Pro libertate patriae.
(Motto)

For the freedom of country.

(pron = proh lih-behr-TAH-tay pah-tree-ai)

Comment: What would one be willing to do for the freedom of one's country?
Quick references show that Cicero used it in a letter to Brutus ([XVII] Scr. m.
Maio, ut videtur, a. 711 (43); that a US Marines squadron uses it; that a
Finnish war memorial quotes it of those who died in WWII; and it is used on a
website dedicated to Sir William Wallace (b. 1270), famous Scottish nationalist
hero.

All imply that they interpret this motto as "I am willing to fight, kill and die
for the sake of the liberty of my country."

My own study and work over the years has brought me to hear some other voices
around this theme. They are often self-described members of "the peace
movement". They are also very brave, daring souls, and often endure a great
deal of abuse from those who do not understand them or take the time to.

They would ask of this proverb: what do you mean by freedom? Free from what?
Free for what? And what of the wars that have been fought in the name of
freedom for our country but which, in fact, had little if anything to do with
freedom in this country and often enough resulted in less freedom for others?
My friends in the peace movement would say that they do what they do for the
freedom of this country and other countries as well.

What strikes me about this motto is that it seems to be used often as a
patriotic rallying cry with little regard for what it seems to be saying.

Apart from war, what does freedom mean to you? Free from what/whom? Free for
what/whom? What processes in your own life have actually produced some
freedom?