The Contest brought to us by @sagescrub is one for Liberty, one for Freedom!
The question:
What does Freedom mean to you?
For such a short one, it's a loaded question! Freedom can mean so many things and like you @sagescrub, my personal understanding of it has evolved over the years.
The more I meet or listen to folks who live off the grid, homestead and seek self reliance, the more I believe the meaning of Freedom goes back to what I thought life was supposed to be as a child. Free from the chains of modern day society. Perhaps as a child you simply can't see the chains....Either-way, I am happy my head's finally come back to that point. Have I gone full circle already?
In the beginning we don't care about the way society works, we've got no bills, no attachment to status in the community, no knowledge of an establishment (outside the home) that imposes it's rules on us, no restrain from telling the truth, and so on and so on... I could keep going but I think you all get the point, we were free!
Today with the rise in crypto-currency, the massive exodus out of big cities to live off the land and a revival of the flower power days (same ideology, different music), I hear the words Freedom and Liberty being thrown around a lot. Of course in the political world too...where both The Right and The Left bark their propaganda in the name of Freedom.
My whole life I always thought (deep inside) that something was very wrong with the way we humans live. Were we really conceived to work a job our entire lives? There really is something fishy about that concept.
The steps to slavery as I see them:
- Parents do what parents do...and that's not always pretty
- Standardized schools make you sit for hours on end without being allowed to socialize (for the most part) and force you to learn in only that one standardized way.
- Do good in school you'll have a good job
- Get a high paying job, the gov'ment wants lots of taxes (the more you work, the more they steal! Simple)
- Don't think, keep working 'till you're to old to enjoy life to the fullest
- Die and the tax collector wants his share of the wealth you've given to who you wanted to give it to
In other words, Freedom means I can live my life the way I want to, without government but with respect for myself, respect for my surroundings, self reliance and living with complete awareness of my consequences.
As long as we have, even just a little critical thinking one man can easily respect his neighbor, college, friend, family and anyone. "My boundary ends where yours starts", if this can be achieved without greed and with our future generations in mind, we don't need any type of authority using violence as a means to resolve conflicts.
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Up-Vote, Re-Steem and Reply. Your comments are always welcome!
Don't forget...
#DreamsComeTrue!!!