This article is about the central role that freedom plays in our sense of
justice. We only realize how important it is for us, living in a democracy,
when we're about to lose it. Remember the Second World War, the people that
have been taken hostage and held captive for years in Lebanon or by the
ETA in Spain. Freedom is a basic human right, and this is so obvious, that
we easily take it for granted and overlook it. People just tend to ignore
it. This is an injustice, because ignoring basic rights is immoral, it is
also immoral where animals are concerned.
Why is freedom so important?
Law
In the phrasing of our basic human rights in the constitutions
of many countries, freedom is the first and the most important issue.
A basic human right is a right that is indisputable.
Religion
The history of freedom as a basis for our laws
dates back to the times long before the birth of Christ. In
both religion and spirituality, freedom is the most important
issue in rules that believers impose on themselves, at least
it is if you agree with that the saying "do unto others as
you would have done unto yourself" can be translated as "where
the freedom of another person starts, mine ends". This is
also known as the Golden Rule, the center of all human ethics.
Where people are concerned, it is necessary to enshrine this
basic right in civil and religious law, because sometimes
we have the tendency to cross other people's boundaries, or
restrict other peoples freedom. This is not always done on
purpose. Too often people only realize a border was crossed
after the occurrence.
Health
The importance of freedom is similar to the importance
of health. Health is a form of freedom. We don't know for sure whether
or not animals can suffer and become ill when they are robbed of their
freedom, but we do know that animals will do anything to keep themselves
from being locked up. That an animal suffers from a lack of freedom or
the ability to exhibit natural behavior is often deduced from the behavior
that animals in captivity typically display. A common example is the restless
rhythmic swaying motion that polar bears exhibit when their freedom of
movement is restricted.
Nature
In nature freedom is evident. The term "Free
Nature" is testament to this. Lack of freedom among animals
only exists due to illness or old age, but luckily death then
quickly liberates the animal from suffering. None of the many
species in nature takes another species' freedom away, except
for a short period in which one eats the other. However, neither
human meat eaters nor vegetarians have a problem when animals
eat each other.
Finally, there is our instinct which tells us
to stand up for a group that is forced to live in an unjust
situation.
Ethics and responsibility
Freedom is a good basis of ethics: what enlarges freedom
is right, what reduces freedom is wrong. But freedom can't
exist without drawing boundaries. bounderies aren't fixed
and more freedom brings with it more responsibilities. Not
everyone likes to carry responsibilities, so therefore some
people consciously or unconsciously opt for less freedom,
but feel freer in the process. Everyone has the right to draw
his own border where another person is concerned. It's not
done (etiquette) to force others to draw a border against
their will.
Setting limits
So how about drawing bounderies? Isn't that limitation
of freedom? It's not accidental that someone is sentenced to imprisonment
when he exceeds limits or crosses bounderies set by society. The perpetrator
is punished with what is most dear to him: the taking away of his freedom.
People are free, unless they exceed the established limits or clearly
cross bounderies.
With animals it is more difficult to see whether we have
crossed their bounderies, we can't communicate with animals
about it. Animals have only limited means to draw borders.
Drawing a border and trying to increase one's own space is
natural. When restricting someone else's space, which is an
invention of humankind, a human has to justify himself for
this act. A human does not have to justify himself where animals
are concerned, except in the case of deliberate abuse. How
does the law regulate this?
Moral obligation to protect
In order to draw bounderies for criminals we have the police
and the department of justice. They have the means to protect
our borders against people who cross them. The police and
the department of justice are duty bound to deny criminals
their freedom for only as long as is necessary. In our system
of law, freedom is guaranteed to such an extent that even
a criminal has the right to freedom. When talking doesn't
help, it can and may be necessary to force a person on moral
and ethical grounds to respect another person's bounderies
It is the duty of society to protect the weaker group, for
example, handicapped people are protected against unfair exploitation.
The animal is, compared to the exploiting owners of factory
farms, the weaker group that cannot stand up for itself. In
nature the law of the fittest, strongest, smartest or fastest
prevails. By protecting the weaker group in combination with
a guarantee for freedom we surpass nature.
Basic rights come first and last
Every call to make an exception to basic rights or to bypass
them is immoral. It does not matter whether the call is based on economic
or on emotional grounds or whether the existence of factory farms is defended
with the argument that jobs and national interests are 'endangered'. Basic
rights come first and last. To weight economic consequences as equal is
immoral.
