"Freedom For" Chastity

The role of chastity (which goes beyond abstinence and lasts a lifetime, through one's vocation to the single or the married life) in the political spectrum is surprising. It displays the value society continue to places in committed relationships, as well as our emphasis on "freedom from" limitations to our actions, including sex.

Bill Clinton exemplified the "freedom from" mentality when he cheated on his wife, now potentially the next president of the United States, by participating in an inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky and the other famous women of our teenage years. In this action, Bill was embracing his God-given and American freedom as "freedom from" restrictions on his personal desires, opening up to him the option to pursue these affairs. While many people desired we "leave the poor man alone", in general, I think most people were disappointed by his infidelity and his choice to lie about it, because we want to be able to trust our president, and because we value relationship commitments, whether or not they are within marriage.

Current candidate Barack Obama has provided another example of "freedom from," found in Joe's post this week. He is cited saying that women should have the 'right to choose' because they should not be "punished" with an unplanned baby after having sex. This example, like that of Clinton's affair, shows us the ridiculousness of the "freedom from" mentality: rather than focusing on the virtuous choices available to us thanks to freedom and, specifically, free will, these individuals are advocating an 'anything-goes' attitude that leaves almost no room for trust and faith in the Lord, who is the center of our lives.

"Freedom for," on the other hand, means using one's freedom to live out God's will. It is freedom for a virtuous life, where it is entirely up to us to make our decisions. Even Mary, without sin and in her special relationship with God, had the freedom to say no to giving birth to the Son of God. This conscious, Christ-centered (or even non-Christian, morality-centered) mindset is missing in these two examples of "freedom from", and we can find happiness in Him only when we see that with sex-related issues and all moral dilemmas of our lives, we are called to embrace our "freedom for" service to our Lord.