Walt Whitman’s Caution, 1855

To The States, or any one of
       them, or any city of The
       States, Resist much, Obey
       little,
Once unquestioning obedience,
       once fully enslaved,
Once fully enslaved, no nation,
       race, city, of this earth,
       ever afterward resumes
       its liberty.—

The Left loves to talk, and talk, and talk, and talk without ceasing about their “freedom.” Free to be…. “Me.” Freedom to indulge Me, Myself, and I in anything our whim might dictate… except to be critical of the philosophy of “personal freedom” while wearing the “mind-forged manacles”[1] of the State.

But the question is not about “freedom.” It is about “liberty.” It is always about “liberty” and how much liberty people are willing to give up in order to taste the sweet sins of “freedom.” Whitman, a man who indulged in a lot of personal sexual freedom, knew this.

from

https://americandigest.org/walt-whitmans-caution-1855/#more-22603