Many who write on this challenge will note that "freedom" is relative.
And it is. Some will speak about the government taking money from us and how that is a form of slavery/anti-freedom. Heck, back when I was younger and considered myself an anarchist I would even have said then that having to work to pay money for food was a form of slavery/ anti-freedom. Basic needs that weren't provided free of charge was a form of oppression. These are interesting things to contemplate. Some will speak of forms of slavery and the relativity of freedom pertaining to one's mindset. These are some of the things that have crossed my mind as I have contemplated this challenge and what I would write over the last couple days.
But the challenge is not to write what freedom means to others, or what we are supposed to say freedom means, or how freedom varies from person to person- the challenge is to write what freedom means to me. So here it goes.
What freedom means to me is bodily autonomy.
To live without being groped or raped. In this way I am free because I surround myself with loving family and friends in an area on the planet where such things are not tolerated, and ideally harshly punished by law. I am married to a strong man who protects me and helps provide for our family so that I can have that freedom. So that I can have the freedom to only be with a man I love, and know, and trust. So that I have the freedom to grow and evolve into my fullest self- rising to the challenges of life, and expressing my creativity in my art.
There are many women around the world who live in a culture where groping and raping is the norm, where they are literally property, like slaves, and can be tortured and maimed for acting out in the slightest ways. There are places where young girls are subjected to horrific painful surgeries mutilating their genitals. I have always felt so sorry for those women. To me that would be one of the most terrible ways to exist. A quintessential anti-freedom.
To me freedom is education.
One very good thing about modern times is the age of the internet, the "oracle". There is so much information at your fingertips on just about everything you would like to know. Knowledge and the flow of information is no longer controlled by a few. This sort of freedom also requires one to use their minds and their intuition to sort and sift through the information. But the ability to educate ourselves and to learn is the ultimate freedom- the freedom to make our own observations and come to our own objective conclusions. The freedom to learn the skills we need to live a life with more freedom. The freedom to be inspired.
Freedom to me is having a home that is my own.
A piece of land to grow my own food and make my own decisions- whether I have to pay taxes or not. I have to work to make money to buy tools, pay bills, pay taxes, and subsist- but it is my free choice to do so. I choose to work hard to pay my own way and therefore I obtain and maintain my freedom.
Freedom to me is raising my own children.
Having my children home with me and actually engaging with them, watching them grow and seeing their unique personalities develop. Freedom to protect them from harm, freedom to let them play!
Freedom is the ability to travel.
Freedom to move my body, move my legs and walk.... This freedom I do not take for granted. I can put gas in my car and drive myself where I need to go. I feel so free being able to do this. In my past there have been times when I couldn't afford gasoline to go where I needed to. I have not experienced that in a very long time. While I do pine for world traveling and cannot afford that in the slightest today, I do hope that in the near future we will also obtain that ability.
Freedom to me is STEEM
The very real oppression of the banks and the federal reserve is only beginning to be revealed to the commoners and the response is strong. I see the lives of good people all over the world being changed for the better due to Steemit and crypto. As I learn more about cryptocurrency I see that it may truly FREE us from the current fiat regime!
My biggest insight after pondering freedom is that one only has freedom until it is forcibly taken from them.
And there are bully monsters worldwide who eat freedom and they must be stopped.
What does freedom mean to you? Participate in the #freedomchallenge by @sagescrub
here's the link to the challenge:
@sagescrub/freedom-challenge-1-what-does-freedom-mean-to-you-sbd-payout-to-winner
Thank you @sagescrub