Third in a series.

In American higher education, freedom is often a flag flown high; freedom of inquiry, thought and speech are indispensable to the life of the mind. Yet, as I have seen across decades in the academy, freedom standing alone is an unsure foundation of anything except temporal or intellectual excitement, satisfaction or pleasure. Unmoored from the taproot of responsibility expressed in the Judeo-Christian tradition, freedom quickly collapses into license and self-interest. True academic excellence is dangerous without virtue. Freedom and responsibility are two sides of the same coin—one cannot be sustained without the other.

The Apostle Paul cautioned in his letter to the Gentiles in Galatia not to allow their newly received freedom to misguide their actions. He said in 5:

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