But what is freedom?

“But what is freedom? Freedom from what? There is nothing to take a man’s freedom away from him, save other men. To be free, a man must be free of his brothers. That is freedom. This and nothing else.

“At first man was enslaved by the gods. But he broke their chains. Then he was enslaved by the kings. But he broke their chains. He was enslaved by his birth, by his kin, by his race. But he broke their chains. He declared to all his brothers that a man has rights which neither god nor king nor other men can take away from him, no matter what their number, for his is the right of man, and there is no right on earth above this right. And he stood on the threshold of the freedom for which the blood of the centuries behind him had been spilled.”
-Anthem, Ayn Rand


This quote represents to me the ideal circumstances under which people could rise above this society of predator or prey. Freedom is EVERY person’s birthright. The existence of that right remains even if it is not acknowledged. There should be recognition of the absolute equality of one life to another. No one is correct or justified in exerting their will over anyone else. What happens if it’s not respected? Every person’s circumstances, resources, station in life, and degree of freedom from oppression determine whether behavior is an exercise of free will or simply reactionary. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs illustrates that until basic needs such as food and shelter are met, people cannot reach their full potential. They are denied the opportunity to freely select between all the daily choices that make up a pattern of behavior, thus a “good” or “bad” person.
http://www.ruralhealth.utas.edu.au/comm-lead/leadership/Maslow-Diagram.htm

I interpret the quote with “god” in the lower case as the human phenomenon of religious organizations. Religious affiliation is not necessarily predictive of behavior. At the institutional level, religion has played a role in geopolitical events and has been blamed for many wrongs, but that has largely had nothing to do with the original teachings or constructs. It’s usually due to a power grab; using religion to control and oppress. No god has done this, people have. Also, in the past people did not have an understanding of scientific principles and attributed everything that happened to deities.

At the individual level, responsibility comes in when people are free, based on their life circumstances to make choices and don’t. People should be able to throw off the shackles of their institutions and look at things as though those preconceived notions didn’t exist. Opinions should be based on truth; not pressure, fear or selective information. By blindly following what you’re told rather than examining what your personal beliefs truly are, you forfeit your rights and your freedom. You have put your choices in the hands of someone or something else. This is not necessarily atheistic. On the contrary, if after dismissing all preconceived notions and discovering pure values and motives there is still a place in your worldview for religious belief, this is the most sincere type of faith. You can’t truly BELIEVE something just because you’re told to. It doesn’t come from your core.

Maybe that’s not the way Ms. Rand meant it but that’s how it resonates with me based on my particular set of beliefs and experiences (which are necessarily different than hers and everyone else’s). I know that my interpretation of everything I experience is colored by what has influenced my life. I can recognize that bias and allow for it even if I can’t change it. I don’t presume to make a value judgment on the actions of other people who were not raised as I was- in a nominally free society shielded from violence and exploitation.

Why does this matter? Because there’s something grossly wrong with the state of the world, and there’s no one else to blame but humanity; as individuals and as groups. We cannot be given a pass to throw up our hands and say, “This is how it is, and it’s due to forces beyond our control.” What’s needed is universal acceptance of that one basic right for everyone, regardless of race, creed, color, gender, sexual orientation and so on.

* * * *

Here are the other quotes I wanted to include that didn’t fit.

“I never paddled an inch
I never fought for a thing
I never fought for anything
I was raised on TV
Like so many of you I see around me
Nothing to live (sic) or die for
No religion too.”
-Gordon Downie of The Tragically Hip on the CD “Live Between Us”


“History is the fiction we invent to persuade ourselves that events are knowable and that life has order and direction. That’s why events are always reinterpreted when values change. We need new versions of history to allow for our current prejudices.”

“When I grow up, I’m not going to read the newspaper and I’m not going to follow complex issues and I’m not going to vote. That way I can complain when the government doesn’t represent me. Then, when everything goes down the tubes, I can say the system doesn’t work and justify my further lack of participation.”

“I wonder if you can refuse to inherit the world.”
-Calvin of the “Calvin and Hobbes” cartoons, Bill Watterson