Mr. Balentine probably exercised his cherished idea of personal freedom by skipping history class, when the fundamentals of social/democratic vs. socialist/communist forms of government were discussed in school (“Do you still desire freedom?”, July 2).

I should like to meet all those young people, who – according to him – love socialism and communism so much. He wants us to believe that they would happily give up the many privileges our democracy offers to live instead in very restrictive societies like China or Russia. Do they?

Actually, what their generation desires is to live in an America with less social injustice, less corporate power/greed and less general egoism, all of which negatively affect social and communal cohesion.

How shallow is freedom when it only serves to fulfill personal, selfish goals? Freedom requires that all individuals assume more personal responsibility and, therefore, as a member of a society, help to further its common good as well.

Sigrid Fischer-Mishler
Harpswell