention to signs of trouble and act (not ignore) accordingly.

The Constitution only protects us if we protect it, and if we had been holding up our end of the bargain all of this time, we would not be in this situation to begin with. That is not my opinion, folks, it is a fact! One, I have great regret over being a part of. Hindsight is 20/20, and it really sucks sometimes, but with that brutal clarity also comes opportunity for change. If we choose to pursue it.

This requires work, vigilance, skepticism of centralized power, transparency, and active civic engagement, beginning at the local level and extending upwards. Ask WHY instead of just going along with it. We have not been fulfilling these responsibilities for a long time, which is, again, precisely why we find ourselves in our current predicament as a nation. This is our failure; we, the people, dropped the ball, and the opposing team picked it up, sprinting towards the goal posts. However, we can still tackle them and reclaim the ball if we work together. Time is running out, though.

We will never achieve a corruption-free government because we will never achieve corruption-free humans. But we can limit the damage. We can slow and even repair the decay. We can prevent the slide into deeper tyranny by refusing to surrender more power and by actively defending the boundaries we once all agreed upon. US! The society, not some faceless bureaucrat, that suffers no consequences for being wrong or betraying us.

The bargain of civilized life is imperfect. It trades absolute freedom for ordered liberty and relative safety. Maintaining that bargain requires effort, self-discipline, and the willingness to resist our own worst impulses—both individually and collectively. Apathy buys temporary comfort at the cost of eventual and greater loss. Vigilance renews freedom and preserves our agency as individuals while cooperatively working for the betterment of society as a whole. On OUR terms, not the state's terms.

I always keep in mind a quote from the Clint Eastwood movie "The Outlaw Josie Wales" when he was talking with Ten Bears that summed things up pretty good for me- "Governments don't live together, people live together." It's time we stopped letting the government tell us how we have to live together because I don't think it is working out so well, not for us anyway. How about you?

The power—and the duty—has always rested with us. We foolishly gave it away, and now we are paying the price for that decision. Corruption will always come. The only question that matters is whether we meet it with weakness and surrender, or with resolve and action. We have been doing the former for far too long, and look at where we are. How about we give the other option a try for a while and see how that works out for us? It is a choice we all need to make because, in the words of Robert W. Service’s poem published in 1921 in Ballads of a Bohemian. "It's later than you think." So we need to make sure we don't postpone or procrastinate ourselves right into tyranny, again. You would think we would have learned this lesson by now. But alas, NO!