The essence of freedom

          “Freedom” – this sweet word – is spoken by many people, from tyrants to libertarians. In times of political, institutional, or moral crises, groups of people often evoke this word to define a specific and private space; a freedom for themselves. This concept of freedom involves personal benefits, as if there could exist a kind of freedom for each person. Even people who have never experienced living in prisons or been subjected to any obligation don’t understand that they are not truly free. This feeling is not absolute. For some people, freedom is about pursuing opponents to impose their ideas – a private freedom, and a licence to kill or silence adversaries, in the name of free speech.
         In moments of social tranquillity, freedom is rarely discussed because it is taken for granted. But, there are those who can stop others from being free to be and think as they wish, and call it a lack of freedom.
        For genocidal leaders, freedom is a license to eliminate opponents. For tyrants, freedom is satisfying their desires or shaping society according to their ideas. For manipulators, freedom is convincing others to follow them. For the wise, freedom is imagining a world where thoughts can flow freely, without restriction.
          Many individuals have used freedom as a flag to subjugate nations, in the name of their economic interests, and they don’t care whether those people are being exploited or not. In light of this, we cannot imagine freedom as a license to do what they want. Even freedom has its limitations, especially when our freedom invades other people’s space.
        Nowadays, we can see powerful people around the world, in their protected castles, claiming freedom. They use their personal life stories as examples to promote their ideas of freedom: their lifestyle and success. No one is totally free to do as they please. There will be moments when we need the support of someone or institutions to help us. We are both liberal and dependent on others, a kind of slave, one way or another.
         Religious individuals believe in freedom, but they are connected to their beliefs and subject to their rules; this is not freedom, they have limitations. Professionals are bound by ethics and duties in their activities. Celebrities have followers who adopt their life examples to achieve the same success. Neither are not free. Celebrities must expose themselves and depend on their followers. Followers are slaves to their ambition, as they try to achieve the impossible life projected by celebrities.
         We don’t know what freedom is until we know someone who is truly free. So, the first step to being free is to be brave enough to admit our own slavery.
         Many people think they are free, but they are slaves to something or someone. If they follow groups of public figures, they are slaves to their own inability to admit their dependence on others. But some people say nothing, not because they have nothing to say, but because they have nothing to learn from slaves. They are almost free because they think for themselves.

Photo from: Foto de Aditya Saxena na Unsplash

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