Just what is Freedom?

[grannywils]

Had considered posting this as an article rather than in the Lounge Section, but was advised most of the articles are technical in nature, so here it is....

 

"Any honest examination of the national life proves how far we are from the standard of human freedom with which we began. The recovery of this standard demands of everyone who loves this country a hard look at himself, for the greatest achievments must begin somewhere, and they always begin with the person. If we are not capable of this examination, we may yet become one of the most distinguished and monumental failures in the history of nations".

 

The above is a 1970's quote from James Baldwin, an American author whom I much admire. Unfortunately, his is not the one with which I really would have chosen to begin this brief treatise on the subject of freedom. However, I have searched and searched through hundreds of wonderful writings by brilliant and erudite people far brighter than I. There have been some wonderful exerpts I might have used, but none more clearly stated what I see happening with this Country that I love with all my heart. Don't misunderstand, I do not feel that there is no hope. But I do believe we need to give her back her dignity and her honor.

 

You may hear some other passages as we go along.

 

But what is freedom really? I don't mean political freedom, I don't even mean the freedoms referred to in the Bill of Rights (well, I sort of do I guess). I'm talking about something much more basic. We are born with it. At that brief moment, no one can take it away from us. Our parents may be in chains, and we may live in a gulag, but in our tiny little infant hearts we are still free. Why? Because we do not know any better.

 

Ok, so lots of us are not born in gulags with chained up parents. We still get born with our own free little hearts and minds. AND THEN..... What happens? Why do we lose the concept of true freedom almost as soon as we learn to speak. James Baldwin also said the following: "Words like "freedom," "justice," "democracy" are not common concepts; on the contrary, they are rare. People are not born knowing what these are. It takes enormous and, above all, individual effort to arrive at the respect for other people that these words imply"

 

We in this Country have a wonderful document which enabled us to begin a truly free and democratic society and whose framers had the foresight to build into it the ability for us to grow. However, many of us began to disagree immediately over politics, and find ways to blame someone else when things did not go their way. And we all continue to do it to this day, frequently not even listening to one another. We, in the United States are "free" to do it. But is this freedom enabling us to "free" ourselves or to dig ourselves into a deeper and deeper enslavement to "something". Freedom is more than just the right to do as we choose. It carries with it the responsibility to recognize the need to do it with a clear and thoughtful mind and conscience and to remember that we are a Nation of individuals, all of whom have these rights.

 

Here are a couple of thoughts on freedom by Hannah Arendt, a German American political theorist. "When we were told that by freedom we understood free enterprise, we did very little to dispel this monstrous falsehood.... Wealth and economic well-being, we have asserted, are the fruits of freedom, while we should have been the first to know that this kind of "happiness" ... has been an unmixed blessing only in this country, and it is a minor blessing compared with the truly political freedoms, such as freedom of speech and thought, of assembly and association, even under the best conditions".;... "Economic growth may one day turn out to be a curse rather than a good, and under no conditions can it either lead into freedom or constitute a proof for its existence". and..... "Man cannot be free if he does not know that he is subject to necessity, because his freedom is always won in his never wholly successful attempts to liberate himself from necessity".

 

My concerns for the freedom of our country have for sometime stemmed from the fact that I see the individual disappearing. This Country was built by and for individuals. It was the spirit of our forefathers and their desire for true freedom and liberty that brought us this nation in which we find ourselves very fortunate to be living. What I have seen happening in my lifetime is basically a disassembly of many of my perceptions of the intent of those great men.

 

There is an inordinate amount of meddling going on with the underlying structure of government and it's freedom to be a government of the people, by the people and for the people. What I see happening is a great divide being forced on us in order to remove our true freedom to think for ourselves.

 

Back to my original question, what is freedom? Do any of us really know? We spout the word out left and right (pun accidental, but appropriate) sometimes without listening to ourselves, let alone each other. We cry out that someone is taking it away, or that those guys have too much and these guys don't have enough, and this "rule/law/legistation" specifically states that blah, blah, blah..... Or that we need more rules/laws/legislations to insure that our "freedom" to (insert whatever here) will not be trodden upon. Or that there are already too many rules/laws, etc., etc., etc. impacting our "freedoms"

 

Well, here is where I oversimplify. Our freedom lives within us. Once we reach the age of majority, no one can take it away unless we choose to give it up. Just think about that for a moment before rising up on your hind legs (figure of speech). We are free to be the human beings that were born into this world. We are free to make of ourselves and this world what we want. Our choices will determine just how free we all really are. Period. The End.

 

I hold this truth to be self-evident, all men are created equal "and free". (Quick aside here..... Doesn't last long, does it?)

 

We can write laws, and we can unwrite laws. We can deny our fellow man what we believe he does not deserve based on our own internal calculation methodology. We can take from someone who has more than we do, simply because we choose to do so (if he lets us). But he may not let us. Freedom works both ways, or should I say all ways. There are those who don't think that just having these freedoms is enough. They have no confidence in human nature, I guess. They believe that we need to legislate these freedoms. But which ones? Who decides which ones need legislating and which ones are just fine without any rules? You get the point, I'm sure....

 

In conclusion, and in my opinion, the great debate that goes on constantly over "freedom" has nothing whatsoever to do with freedom. It is about who gets to make the rules. And rules, regardless of what you call them, are going to take away somebody's freedom in order to give more to somebody else. Seems fairly simple to me. But, then I'm a pretty simple person I'm told by some.

 

I will close with one last quote. This one from Noam Chomsky: "Suppose that humans happen to be so constructed that they desire the opportunity for freely undertaken productive work. Suppose that they want to be free from the meddling of technocrats and commissars, bankers and tycoons, mad bombers who engage in psychological tests of will with peasants defending their homes, behavioral scientists who can't tell a pigeon from a poet, or anyone else who tries to wish freedom and dignity out of existence or beat them into oblivion".

 

Here is a link to an organization called Freedomhouse.org. They track freedom around the world and have some interesting data for those interested in pursuing the topic: http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=594

 

 

[Flintlockecole]

Freedom is a gun in everyone's hand, a government uncorrupt and people generally getting along free of ignorance.

[antonkr]

Freedom is when people aren't afraid of the government,

but government is afraid of the people.

[Kendo 2]

Freedom is when people aren't afraid of the government,

but government is afraid of the people.

 

Bravo. And only 16 words.

[Aurielius]

"Your freedom ends where mine begins."

[SilverDNA]

"Before the slave when he breaks the chain,

before the free people do not tremble!"

The words of faith

Friedrich von Schiller

Edited June 27, 2011 by SilverDNA

[JimboUK]

Freedom is when people aren't afraid of the government,

but government is afraid of the people.

 

Well said, sadly these days politicians seek to rule rather than serve.

[HeyYou]

Freedom is just another word for having nothing left to lose. :D

[SilverDNA]

Freedom is a commodity that grows by use, through disuse disappears.

Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker

Physicist, Philosopher

 

 

 

[brokenergy]

If we were truely free, the world would be an anarchy state. In truth, you only percive freedom, you never had it.