Freedom

Well, folks, once again I was trying my best to not listen in class today, and started thinking about this lovely little thing referred to as "freedom." It got me wondering, what exactly is freedom?

Is it the ability to do whatever you want, regardless of the consequences? Does it mean not having punishment for those who harm others with their actions? If so, is freedom really what people should WANT? On the flip side, how much SHOULD be given in order to grant "freedom?"

So, please give me your thoughts on this...

jeez, thats a complicated question.

Right now I'm feeling a sense of freedom since it was the last day of the school term today :) yaay! :) but then again, in 2 and a half weeks I'll be back to the daily grind again.

So I guess freedom is an illusion just like so many things. You may feel free but it won't last forever so can we ever be truly free?

no-one is free. there is always the part of your mind that tells you to stop. you are a slave to that part of your mind.

Freedom is letting go, your whole life you are living inside boundries, inside a little cell, freedom is walking out of that cell and letting go of all that surrrounds you, but no one can do that not while consequence is directly proportional to action....

So, then, is america wrong for claiming to be "the land of the Free"?

Originally posted by TheOneIsGone
no-one is free. there is always the part of your mind that tells you to stop. you are a slave to that part of your mind.

my little voice in my head doesnt tell me to stop, if anything it says to go further or faster always taking it to the next level

but in this world no one is free NO one.

Originally posted by PsycikPsycho
So, then, is america wrong for claiming to be "the land of the Free"?

Thats a different level of freedom. There is spiritual freedom, which is the freedom to be you. Then there is emotinal freedom, where you are allowed to be any emotion you want at anytime. Then their id governmental freedom, where as to a country's citizens, arent opressed, or run over by tanks, because the government is saying no to something. America is the home of the free on the governmental level, but thats about it imo. I probably goofed up here....eh, screw it.

Freedom is that you can say what you want, think what you want, believe what you want, and do what you want.... Everything should be given to grant freedom!

We don't know what freedom is. The governments have plotted a vast conspiracy to stop us from knowing what freedom is, and thus forgetting what we truly want. Think about it, what is the difference between a freedom fighter and a terrorist? Indeed..

What we need to do is elect Barbara Streisand for president of the World! Go Barbara!

Mr U

I guess lots of folks take Freedom mostly for its good bits. ;)
Specifically, I learned somewhere that Freedom was The ability to think on and make decisions for yourself and your way of life that no-one should interfere with nor take away. This also means you keep in mind the consequences of your said decisions, and that you alone must take responsibility for it.
The U.S., considering how it was formed, does make a good example for a 'Land of the Free'. However as our dear conspiracist correctly postulated, there is less freedom than you expect, just by the fact of advertising alone. Tell me; who hasn't felt the urge to chow down on fastfood at the sight of a juicy commercial? Where's the freedom in that? :D

An incredibly valid point, Mac. When does the freedom of the consumer begin, and the freedom of the corporations who attempt to influence end? Why are governments not allowed to use 'mind-altering' techniques, and as you stated the companies who create these juicy commercials can?

More importantly however, if we are discussing the land of the free, the US of A, we should consider that corporation and government are entwined. After all, who can deny the power of lobbying the congres? Perfectly legal, perfectly unliberal; Washington would turn himself over in his grave if he knew.

Does this mean we should go onto the streets and chase the president out of the country? No, but it is still a good idea :D.

Mr U

We may not know what freedom really is, but everyone has their own views and thoughts on it.. to me freedom is not being controlled by anyone, being able to do what I please, no police etc... But without these rules, there would simply be no organisation... their would be no order because everyone would be doing what they want. So, in some cases, not to be completely free is often good because it ensures safety.. If there was no laws, people would kill and get away with it. But being able to do what you please does sound rather cool.

I don't think it's complicated at all... I think freedom is being allowed to do whatever you want whenever you want however you want etc. Sane people know that freedom must be limited when it can hurt other people. That's it I reckon. No conspiracies to speak of...

But since I like arguing so much: the difference between freedom fighters and terrorists, at least in the way the terms are used today, is that a terrorist is a freedom fighter that uses murder of civilians to get his way. This is a case of freedom hurting other people, and not even the relevant people at that...
About the mind altering techniques... I don't know if I'd call adverts "mind-altering", but even if I did, the government is allowed to use these too... the government advertises all the time; against traffic accidents, for their party come election time... maybe adverts in their current form really should be outlawed, but for a different reason than what you say...

the difference between freedom fighters and terrorists, at least in the way the terms are used today, is that a terrorist is a freedom fighter that uses murder of civilians to get his way. This is a case of freedom hurting other people, and not even the relevant people at that...


Bah! One man's 'terrorist' is another man's 'freedom fighter' - there is only an observational perspective difference, not an diffinitive one. What Al Jazeera classes as freedom fighting, CNN labels as terrorism and vice-versa.

As for freedom, I think it has to do with choice. No-one has absolute choice, so no-one is absolutely free. We are all confined by the options we have available to ourselves...whether it is political parties, musical preference, food, drink, lovers, pets, geographical positions...So I guess that once these limitations are actually accepted, then everyone is free...

Some of my friends have other ideas though...Check out the maddness my pal, Epictetus, was spouting last night as we were smokin' opium and watching 'Zoolander' for da 50th time...

'Only the educated are free.'

- I guess that means I'm in, and youse cats are out.

Peace and carrots.

Eloquent, and humble as usual. I don't think I miss Teriken all that much now. ;) Question, though: is your sig Kanji? What does it say; and in what language? What little I can catch looks interesting.
What alot of you seem to describe is not freedom; it is omniscence (sp?). The power to do whatever you please. That is impossible simply because our own abilities are limited, and, to coin a phrase: 'You can't swing an arm in this world without hitting someone'. I still believe that essentially, 'freedom' equals 'personal responsibility'.
And to argue a detail: terrorists are not just those who kill. Those who disrupt operations, damage and destroy property large-scale, and generally oppose the government's idea of civilised law are terrorists. A good example are eco-terrorists. There is a Norwegian (I think - sp?) man who buys boats to ram whale hunting ships and sink them. No-one dies, but lots of property is destroyed, and it certainly isn't legal. He's branded an eco-terrorist.

Hmm, that was the point I was raising about the freedom fighters/terrorists. In the eighties, the US called Usama Bin Laden a freedom fighter. Terrorists, freedom fighters, all the same.

It is true that educated have more freedom of doing as they like, but they are in no way entirely free. And might I add, you are not the only one who finished elementary school ;).

Mr U