"Freedom" is not having to think about government, its rules, or its enforcers. It is being able to pursue happiness however you want as long as you do not harm anyone else. Government harms others so the practice of governing is not a "right" and is antithetical to freedom.
Governments are established (it has been said) in order to secure life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. No other reason. If government is not doing its job, it should be fired.
Has the government, at any level, enriched your life today? Has it protected your individual liberty in a concrete way today? Has government gotten out of the way and allowed you to pursue happiness? Or has government and its minions endangered your life by filling our land with badged highwaymen hopped up on "authority" and adrenaline, and forced you to be disarmed for freelance criminals to prey on? Has government taken anyone you know prisoner for the simple act of owning or using something in a non-aggressive way that the government does not approve of? Does government forbid you to do the things that bring joy to your heart, and fill your life with meaning, simply because the majority of lawmakers do not understand your interests? If you have experienced government doing any of these things, in direct violation of its charter to exist, then you have first-hand knowledge of why government must be brought back in line with the laws that apply to it, or if it resists, be abolished. The rules were clear. Government is established for A, B, &C, yet government does -A, -B, & -C. That adds up to zero. Zero government, with individual responsibility, is what freedom means to me.
