Freedom From Fear: Utopia and Its Limits

In his 1941 State of the Union address, President Franklin D. Roosevelt articulated a vision of human freedom consisting of four specific liberties: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Norman Rockwell translated these ideals into four paintings. Strikingly, in his painting “Freedom from Fear,” rather than portraying FDR’s sweeping utopian promise, Rockwell presents a more grounded, intimate scene: parents tucking their children safely into bed. Rabbi Soloveichik, examining “Freedom from Fear,” asks whether true freedom from fear can exist in political life, or if it belongs only to the realm of art.