Duty vs Freedom

As I write, I'm listening to the titular track from Michael W. Smiths Freedom instrumental album. It's stirring stuff and well done, though perhaps not highly original - the soundtrack of The Patriot springs to mind immediately, although this is much better. Aside from love (which wins hands down), freedom has been the most extolled and eulogized ideal that ever made its appearance in story or song. On second thoughts, perhaps that's merely a recent trend - duty was highly praised for centuries if not millenia and it was only in the later part of the 20th century that its popularity began to decline. I'm not of the 'the-world-has-begun-to-slide-into-the-abyss-since-the-1960s' school, but it is interesting to note the change in paradigm that the duty-freedom shift indicates. I can understand duty being a highly esteemed value - this is what held war-bands, armies and nations together during adversity. But we have come to softer times, the gut chill of deep fear being unfamiliar to all but a few of us, and any chance of large scale disturbance so far off (we think) that it's almost laughable to mention it. Can you imagine any Western country today submitting to curfews and rationing in order to 'defeat the Hun' who or whatever that might be? It would never happen - there would be an outcry that our rights and freedom were being robbed from us. Which would be true in a sense, but not so long ago men and women were willing to lay down those rights and freedoms of their own accord: for dutys sake. Because they realised practically that there were more people in the world than themselves, and larger issues at stake than their own personal peace and happiness. But we've exiled Duty and raised up Freedom in its place. A valuable principle, to be sure, but is it worthy of the adulation we heap on it? How would we do now if the world fractured and spewed fire - and we were called to stand in the gap? Freedom may bring you to the battle lines, but it's Duty that will keep you there.