There is a danger of the world getting liberty drunk in these days like the old lady with the basket. We should think, ‘what does the rule of the road mean?’ It means in order that the liberties of all may be preserved, the liberties of everybody must be curtailed. When the policeman steps into the middle of the road and puts out his hand he is the symbol of liberty. You may not think so. If he pulls up your motor cycle at the wrong side, you will feel injured. You may feel that your liberty has been outraged. Why does this fellow interfere with your free use of the public road? If you have rationality, you’ll reflect and praise his act. If he didn’t interfere with you, he would interfere with no one. The result would be chaos. You have submitted to a curtailment of private liberty in order that you may enjoy a social order which makes your liberty a reality.Liberty is not a personal affair only, but a social contract. It is an accommodation of interests. In matters which do not touch anybody else’s liberty I may be as free as I like. If I choose to go down in a dressing gown, with long hair and bare feet, who shall object? You have liberty to laugh at me, but I have liberty to be indifferent to you. And if I have a fancy for dyeing my hair or wearing a tall hat, a frock and sandals or going to bed late or getting up early, I shall follow my fancy and ask no man’s permission. I shall not inquire of you whether I may take fruit juice with my dinner. I may like fruit juice with my dinner. You will not ask me whether you may follow this religion or that, whether you may marry the dark lady or the fair lady.In all these and a thousand other details you and I please ourselves and ask no one’s permission. We have a whole kingdom in which we rule alone. We can do what we choose, be wise or ridiculous, harsh or easy, conventional or odd. But as we step out of that kingdom our personal liberty of action becomes qualified by other people’s liberty.1. What is a danger of the world in these days?2. What does the rule of the road mean?3. When is the policeman a symbol of liberty?4. Why is personal liberty curtailed?5. Mention two ways of personal liberty.6. What qualifies the personal liberty?7. What is liberty?8. Locate from the passage the words that mean the following— (i) the state of being rational(ii) very silly or unreasonable.