I was a junior in high school when my dad and I had the classic father-son debate over who was in charge.

In the end, he just said, "The door swings both ways."

His wisdom was self-evident. I could stay under his authority as a dependent, or I could have my independence and the personal responsibilities that would have come with it.

Freedom hangs in the balance of decision for every man. If we choose to expend our energy in the pursuit of freedom, we will always risk loss. But, if we choose to cower in the timidity of dependence, we risk all our human potential.

As a nation, our founders made this decision. They chose to throw off the tyranny of the king, set aside the security and peace of his protections and, with a "firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence," chose freedom, mutually pledging to each other their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.

The success of their bold and unselfish courage ignited a human freedom movement untried in human history. They laid the foundations for a nation on the concept that government that is weak is best. They defied thousands of years of despots, kings, dictators and tyrannical democracies and hagiocracies. They fought for a weak republican (representative) form of government, laying its foundations on the principles of liberty and private property rights.

They believed that government did not need to make economic-development plans, but, rather, it needed to make freedom plans. They believed unequivocally that economic freedom unleashes human talent and genius and that the nation prospers as free people cooperate, contract and work together.

They believed that government does not have answers - free people do. Government should not regulate human initiative, faith or reason, and, if it does, it and the people will fail.

How did this bold experiment work? Our republic of independent people has produced more in our two centuries than all of human history combined. We have made more progress in the last 50 years than the last 4,000.

Technology, production, wealth and happiness have multiplied beyond any plan or strategy that could have been devised by any government central planning.

The door swings both ways for all of us. If we open the door to freedom, we must be ready to accept the responsibilities, hardships and sometimes suffering and bloodshed that come with that decision.

Yet, if we reject freedom, we will cower in the dependence of social welfare, government regulation and stifling autocratic planning where government rules us, dictates our steps and binds us in poverty because we supinely acquiesce to the handouts of politicians who would rather have our vote than see us free.

The proven truth in our nation is that independence, cooperation, values and the ethic of hard work let us prosper as we pursue our dreams through freedom. We must be men and women of courage as only our eternal vigilance will preserve the treasure of liberty that is our endowed natural right.

Let us value God's gift and never relinquish it to any bribe, power or man, and we will continue to be the land of the free because we are the home of the brave.

Rep. Tom McGillvray, R-Billings, represents House District 50 in the Montana Legislature.

The Faith & Values column appears regularly in the Saturday Life section of The Billings Gazette.

Pastors, ethicists, educators or other experts who would like to write a column about faith, ethics or values for the section, should contact: Susan Olp; Billings Gazette; 401 N. Broadway; Billings, MT 59101. Or call her at 657-1281; fax to her attention at 657-1208; or e-mail to solp@billingsgazette.com.