Freedom

 

What is freedom? Webster’s Comprehensive Dictionary tells us this:

“1. Exemption or liberation from slavery or imprisonment. 2. Exemption from political restraint or autocratic control; independence. 3. Liberty or choice or action. 4. Philos. The state of the will as the first cause of human action; self-determination in rational beings. 5. Exemption; immunity: freedom from want; freedom from arrest. 6. Exemption or release from obligations, ties, etc. 7. Ease; facility. 8. Frankness or familiarity in speech or manner. 9. The right to enjoy the privileges of membership or citizenship: freedom of the city. 10. Unrestricted use: he had freedom of the library. 11. Ease of motion.”

The same dictionary actually gives negative tones to the definition of “free” by using descriptions such as, “Characterized by disregard of duty or propriety; forward, impertinent, indelicate, or immodest; careless; immoderate; reckless.”

 I generally think of “free” as a positive thing and no way related to the synonyms of delinquency that Mr. Webster gives us. Remember though, the dictionary is indeed part of the media, whose motives will later be revealed. I would like to offer another definition taken from the under credited, highly knowledgeable world of music. Operation Ivy is the band, Sound System is the song, and “To resist despair in this world is what it is to be free” is the definition. No matter the angle I look at it, I cannot find fault.

Notice that the dictionary deals entirely with physical states; even the philosophical definition ends in actions, which are part of the physical world. Freedom has nothing to do with the physical world. Freedom is entirely of the mind, likewise, imprisonment. Physical surroundings may influence your decision of whether or not to resist despair, but the key to both freedom and imprisonment is always in your hands.

Freedom is the perception of freedom. That is, if you believe that you are free, then you are; likewise with imprisonment, if you believe that you are imprisoned, then you are. Lets go to the ideas of the religious fanatic and the atheist, for instance. The religious fanatic may see freedom as an escape from sin and death by way of binding oneself to God’s will and laws. The atheist, on the other hand, may view freedom as an escape from the very things that the fanatic is striving for by way of following his own will and laws. So which one of these people is truly free? Neither appears free one to another; however, each one feels that he himself is free. Because both perceives himself to be free, both are free.

Lets look at the caged bird. It is correctly said that she never sings. This is not because the bars prevent her from singing, but, rather, that as soon as she does sing the bars become something other than a cage and she is free. She has successfully resisted despair and freed herself. Freedom is an ability, not a possession, this is why no one can give it to, nor take it from you. Freedom is the ability to create, at least, voids where despair would be. Even if someone were to open her cage, it would not necessarily free her. It would likely influence her to choose to resist despair just as the cage may influence her to choose to be imprisoned, but the key to either side is always in her possession. You are the only one who can captivate you and likewise the only one who can release you.

I have noticed that the media, yes, this includes you, Mr. Webster, is trying very hard to influence us to lock ourselves up. They seem to promote negative ideas and allowing them to totally think for us. After they have convinced us to just let them take care of the thought process it is very easy to get us to turn our key and throw it out. You may wonder why they would desire to do such a thing. It all lies in their perception of freedom, which is more in the world of currency than in the realm of joy.  Once caged we become very easy to control in order to promote their  “freedom” through acting as they tell us to in ways of “needing” and purchasing. I believe that the media is much more a thief of freedom than the laws that we believe to be the thieves. The laws are not so much thieves as they are the media’s scapegoat. If you have thrown your key out, all hope is not lost. Though it may appear to be out of reach, a bit of creative thought and desire to be free will conceive a method for re-attaining your key.

Some people believe that independence is freedom; right they should, as Mr. Webster told them so. I disagree with this because of the known fact that human beings are social creatures. In order for us to survive as healthy individuals we require a socially based life. We depend on others for food, knowledge, homes, etc. Each one of us holds a role in the society whose original design was to promote freedom through ease the tasks required for survival. Very rarely can one substantially survive independent of the rest of the human world.  

In essence freedom is a created state of mind independent of environmental conditions; it is the ability to resist despair in any situation.

Reviews

[Salvatore Buttaci]

The best essay I've read about freedom.