When I am weaker than you, I ask you for freedom because that is according to your principles; when I am stronger than you, I take away your freedom because that is according to my principles.
Whenever the talk turns to freedom, the principle behind the discourse tends to be hidden, for too often those shouting loudest for "freedom" are actually clamoring for power. Freedom to act without facing consequences, especially when harming others, isn't the practice of a cherished virtue; it is an act of unbridled selfishness. To insist upon such a right without accepting the responsibilities inherent in such a demand displays a contempt for the social contract between adults in a civil society.
The just exercise of power rests upon responsible decisions made in the best interests of the whole community; not upon the rapacious desires of a select minority. Limiting the rights of others to satisfy a craving for situational domination leads not to liberty, but to a subjugation of moral principles to ephemeral lusts.
Rationalizing exploitation by invoking the principle of freedom reveals not a longing for liberty, but a covetousness for control.
In this vein, the pursuit of the principle of "freedom" leads to a freedom from principles.
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