I was amused, and to some extent confused, when I first opened up the Daily on Wednesday.

The picture on the front page featured a sign with a very interesting quote from Benjamin Franklin, which basically stated that people who are willing to give up freedom in exchange for security deserve neither freedom nor security.

However, the message was not what confused me, but rather the fact that standing right next to that quotation was none other than the president of the esteemed ISU Democrats.

And I could not help but wonder if the word “economic” was placed in front of the words “freedom and security,” would the ISU Democrats still believe that was the case?

Certainly not.

While this is not necessarily true for all Democrats, the large majority seem willing to die for various social freedoms, such as the freedom to express oneself and be different.

But when it comes to economic freedoms, suddenly we hear horror stories about people losing jobs because of free trade, people freezing in their homes because of lack of price controls on heating oil and, in general, a call for more welfare, more Medicare and national health insurance, all to guarantee economic security.

To be an economic liberal, by definition, means demanding a restriction of economic freedoms in order to get temporary economic security.

The Founding Fathers, like Franklin, realized that both social and economic freedoms are crucial to the success of a democracy, and I imagine they would be rather disappointed if they saw how eroded those freedoms have become.

Niclo Hitchcock

Sophomore

Electrical Engineering