Freedom is an illusion, yet an attainable one.
Voltaire stated in his essay on freedom: " He asked me if I was free? I replied that I was not in prison, that I had the key to my chamber, that I was perfectly free."
Voltaire's essay speaks of a physical freedom, but there is also a philosophical freedom. Physical freedom can be displayed through our choice of clothing or lack there of. It can be shown through our cars, homes, and dialogue. Philosophical freedom, on the other hand, is more difficult to explain- it is less of an outward appearance, more an inward opinion.
In order to understand a concept, one must first define it. Websters Dictionary states, "Freedom; Fre`dum, n. State of being free; Liberty; Particular privilege; facility of doing anything. " This is Websters definition. However, I disagree. To me Freedom is a mere illusion man creates to comfort himself. Yes, man has free will, but often this will is clouded and over powered by his instinctual, emotional reaction. True freedom is the ability to push emotions to the side and follow one's mind as well as one's heart. Emotions hinder as well as empower mans ability to achieve freedom.
I myself had previously attached the word 'America' with the meaning of freedom, a land based on freedom of choice. Something that is being taken away due to the youths inability to learn and the Elders inability to advance in thought. Uneducated beings can not obtain freedom. Thoreau stated that he was freer in prison, peacefully making his voice known and his opinion more firm, than outside being trampled over by the majorities wants and mindless following of the government.
When I was but a child, I thought myself free when I obtained the ability to go outside with out an adult watching over me, soon though, with my many days of sitting and listening to the Elderly and learning as much as I could, I came to realize through meditation that freedom was not place or object, but the choices I had came to take and would take in the future. People think of freedom as too literal a thing, they see only what they can touch of it, the illusion they have I can not comprehend.
I return to Voltaire with another quote from his essay:
"We figure to ourselves that we have incomprehensible and absurd gift of election, with out reason, without any other motive than that of free-will."
One is most free when one can think independently of others, one must be able to understand, contemplate, and reason out a subject. Three things so simple to say, yet many human beings today lack the very ability to do so. How often does one think of one's effect in words, how often does one think about one's ability to object, how often does one put these into action against the masses? Society gives boundaries, restrictions, the feeling of being unobserved. . . Who has the freedom to think alone, away from the common assumptions and standards? He who is free does.
Once freedom is found, it becomes extremely difficult. Humanity is terrified by the mere idea of having to think for themselves. Free thinking is scary for the 'Followers' of leaders, hard and incomprehensible for them to even acknowledge. Some of the greatest free thinkers in the world have, are, and will be persecuted for their defiance to society.
When one first learns to think, one is opening a dusty window unto a bright world. Shedding light unto eyes that have been in the dark since birth. A painful, yet exhilarating experience of growth and realization. The majority of humanity would rather wish for others to think for them, to direct them to the water than to lead themselves. These people become unnerved at the thought of thinking for themselves, and vexed when matters of their opinion are questioned. For they can not come upon an answer for their reasoning other than "He said so" or "they said". They feel such because they do not know how to think! When asked simple questions, they feel powerless. As if all the mighty thoughts they would say were hollow. For they are such: repetition of an others thought is powerless for one who can not meditate and understand it. They lose power through such actions.
Power is the ability to act or do of ones own accord. In order to do so, one must understand. In order to understand, one must ask questions first. Asking questions is power, and power is Freedom. Thus my opinion is stated
