Liberty Is Precious - So Precious That It Must Be Rationed

There are several sayings that influence the way I treat other people.  Vladimir Ilyich Lenin’s “Liberty is precious – so precious that it must be rationed” has had a profound effect on me.  It reminded me that freedom is never absolute, and that it is important to put other people’s freedom first.  It is not just my political beliefs that determine goodwill to everyone I meet, it is a fact that good manners help us to socialise and avoid tension in society.  To say that liberty “must be rationed” is to say that we must all respect each other’s freedoms, and know when to curtail our own.  Realising that it is best to put others’ interests first is the first step to creating a tolerant, cohesive and helpful society.  I painted “Liberty is precious – so precious that it must be rationed” onto a t-shirt just to advertise this brilliant statement, and hopefully to get people to think about what liberty means.  We can’t all have total liberty.