Had to tell someone this. So I'll tell all of you. I heard an interesting discussion on NPR this afternoon - "Talk of the Nation" - where they were debating the words FREEDOM and LIBERTY. Did you know, for example, that English-speaking cultures are the only ones who have both of those words and use them separately?

And if you go way back to the roots and development of the words, they mean different things. Even though we here in the U.S. use them interchangeably, in general. "Liberty" has its roots in Latin and means (I'm paraphrasing here) "not being a slave; independence from slavery." "Freedom", on the other hand, is apparently more Anglo-Saxony-ish and means (paraphrasing again) "connected to a group; being a part of the general population" (not a slave).

This according to eminent historians who I forget their names. Either way, it made my brain think while I was driving, and that's a good thing.