Where Freedom Is Cheap

Freedom is cheap, sometimes, and in some places. This may be the first time many of you have heard such a sentiment. We typically celebrate the opposite: freedom is very expensive and has been purchased time and again with the blood of our service members. It was certainly originally purchased for us at the hugely expensive price of our Revolutionary War, expensive not just in blood but in money. We went hugely in debt and spent the better part of the 19th century paying it off, mostly to France which financed most of our war against England. But on this 235th birthday celebration for our nation and our freedoms, I did something that, on the surface, may seem a little out of spirit for the holiday.

I just returned from the Vin Diesel film, "Fast Five," which is basically just a high-octane escapist chase film, and I wasn’t expecting much but it surprised me. Besides being relatively entertaining, it reminded me that there are places and times when and where freedom is quite cheap, something few of us, including myself, rarely appreciate. And such times and places exist right here in the U.S. (Hint: they also exist in every other country in the world.)

From that point of view, it was actually a pretty appropriate film for the 4th of July. Nothing patriotic about it at all, it was the story of a group of criminals headed by Vin Diesel and their quest to pull off an impossible heist - steal $150 million dollars from Brazil’s most powerful and notorious drug lord. But it did illustrate the flip side of patriotism, that is that there are places where freedom is quite cheap. I’m speaking, of course, of the world of crime and, specifically, of organized crime.

It does hinge, though, on your definition of freedom. Freedom, at least in the U.S., is supposed to be what the Bill of Rights says it is – speech, assemblage, press, religion. Unfortunately, I simply have had too many conversations with too people who think of freedom in another sense altogether – that it is the ability to do what you want to do. And they always mean that in terms of material possessions. That means money. It is precisely that motivation that attracts people to crime.

I’ve always counted myself so fortunate to have had parents who had an entirely opposite world view. Both being products of the Great Depression, money meant little to them and valued it only insofar as keeping food on the table and the utilities turned on. My parents taught us all to live below our means, sometimes considerably below. My father was notorious for rinsing off paper towels and drying them for repeated re-uses. It is something for which I’ve always owed them a great debt of gratitude, teaching me that true freedom means not allowing my wealth (or for that matter lack thereof) to define me. Even when I was making a very good salary as a financial manager in California, I always lived on about half of my paycheck. My mother, the ultimate stretcher of the buck, even thinks I take it too far sometimes, waiting for months and sometimes years after I have the money saved before buying something I want very badly. My three most prized possessions: my USC class ring, my Pontiac Vibe, and my Ritmuller baby grand piano - I purchased years after I had the money saved.

Cousin Mark gives me the hardest time about this. His view is like most people’s: the only good reason not to buy something is that you don’t have the money. Once you have the money saved, buy it already!  He doesn’t understand at all why I don’t run out and buy my Mac computer tomorrow since I’ve had the money for three years. Yes, I’ve talked to too many people who do not buy into this at all. When I ask them, "What do you need to improve your life, what would make you happy?" – the answer is ALMOST always, "More money!" Thankfully, we live in a country where the vast majority of us, whether we believe in this or not, choose to pursue wealth legitimately, through the traditional paths of higher education and hard work.

But there is that minority who believes in taking the short cuts and pursuing wealth through crime. So I was surprised at "Fast Five" tonight because it was a little more than just a diverting entertainment. It portrayed in a very high-octane way what happens to those who pursue wealth through crime. And it isn’t what you’d think, it isn’t the popular adage, "Crime doesn’t pay." I think we all know that’s a load of crap. Crime does pay. Sometimes it pays huge. If it didn’t pay, nobody would become a criminal. A brief look at crime statistics showing just how many unsolved crimes are on and off the books is ample proof that crime does indeed pay. It’s easy money, that is compared to higher education and hard work. It’s a very easy way to purchase the ability to live the way you want and do what you want if, like many people, this is your definition of freedom. In that respect, crime makes freedom very cheap.

There’s just one problem with it. It ain’t real! It’s not really freedom. As "Fast Five" so ably pointed out, criminals do not have freedom. For most of them, it’s only a matter of time before they finally get caught, though this may take many years. They can do a thousand things right, but just one mistake can end it all.  (In the legitimate world, we are allowed a plethora of mistakes, as long as they're honest ones.)  Meanwhile, they can’t really enjoy their wealth because they must be constantly looking over their shoulder. And their biggest threat is not even from the law but from their own fellow criminals. Cross a crime boss and you’re dead man. Do as you’re told or you’re dead. At least in the legit world, the worst thing that can ever happen to you is getting fired. The biggest fallacy in the easy pursuit of wealth through crime is that, though crime does indeed pay and you will be able to enjoy your "freedom" and maybe even some power for a while, it all comes with the very severe limitation of a very probable short life expectancy. That's something every teenager should be told before they start thinking about bending the rules. 

"Fast Five" is not the only gangster film that has driven this point home. Such great classics as James Cagney’s, "The Roaring Twenties," which I am watching on TCM as I write this, and more modern classics such as "The Godfather" trilogy, Goodfellas, Casino, and Donnie Brasco all hammer this home mercilessly. Crime is not freedom; it is the polar opposite, so people who go into crime in pursuit of freedom through easy wealth are just fooling themselves. In "Goodfellas," there was this terrifying scene where Joe Pesci just arbitrarily guns down a waiter just because the kid made a wisecrack he didn’t like. Near the end of "Donnie Brasco," Al Pacino walks up to his long-time partner and friend Bruno Kirby and shoots him twice in the back of the head. Why? Simply because the boss told him to. That’s the world of crime. You can be bumped off at any time. You do as you’re told or you get killed. And even when you’re doing well, you live your whole life looking over your shoulder.

So tonight I was reminded of the horrible world that criminals are forced to inhabit, whether they understand this or not when they first get sucked in by the promise of easy cash, and of the many great gangster films that illustrate this world. Though I’ve always basically appreciated this, tonight I appreciate it anew. Freedom may not be cheap but at least we live in one of the few countries in the world (maybe the only) where freedom is probably the cheapest, that is where we have more opportunites and more resources available for higher education and work than most any other country so that we can much more easily pursue our dreams without resorting to crime.  The Declaration of Independence basically says that freedom is about the pursuit of happiness.  The Bill of Rights basically says that the pursuit of happiness is about freedom - but freedom for everyone, not just those with whom we agree.  Try explaining that one to a new immigrant.  That's why we've had 235 years of debate and still can't agree on what it all means.  So this really has been quite a patriotic 4th for me.

There has been a rather shocking story in the news in the last couple of days that drives this point home about crime in America in an even more dramatic fashion. Tomorrrow, I will write about that. So there will soon be a Part Two to my Fourth of July tribute.