In our divided nation, one thing seems to be universally shared: fear of losing freedom. People on both sides of the political divide live with dread that if the other side wins, freedom will be curtailed, so as to make life unbearable.

I am pleasantly surprised that in the general confusion freedom is still considered to be what makes us human and gives us dignity.

I too, as a member of the Catholic Church – “this ethnic entity of its own kind” as Saint Pope Paul VI used to say – want freedom to pursue happiness.

But what is freedom?

To answer this profound question, I do not need to study philosophy but, as suggested by Fr. Giussani in The Religious Sense, I simply need to take stock of my own experience and ask: when do I feel free?

I do not feel free only when I can choose. The more choices I have, the greater the possibility of being paralyzed.

I do not feel free only when I cut off all bonds and become self-sufficient. Lack of ties means loneliness, not freedom.

I do not feel free only when I can “determine” my life according to my own measure. My mortality sweeps away all delusions of self-determination.

For me the essence of freedom does not lie in choice, self-sufficiency, or self-determination. In my own experience I discovered, and verified, that freedom has a vertical dimension, which is dependence on God. It also has a horizontal one – belonging to the community of those who share the same ideal.

Therefore, I found it refreshing to look at which candidate to vote for from the point of view of asking who may foster more, or hinder less, my freedom to depend on God and to belong to my community.

I also realize that if I ask for this freedom, I do not ask for it just for myself, but for everybody, and by doing so I also contribute to the good of the country.

Angelo, Brooklyn, NY