Let's talk a little about freedom. One of the important aspects of being free is being able to make choices that fit my needs as I see them. As long as my choice doesn't harm anyone else, I should not be prevented from making that choice, even if it is dangerous to me. No matter how stupid my choice may seem to others, if I choose to risk the consequences to myself, it should be my choice. If I weigh the risks and rewards and decide that it's worth the chance to me, I should be free to make the choice.

We make choices like that all the time, don't we? There is some risk, some cost, some downside, in any choice we make. We each make choices we know could have bad consequences... choices like overeating, spending more than we can afford, driving too fast, working too hard, or not getting enough exercise. Each of our situations is unique. A choice you make may be relatively safe for you, but be truly foolish for me. You may have choices open to you that just aren't possible for me. For example, you may be able to afford to risk getting a speeding ticket, so you take that chance willingly, while a fine for speeding may so hurtful to me that I just won't risk it.

There are so many important factors that go into those individual choices. There are choices I made when I was young that I just won't risk now... the aging process changes the downside. We learn from our individual choices; we learn what best fits us, what works for us and what doesn't, and occasionally, we discover a choice that produces good results for us despite being a bad choice for some other people. We experiment with our choices. Some people throw away food as soon as the expiration date passes. Having spent most of my life without expiration dates, I keep them until they smell bad. Some men use a new disposable razor every day, while I use mine dozens of times. Maybe they have tougher whiskers, or more tender skin? Different strokes for different folks. What is marvelous is that we each have those choices to make.

Choices are what make life fun and interesting... and rewarding. Choices allow us to individually build a lifestyle that suits us, that fits our likes and dislikes. We make employment choices that dictate how much money we might have to spend, then choose how to spend it... or save it, invest it, or give it away. Some people will work extremely hard to earn enough money to surround themselves with luxuries, while others will pass on some things in exchange for a more relaxed life.

It should be clear to all of us that there is risk in every choice. When we make a particular choice, we may be disgusted to discover a downside we hadn't anticipated. We learn from such experiences. We may still make the same choice again, accepting the risk of that downside, or we may just modify our choice a bit. Some will reject the choice forever. The diversity of our choices is truly amazing.

We need to appreciate just how important the freedom to make choices is. That freedom allows each of us to experiment, to attempt, to innovate, to create, modify, and to try new combinations. That freedom allows us to take big risks that can have big rewards. Every new product, new business, new service... and any sort of innovation all occur only because someone had the freedom to make a risky choice.

The more choices one has, the better the opportunity to create a satisfying life. We don't all have the same choices available to us. Some of us are born into more advantage than others. Some of us have varying handicaps that limit our success. Whatever the cause of our limitations, the more limited our capabilities are, the more valuable our freedom of choice becomes. As a simple example, having the choice of very cheap clothing may be of no importance to most of us, but it can be life-saving to a poor person. To some people, buying stale, day-old bread can be the difference between having bread or having none. It may seem trite, but poor choices really are better than no choice.

Tomorrow, I'll illustrate some of the ways in which many of our choices are being eliminated through government, what it is costing us, and who we're harming the most.