I love this quote from Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale:

There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don’t underrate it.

I found the quote on a post talking about keeping women, British Seaman Faye Turney, out of the military. A simple expression of Rousseau’s Social Contract, if you will. Of course, the fun is in balancing the tradeoffs. Some are ruled by their fears and their annoyances. Others, by their independence.

I’ll have to ask Heidi about the book. I think they teach Atwood at school.

(found the original post via Atrios)