Freedom House is, accordingly to its own depiction:
“Freedom House is an independent nongovernmental organization that supports the expansion of freedom in the world. Freedom is possible only in democratic political systems in which the governments are accountable to their own people; the rule of law prevails; and freedoms of expression, association, and belief, as well as respect for the rights of minorities and women, are guaranteed.”
The creed of this organization is:
“Freedom ultimately depends on the actions of committed and courageous men and women. We support nonviolent civic initiatives in societies where freedom is denied or under threat and we stand in opposition to ideas and forces that challenge the right of all people to be free. Freedom House functions as a catalyst for freedom, democracy and the rule of law through its analysis, advocacy and action.”
The concept of liberty emerged as fundamental aspiration, for the first time, in the irradiation space of the Judeo-Christian philosophy. Liberty was first mentioned, as a aspiration and concept, in the Exodus.
The Exodus is the second component of the Pentateuch (Torah), and is acknowledged, as all “Mosses’ writings”, as revealed. The divine nature of the Torah is one of the central components of Mosaic rite. From a philosophical perspective, freedom as a concept in the Exodus, focuses on the God given, inherent right of the Jews to live accordingly to their ways and beliefs in the “promised land”. The second episode of the Torah is an essential moment in the theorizing process of freedom as the expression of religious and civic liberty.
The concept of freedom will pass, since then, through several conceptualizations until, the French and American revolutions, will sketch the contemporary comprehension and understanding of freedom. The XVIII siècle and the Modern epoch gave freedom its current role in shaping the mentality and values of the Euro-Atlantic world, as its core value.
In his essay “The myth of Democracy”, the Romanian historian, Lucian Boia, investigates the role of freedom in western democracies, and states, that from a theoretical perspective, freedom finds itself in a close interdependency with equality. Boia analyses the quintessential motto of the French revolution: “Liberty, equality, fraternity!”. In the times of the Jacobins, fraternity was nothing more than a generous project for the future, therefore the active concepts of the revolution were liberty and equality. Boia concludes that in freedom-focused societies, the concept of equality suffers limitations. But, as the Romanian historiographer concludes, the method goes both ways, egalitarian regimes having the tendency to suppress freedom. However, democracy needs both to mentain its viability, because liberty without equality is chaos and equality without liberty is tyranny.
Perhaps, from all the dimensions of freedom, the most important for the stability of a democratic society is the freedom of speech. The freedom of all citizens to publicly or privately express their opinion concerning the affairs of the state. A special place in this pantheon of opinions belongs to the freedom of press.
Abused by individuals and institutions altogether, the freedom of speech is irrefutably essential for the democratic development of our country. As I argued with other occasions, this privilege has to be associated with a vigorous self censorship, because freedom of speech should not be an instrument of vendetta.
Freedom House published, not to long ago, a world review regarding the amount of freedom the press has. Romania is situated on a very honorable place (94), between Panama and Peru, states widely known as bastions of democracy and freedom, around the world. The contempt shown to the press by Romanian politicians, the physical abuse some journalist had to endure, and the immoral conduit of the media got Romania where it is today, at the middle of the road between Finland and North Korea.
From my perspective, the liberty of press stays in the quill of every honest individual who assimilates himself to this profession, freedom being the straightest line between ones thoughts and a sheet of paper.
