We all claim to love freedom. When carried on the lips of the patriotic, the democratic and the lovers of liberty, freedom is the greatest thing on the planet. It is the alpha and the omega of the human existence and pinnacle of human achievement. To many, it's the only thing worth fighting and dying for and to countless others living without it, it's the only thing worth hoping for.
But how quickly we forget the true definition of freedom. We so easily write off the definition of freedom, as to be free or to live in a free country and to being able to do whatever we want whenever we want to. While on the surface that may seem to capture the very essence of freedom, it's a very shallow, self-centered and delusional definition that does more to cripple the notion of freedom than it does to explain or materialize the notion.
Freedom cannot be measured simply by one person's ability to do as they please without fear of reprisal, rather it must be measured by everyone's ability to do as such. Freedom means more than you obtaining permission to do what you will, it means obtaining permission for others to do as they please and it means supporting others rights to do what they will with their minds, their bodies and their words, even if it makes you uncomfortable, so long as it truly harms no other.
Because if all a man wants to do is fish and sleep, he'll find himself living "free" in almost any country of the world. Even though others around him may be getting beaten for reading certain books or holding certain ideals, he himself is as free as any of us would care to be. But that does nothing to justify what is going on around him and even though he might not realize it nor care to think about it, the world he lives in is just as controlled and manipulated as human cruelty will allow. After all, Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini and even Pol Pot called their countries "free" and from their perspectives they were right, it was just the rest of the populace that had a problem.
That's why, if we're going to live in a free country, we have to stand up for our those who disagree with us once in a while and accept those with different lifestyles and attitudes from us. Despite what others say, freedom is not about one side, even the majority, telling the other what they can and cannot do, but it is about people of all varieties being big enough and confident enough to look at those that they disagree with and allow them to be as they are and do what they will even though they might have the power to crush it.
Because that's the true responsibility we have to maintain freedom, not to be ready to fight and die for it (though it is definitely called for at times), but to be ready to allow it to flourish, even when it isn't easy. Because if we allow ourselves to shut down one freedom on the basis of mere discomfort, we soon find ourselves crushing ten and then a hundred. Over time we find ourselves persecuting one group, then another and then another and after we've whittled away at the rights we hold dear, we find ourselves wondering where our freedom went.
Much like a sculptor who never stopped chiseling at a block of granite, we find ourselves standing over not a beautiful piece of art but a pile of useless gravel that means nothing save to be a sore reminder of what once was and never will be again.
If we as a society are to avoid this fate, we need to realize now that the greatest struggle for freedom takes place inside each and every one of us and, with that in mind, change our definition and open our minds to the world around us. Because in a society where one man, who has done no injustice, isn't free, no one is truly free. And if that happens, the rest of the populace is just waiting until the day the rights they enjoy become mere memories and the freedoms they once defended are nothing but a lesson in a history book.
yeah about freedom? to what friggin extent? This country is so hypocritical. "land of the free" my ass. I mean if this is a free country…why cant i stay out late if im not doing any harm, and why dont i have the same rights as an adult? Im an individual with five senses and who breathes and feels and thinks and cries…ect. I am ashamed in so many ways to say that i live in this country. UGH! i hate some people!…srry
"No one is free while others are oppressed."
im glad im not part of this american society, in canada we are free as we truly believe!!! WE ARE EQUAL…FUCK AMERICA
To Dark Dreamer:
You can't stay out late because there are OTHERS doing harm. They don't want you to be kidnapped or maimed or raped or whatever. As for the same rights as an adult? It's simple. You're not ready to have that kind of responsibility shoved on you yet. The country didn't get together one day and spontaneously say "I think 18 is a good age to just suddenly give these people all this cool stuff!" Over the course of thousands of years, they seem to have come to the conclusion that people are emotionally, physically, and socially prepared to be given the rights and responsibilities of an adult. Let's face it, if you give a 13 year old the right to drink and stay out late and get a credit card and drive. You know what will happen? Death. Lots and lots of death. Drunk driving accidents (much more), a hell of a lot more teenage pregnancies, kids in debt for millions of dollars because they feel they can buy anything just because they have a credit card. I don't know you as a person so I have no idea if you would be prepared for all of that stufff. Therein lies another point. All people have to be held to the same standard in this regard because the government doesn't have the free time to goto house to house and interview every single last child in the whole country to decide whether or not they are mature enough for their age etc etc. Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying that someone who is 18 is automatically a good citizen with purple hearts and a lot of community service. I am just saying they are usually more equipped to deal with it than someone who has little to no idea how half of the adult world works and doesn't understand WHY it works that way.
I was just "certified" in a hospital as a mentally ill patient and was denied all my rights. Not given the opportunity to call a lawyer or to see the doctor. Not given a toilet except if I knocked on the window and if the nurse heard me she/he would come in and unlock the door to the toilet. I am out now but the Mental Health Act of British Columbia was violated. I could walk away from this but I feel I must take some action in order that the next persons rights and freedom are not taken from him or her.
People read and they agree or disagree as they see fit. Argue as to the truth or lack of it to be found in the generalized view of freedom and demand to know why age must draw a line between some freedoms and others. Understand that it's most of these things aren't really a right as perscribed by the government, but a privilege granted on some whim or other. The fight for others as for ourselves, whether or not you are in agreement with or comfortable with their actions or opinions. . .will not happen. Ever. So the shallow view of freedom is really all they can see, and so that is all that they fight for. All they need is for themselves, to hell with the rest. After all, gotta take care of number one, right? Whatever.