The Sound Of Perseverance

This is my blog.. and here's my first post.

The Freedom fighter

Ever since I was a kid, I have always been taught about "Freedom". I wondered what the hell IS freedom? I think now I have realised that freedom to me is important for all the things it represents in my life. Freedom means to be allowed to have opportunities. Everything I do involves having freedom to pick and choose. Freedom to choose my Religion, my Education, my Career… to having control over what I do, like voting and marriage. Freedom to me is to be able to listen to whatever music I want… or simply to walk on the street in the middle of the night, not fearing what may happen to me!

Freedom to me is what my ancestors fought for… it gives me the independence to not be owned, sold or controlled by anyone else. Freedom to me is what the Tibetans are fighting for. Freedom is the blood in my veins without which I would be dead.

The definition of freedom is highly immanent, taking place within the mind and is always modified by individual biases. But regardless of its various interpretations, no one can deny that freedom is extremely important. An individual should have the liberty to express his thoughts in whatever way he thinks suitable. At this, doesn’t history stand witness to the birth of great thoughts, emerging from societies which have given enough liberty? Hence, it is crucial to let people make their own choice of expressing themselves in whichever form they desire – be it art, science, religion, trade - anything.

This however, can lead to a problematic state of being in a society, with people taking undue advantage of the rights given to them by the state. We cannot sacrifice morality, peace and justice in the name of freedom alone. As a cartoon character once very aptly put his idea of freedom; ‘was to be able to bite a dog’… but one needs to realize that the dog might bite back!

Hence I believe that the government, to some extent, should have the right to regulate the personal and economic decisions that the citizens make in a state. Like, the fact that I can choose from many brands of toothpastes, is an opportunity provided to me by the government. In my opinion, the best way to do this is when people choose their own government, vesting enough trust on its politicians that whatever decisions the state will take to regulate the freedom of its citizens - will be for the overall benefit of the state. The government should only interfere to the extent of providing a ‘just’ platform for an individual to experience freedom without impinging on the freedom of another.

Therefore, whether it is ‘freedom from’ entrapment (of whichever kind) or whether it is the freedom of experiencing one’s being… freedom is important to own one’s destiny, of course within the limits of reason and morality.

(P.S. This post would not have been possible without Akanksha)

Great post... I really enjoyed reading it! Kudos to Akanksha

But one thing I found interesting... I have come to realise for sure, is freedom is relative... Unless another person is 'unfree', one cannot be called 'free'.
Think about it. If everyone enjoyed the state of freedom you described, the word 'freedom' wouldn't be given that flavour! Tibet, like you mention, will be free in the future hopefully, because NOW it is unfree. Hmm.

Make sense? Well, in my head it did. Its something I once read, and it keeps the concept of 'freedom' in perspective in my head...

harshita_lsr wrote:

Great post... I really enjoyed reading it! Kudos to Akanksha

But one thing I found interesting... I have come to realise for sure, is freedom is relative... Unless another person is 'unfree', one cannot be called 'free'.
Think about it. If everyone enjoyed the state of freedom you described, the word 'freedom' wouldn't be given that flavour! Tibet, like you mention, will be free in the future hopefully, because NOW it is unfree. Hmm.

Make sense? Well, in my head it did. Its something I once read, and it keeps the concept of 'freedom' in perspective in my head...

Great point! I totally agree to what you said. It is actually a highly relative term. A slave might not even realize what freedom is all about, if he hasn't seen 'free' people all his life. For him, his state of slavery would be an ideal state.

But again, is it possible to have a "Slave" if there is no "Master"? I think not. Freedom is the basic essence of humanity. Just like it is a human nature to love. Hatred comes out of unusual circumstances. One might say that there would be no angels if there were no demons, there would be no heaven if there was no hell (which is correct!). Similarly it is true that there would be no hatred if there was no love, but I think that doesn't concern me as long as there is love! It is a basic human want - to be happy - and nobody gets happiness by hating someone.. Hence the basic flavor of humanity comes with freedom (which makes us happy), and it doesn't matter if someone has experienced slavery or not.. What do you think?

you talk about being happy...but is it necessary dat being free is the only way one can be happy? i mean one might just find happiness in being a slave....am not saying that slaves are happy..but its jus that thre might be slaves who would be happy the way they are...obviously they shouldn't give in, and remain slaves to a so called master forever....but still...they can be happy being slaves too...

Nikhita wrote:

you talk about being happy...but is it necessary dat being free is the only way one can be happy? i mean one might just find happiness in being a slave....am not saying that slaves are happy..but its jus that thre might be slaves who would be happy the way they are...obviously they shouldn't give in, and remain slaves to a so called master forever....but still...they can be happy being slaves too...

Well I understand your outlook, but I tend to differ in that regard. You said that a slave should not give in and should not remain a slave forever. But why would he revolt if he is happy? Of course there would be slaves who are happy. I mean in a prision cell, don't you find prisioners playing games, doing fun stuff, cracking jokes. They are happy. But are they happy with their overall state of being trapped in a prison cell? Think about it rationally.

Again, do not take the literal meaning of my words. If I say slaves are unhappy, does not mean that all masters are happy. There would obviously be masters and rulers who would be unhappy, so what about them? In my opinion, a slave would be happy with his overall existance, if and only if he hasn't experienced freedom in his life. And by happiness I do not mean temporary happiness, but a long-term and ever lasting one. I believe in education, enlightenment and knowlege of human beings, and that's what makes them different from animals.

why not revolt if you are happy...u should keep lukin for more..shouldnt u??? revolting and giving up slavery would definitely make you better off....probably happier...but wat i meant was that getting ur freedom wont make u happy jus bcoz u were sad earlier when u were not free....

Nikhita wrote:

why not revolt if you are happy...u should keep lukin for more..shouldnt u??? revolting and giving up slavery would definitely make you better off....probably happier...but wat i meant was that getting ur freedom wont make u happy jus bcoz u were sad earlier when u were not free....

Hmm.. Why not? Why can't one be happy if he ultimately gets what he wants? If you really wanted to have an ice-cream and you finally get it in your hands, won't that make you happy? hehe.. In my example, you could consider the reason for being unhappy. I think that's very crucial. If someone was unhappy not because he was unfree, but because of other reasons, he would obviously remain unhappy even after he attains freedom. For him the feeling of freedom is unimportant. But I get your point of view. Being free is not the ONLY way to attain happiness... I agree.

Yipee...i succeed....its a nice feeling u know!!! but on a serious note...impressive point of view!!