The Rotary Balita no. 659 (November 16, 1950).

I used to live in a little barrio where life was simple and beautiful. I was happy there with my carabaos and my chickens and the little vegetable garden that was all my own. My father worked on a little farm and we had plenty to eat. I do not live there anymore. Because men with guns came and took away my chickens and vegetables and killed my carabaos. And yet, they say, some of these men were sent by the government to protect us from other men who were bad. When my father told them that we would not have enough to eat, if they took most of our things, they said he was one of those bad men they were after. So my father kept quiet and let them have their way. So we left that beautiful place that had always been our home because even the birds would not sing anymore. They were driven away by the crack of guns. So today, we are not as happy as we used to be. We live in want, because my father cannot work his farm in peace. We live in fear of losing what little we have left. We are not, in a sense, free. Now I realize what freedom means. Now I know why men of all ages fought and died for it. Now I know that to preserve our freedom, we must not have too much of it. We must always keep it in a state of balance. Each one of us can only have so much of it. Once we go beyond our allotted portion of it, we deprive others of their just share. Liberty, for instance, does not include the right to burn one's house, just because it is his own and can do whatever he pleases with it, if in so doing, he would likewise burn his neighbor's house. Even the government should not have too much of it to the extent that it can impair the fundamental rights of the people. It must not be given the power to deprive the individual of his right to speak out his mind, to worship in the way he pleases, and to sit in consultation with his fellows to petition the government to right a wrong. Instead the government must contrive ways and means of promoting these individual rights. It must find a way to improve the lot of the common man. It must give ample protection for his life and his property. It must help him make a decent living for himself and his family.