Eloquent, Jody
IMO, the freedoms we've given ourselves are the result of our history and our nature, both of which are, of course, absurdly broad and complex matters. History is economic, social, religious, military, geographic, legal, artistic...it all figures in the mix and plays a part in who we've become and how we live our lives.
It's an organic whole, each part relying on the others for meaning. It's the reporter and the poet and the campus organizer and the protester who give the soldier a society worth defending.