The Natural Linguist

The recent Supreme Court decision involving the Hobby Lobby company has sparked a lot of commentary. With lots of friends and acquaintances all over the political spectrum, it has been interesting to read everyone's varying reactions. This has got me thinking about freedom on this day where we celebrate our freedom. The famous quote by the less-famous judicial philosopher Zechariah Chafee is a common refrain: "The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins." Some days it seems like everybody is worried about freedom. In the Hobby Lobby case, for example, those with a conservative viewpoint consider it a victory for religious freedom. Many people who identify with the liberal perspective see it as an ominous precedent, ultimately detrimental to personal liberty. To name another perennial hot-button topic, the debate about gun control is often phrased in terms of rights and freedom. On one side, people want to be free to carry a gun while others are