啊！自由：若为自由故，两者皆可抛............ Give me Liberty or Give me Death

西方人崇尚自由，那是不容置疑的。在中学读书时，这首匈牙利爱国诗人裴多菲所写的诗，给我留下深刻印象，几十年不忘：
生命诚可贵 , 爱情价更高。 若为自由故, 两者皆可抛。
诗人写这首诗和所表达对自由的追求，自有其特殊的环境和背景。历来西方伟大人物，无不称颂自由的重要和可贵：
[美]帕特里克·亨利：不自由，毋宁死。
[美]本杰明·富兰克林：哪里有自由，哪里就是我的祖国。
大概没有多少人会对自由的理念有异意。问题在于达到自由的手段。所以，不少人也对自由有了感叹和警惕：
[美]米尔顿·弗里德曼：对自由的严重威胁在于权力的集中。
[法]罗兰夫人：自由啊！自由！多少罪恶假汝之名而行！
中国孔子一辈子提倡道德自由：“七十而从心所欲不逾矩”，这应该算是站在个人的角度，划出了个人自由与社会自由之间的界限。可见，中国人有史以来就有自由观念。可是孔子的这个理念从来没有经过制度化，所以未能建立在合法的基础上。有人把这种精神领域的中国式自由称为“散漫的自由”、“一盘散沙的自由”。尽管它随时随地都存在，然而也随时随地都有丧失的可能。

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There is no doubt that many people in the West think that it is extremely important to have Freedom/Liberty. Here are some quotations about freedom and liberty:

Sándor Petõfi, a Hungarian poet: Liberty, love! These two I need. For my love I will sacrifice life, for liberty I will sacrifice my love. (The Chinese version says: Life is dear, love is dearer. Both can be given up for freedom.)

Patrick Henry, a US orator, patriot, & politician in American Revolution (1736 - 1799): Give me liberty or give me death.

Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790), one of the founding fathers of the United States of America: Where there is liberty, there is my country.

I think very few people would argue against the importance of freedom. However, there may be some disagreements on the ways and means to achieve freedom and liberty. There are therefore people who comment on the threats to and express their disappointment on the misuse of freedom:

Milton Friedman (1912 - 2006), an American economist: The great threat to freedom is the concentration of power.

Marie-Jeanne Roland (1754-1793), a French writer and political figure: O Liberty, what crimes are committed in thy name!

In China, it can be said that Confucius mentioned the idea of freedom when he said: "At seventy I could follow the desires of my mind without overstepping the boundaries of what is right." However, such an idea has never been institutionalised, and up till today, it remains a dream to be fulfilled by individuals.