Letters
45 Enemies of Freedom
I am shocked to see Jenny McCarthy on the front page with Michael Bloomberg, Mao Tse-Tung, and Richard Nixon, as one of reason's "45 Enemies of Freedom" (August/September). To me, an enemy of freedom is one who employs coercive force. Jenny McCarthy is merely exercising free speech. To my knowledge, she has not tried to use force of government to impose her will. Like many libertarians, she has exercised her free speech rights on a controversial topic.
The issue is not whether one agrees with her argument; it is freedom. As with other zealots, there are those who claim to have found the "truth," and seek to impose their will on others "for the common good." These statists are the enemies of freedom. Freedom doesn't get much more personal than the right of individuals to choose what is put into their bodies, and to accept or reject medical procedures.
Christopher Kent
Ramsey, NJ
Your article "45 Enemies of Freedom" left out the worst oppressor of all: the American voter. Every politician who tramples on freedom in the name of security, equality, diversity, or fairness was elected by American citizens who exercised their right to self-governance.
David Rohde
Kathleen, GA
To assert that Aaron Sorkin has done more to rob us of freedom than the over-regulating, murder-complicit, $60 million vacation-stealing usurper-in-chief now undermining us from the White House, is perhaps the most inane opinion you have rendered in your 45 years.
David Altschul
Nashville, TN
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