The New Republic‘s John B. Judis published a thoughtful hit piece on Giuliani today, examining the role Giuliani’s Catholic upbringing and particular family background have had on this thought. Judis carefully identifies Giuliani’s Catholicism as a more traditional strain formed pre-Vatican II. (I initially was a bit wary to see The New Republic taking on Giuliani’s Catholicism, but Judis handled it well.) He puts into context Giuliani’s quote from a 1994 press conference about freedom and authority that has been making the rounds on the internet :
“Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do.” Asked in the question period to explain what he meant, Giuliani said, “Authority protects freedom. Freedom can become anarchy.”
Judis explains the context in a sympathetic but critical way:
…individuals have to be encouraged to use their liberty well; and that is where authority comes into play. Authority, embodied by law and the state, encourages–at times, forces–free individuals to contribute to the common good. Or, to put it in Aristotelian terms:Authority–by creating a just order–encourages liberty over license.
Judis overall judges Giuliani’s first term as mayor as a success but excoriates him for overreaching in his second term:
Giuliani’s seemingly insatiable appetite for authority was evident, first and foremost, in the way he ran his administration. Obsessed, as always, with loyalty, he demanded that power be centralized in his hands and that he receive credit for any of the administration’s achievements. Even the Department of Environmental Protection’s daily reports on the water level in the reservoir had to be cleared through Giuliani’s press office before being released.
And then of course, there was Rudy trying mightily to hang onto power after 9/11, pushing for an extension of his term and a repeal of the term limits. It seems to me that most everyone who is paying attention has dismissed Giuliani. The exceptions are those who believe the price of safety is eternal vigilance, and that freedom is just another word for government omnipresence.