I YEARN TO BE FREE

I yearn to be free. This is an instinct that is ingrained within all of humankind. It is a concept that drives people to the heights of ecstasy or the depths of depression. This concept starts revolutions, ends oppressions and halts slavery. Yet the opposite is also true. From a different vantage point the concept freedom is the accelerant that will ignite people’s to oppress others in a perverted form of chain making.

There are differing concepts of freedom and each one is as different as the number of people on this planet. For one person or group, a well for water in the middle of their village would be a form of freedom rather than having to travel a few miles to carry their daily supply back to their individual families. To others freedom could be the suppression of a certain group of people so that the oppressors would not have to perform certain tasks they deemed beneath them.

But freedom should be striven for as the attainment or progress of self or group within the confines of human decency.

So where does government fit into this scenario? Any form of government is a form of oppression on one level or another. But without government the world would sink into the depths of anarchy. So taken as such, some form of government is necessary in order to insure freedom.

So what does it mean to yearn to be free? Is it to live without the rule of law? To disregard respect and honor to others? To let one’s ego drive oneself to enslave another to the detriment of that individual and in reality to both parties involved? Is true freedom actually attainable? In all reality the answer is no. The only way to be released from the influence of others, laws and government is through death. Even then some would say we are influenced someway and somehow though reincarnation or an afterlife.

Is the concept of freedom something to strive for? Absolutely. To have the freedom to walk down a street without the threat of being assaulted. To believe what you believe without the threat of being bullied assaulted or even put to death. To encompass thoughts opinions and actions for the betterment of the whole rather than the few.

The number one responsibility of government is the health and welfare of the people. The number one legal function of this government is to protect the borders and print money. How these two ideas intermingle with each other create a juxtaposition of progress and freedom.

There are some who would say that freedom should never come at the expense of another. I cannot make that statement as one person’s freedom will always come with a loss. It is unavoidable. But one should strive for a freedom that has little if any adverse effect on another. It does come down to the laws of harmony and balance in our universe. Also adapted to this is the basic law of physics stating for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. These wise words should lend one’s actions be thoughtful and cautionary. But never stagnant. To stagnate is to rot and to rot is to die. Not the kind of freedom most wish to seek.

One must be cognizant of the fact for every gain there is a loss. But loss does not always have to be negative. One person’s financial gain could be used for the betterment of others. Which would cause the latter to lose a detrimental situation. Balance. Harmony. Gain and loss. All fulfilled.

Rousseau’s Social Contract as I interpret it tells of a societal balance. Briefly stated. A society should never ask for more than an individual can give and an individual should never ask for more than that society can give. There is a balance and harmony to this which elevates that particular society to another level of freedom. But it must also be recognized that freedom comes with rules. These rules must be formulated in the best interest of that society and if conjoined with other societies as we have at present then these rules must be formulated in the best interest of all societies affected. And seeing that everything affects everything else in one way or another all societies must take great care to avoid formulating policies that are detrimental to one another. The laws of molecular attraction state as such. We are all composed of the same molecular structure and each one of us has the same magnetic poles within out systems therefore in one sense we all attract and affect each other in one way or another. To achieve some semblance of freedom we must recognize this and be aware of the negative aspects of overdone isolationist and nationalistic policies. They are doomed to failure from the start as they are adverse to all laws of physics, economics, finance, spirituality, progress and growth in the long run.

There are those who would scream this is socialism. On the contrary in no way shape or form have I espoused socialism or capitalism. I am referring to a sense of thoughtful cooperation between diverse societies. Cooperation that lends itself to discovering the commonalities that exist between us rather than the differences and there are a great many things in common. When pursuing this path one will come to recognize there exists a sense of progress and growth for all. Not the same for all on the same level for we all start at differing strata but the increase of progress will have a common ratio of success. And the bottom line will be the very starting point we began to strive for. Freedom.

Ric Wells/Akecheta

3/16/2017