FREEDOM is a big word indeed, which has been used and misused since time began, I expect. How would “you” define it? Some might say that it is the capability of doing what one wants, without any interference. You are free to be who you are, to go wherever you want, you are free to make your own choices. You are also free to express your opinions, to say what crosses your mind, with no hindrance nor restraint. A-ha! Here things are not too clear, though, they start to become a bit (or a lot!) cloudy.
If you have all the kinds of freedom you can think of, and so do I, and so do all the others, what happens when “your” freedom infringes on “mine”? If you can do all that what you want and you are an abuser, where is my right to be respected? You feel entitled to say whatever you wish because “freedom of speech” allows you to do that. Does this mean that I must tolerate your offensive words? Should I just keep quiet and let you persevere in a disrespectful behavior because you are “free” to speak? Sorry, you are not… at least not to such an extent. Your freedom allows you to do and say what you want, but only provided you don’t invade the boundary of my honor, of my well-being. If you don’t agree with what I am saying, look at the despicable results of such wild permissiveness that is tearing the world apart.
You have your beliefs, I have mine. You are free to follow yours but you are not free to offend mine. I have the right to be who I am and I expect to be accepted as such and treated accordingly. If you don’t like me or do not agree with my creed, just walk away, look the other way, leave me alone.
Today, open-mindedness and freedom have become synonyms for total acceptance of every kind of behavior, of vulgarity and immorality. If this is what modernity and progress have come to mean, there must be something wrong, somewhere. When, in the past, we had dictators and prevaricators, who compelled the weak masses to comply with their directives, we say that there was no freedom. There were the oppressors and the oppressed: a very clear line divided the two positions. Nowadays, in our “modern” society, we keep talking of equal rights for everybody. But, tell me, what kind of right do I have if my freedom to express my opinion ends up being attacked by the tongues, the pens or the movie camera of thugs whose aim is only to create friction, hatred, chaos?
Should we believe that this “free world” of ours is better that the one of the past? Dr. Martin Luther King jr. “had a dream,” the dream of equality among human races, the dream of freedom for all human beings. I don’t think he would have accepted the actual situation into his “dream,” in spite of the fact that many individuals (poor, naïve souls!) are convinced that we have reached plenty of goals — as human existence is concerned. We surely have a lot of technological gadgets and sophisticated “stuff.” But… are we more available, understanding, lenient, loving, helpful, friendly toward those who do not belong to our “circle,” who live according to different habits, customs, religious creeds? I believe there is a lot of inner searching to be done, here. Each of us should honestly examine him/ herself and detect their own position. If we cannot compel or convince the “opponents” (often aggressors) to change their minds and their ways, we should at least do as much as we can to mend our personal “way of being.”
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Critical Thinking: Freedom... really?
