How is it that the two politicians who speak most often about freedom in America (Rand Paul and Ted Cruz) both voted against protecting GLBT workers from discrimination in the work place? Why are they so passionate when it comes to protecting a man’s rights over his gun, and so hostile or lukewarm when it comes to protecting a woman’s rights over her own body? Why do they seek freedom for business owners to exploit their workers, but oppose the right of workers to collectively bargain for safe working conditions and fair pay? Why do they seek to weaken the ability of citizens to control their own lives through democratic processes, and lift up instead a dog-eat-dog form of capitalism as the ultimate arbiter of human affairs?
It is no mystery why white men in a sexist, racist, and homophobic culture should worship freedom. Freedom means one thing to the wolf and something very different to the lamb. Unless one’s idea of freedom includes a counterbalance of equality, what one is really seeking is the freedom to bully.