Freedom-Yes-Freedom!

CredoWriters: Wakdok, Samuel Stephen.
18-02-2010

“I will not be a slave to another man, and no man will be a slave to me”-Abraham Lincoln.



Freedom! One word that I have never bothered myself to write about, yet the very idea that we live for and will die for if need be. I know that freedom is a word said and used by billions across the world. Freedom is that which we seek and many have died for, yet we fight for freedom because we can’t live without it. I once asked if we preferred to live as hungry free men or live as wed fed slaves. What stops us from living as just free men because for me to live as a hungry free man is the same thing as been a slave. There is no freedom in hunger just as there is no freedom in been a well fed slave.

Freedom covers all the length and breadth of our lives as individuals and as a people. We seek freedom, but freedom from what and freedom to do what? Children want freedom to play, teenagers want freedom to explore, and adults want freedom to misbehave. Families want freedom to grow, religions need freedom of practice and to convert, companies need freedom to make more profits and even to expand, employees want freedom to earn more ,men want freedom to cheat and women want freedom to experiment. Serious nations want freedom to develop and in many cases to exploit the resources of more endowed but less developed states.

There are many types of freedom. Physical freedom, personal freedom, emotional freedom, spiritual freedom, political freedom, economic freedom, financial freedom, academic freedom, mental freedom and many others like abstract freedom .Even nations have freedom and that is what we call sovereignty

We may have some combination of these freedoms but lack others. It is desirable to have all the various types of freedoms but not always tenable. Yet it is advisable to possess a combination of the key types of freedom in the absence of all. What matters most is that we appreciate the freedom we have and use it to achieve more freedom. So while you may want economic freedom to gain financial and personal freedom, I many desire academic freedom to gain intellectual and physical freedom. While you may need emotional freedom to gain personal and financial freedom, I may pursue spiritual freedom to gain emotional and eternal freedom. He may need religious freedom to get spiritual and personal freedom and she may need physical freedom to get intellectual and emotional freedom. It is a matrix, while some may be brilliant to solve a two by two matrix, others may be sharp to solve a three by three matrix. The most important thing is that we get our iteration table correctly.

Freedom is liberty, and I cannot claim to be a free man if I enslave others by my actions or inaction. There is always room for freedom and more freedom, but just like freedom has a prize to be won, there is always the price of liberty to be paid. Costly as this price of liberty is, it is better to pay the price of liberty than to remain without freedom no matter the kind of freedom you think of. We paid heavy prices by losing sleep to pass exams and achieve our goals. People gave up their families and wealth to gain their national independence, sometimes we must give up smaller freedoms to get a bigger one. People have given up their personal liberties for the quest of greater freedoms. All the prisoners of conscience had a choice to hold on to their personal liberty to fight for a bigger kind of freedom.

In as much as everyone has the right to his or her own freedom, there are always limits to our vision of freedom. Such limitations could either be placed by God, the society, our faith or creed, the organizations we belong to; or even ourselves. Your freedom must not encroach on the freedom of others be it religion, monetary, or even ideology. God has placed the limits on man’s freedom by giving us his commandments, the country has laws, societies and families have rules etc. For an armed robber to expect the freedom to rob and kill in the name of physical freedom is not freedom, for a corrupt government official to claim freedom to loot and under develop the country in the name of personal freedom is not freedom. For gay people to expect that homosexuality and lesbianism should be legalized in the name of freedom of expression or association when it contradicts God’s plan of creation is not freedom. For people to take the lives of others in the name of freedom of religion when it is against the law of God and the land is not freedom either. For drug dealers to import fake drugs or sell expired drugs to the detriment of other humans who have the freedom to live is not freedom.

Freedom is universal; irrespective of our race, language, creed, hereditary or sex. We all have that urge to possess our freedom, internal or external. Selfish as man is, we want to be free but we deny others their freedom by accident or by design. A teacher who wants his salary paid but will not teach well is guilty of this, an employer who wants profits but denies his employees their dues is guilty, a government that demands taxes to be paid but cannot provide the amenities to its citizens is guilty, a preacher who wants tithes to be paid but will not lead the flock to the truth is guilty, a god who wants to be worshipped but does not guarantee freedom to its worshippers is guilty, a parent who wants respect but cannot provide for his or her dependents is guilty and children who want to be catered for but will not obey are also guilty.

If we want freedom we must guarantee the freedom of others, if we demand freedom we must allow others the right to their freedom. It is only when we allow others access to their own freedom and they too allow us access to our own freedom that we can be said to have freedom in its true sense. We may be constraint to choose just one or a few types of freedom. For me I know I may not have all the types of freedom. I do not seek for personal or physical freedom, I do not weep for economic or financial freedom, I will not die for emotional or religious freedom, yet I need all these types of freedom. All I ask to be given is the FREEDOM TO BE FREE. With this single freedom I will get all the types of freedom I need and want and desire and deserve. The freedom to be free-Yes!



Powered by CredoWorld Media
www.credoworld.blogspot.com.