Freedom and Liberty

I would like to take a very brief moment (I am very tired right now) and make a very clear distinction:
Liberty does not neccessarily guarantee freedom, nor does freedom neccessarily guarantee liberty.
Just like we do not live in an actual democracy (look it up, its a republic - democratic in manner, but not wholy), it is not "freedom" that we are actually "allowed."
The laws and rules and regulations are no more about freedom than Rush is a left wing pundit. We are allowed liberty. Not freedom.
Freedom is something that comes from within. I grant you, with the vast liberties that we are allowed in this country, it is conceivable to clear a path to freedom - but the social, commercial (read: commerce), and other forces seem to prevent the bringing forth of that part of ourselves.
Its fine and dandy to praise America for many things - but Freedom is a gift we must personally fight for internally, as well as externally. Liberty is something we have - "freedom" of movement, ability to buy things, make certain statements, choose certain things. I'll go into it more later (I'll pull out my J.S. Mill when I do) but I wanted to make the distinction clear between the things we are actually allowed (liberty), and the things that we may not even know what they even look like yet (freedom).