digital art piece by me, @tessaragabrielle—all rights reserved
What is freedom? What would a free world look like?
For me, freedom means basic necessities are provided for, and one has leisure time. It means not having to worry where the next meal is coming from. I love the idea of universal basic income, and of communities sharing and providing for everyone. In my drawing above, the little girl is dreaming of a community garden. This plot of land is held in common, for the purpose of feeding everyone in the community. She helped plant it and she benefits from it, but it is also there for everyone else as well. She is proud knowing that her hard work will support so many others. This girl is ready for a caring revolution.
And so am I. We can rebel against oppressive powers and systems of dominance, but we need to know what we’re rebelling for. In my case, it’s community. I want a community where we heal, where every body is nourished and every mind is empowered. I want access to education for everyone. I want fulfilling work for those who want it. I want safety for all, and happiness, and peace.
So many of us exist in this scarcity mode, where there’s too little to go around. We are encouraged to see more freedom for others as less for ourselves. We are taught to fear, to scrabble and clutch at what we have, to be miserly and competitive, to accumulate. Do this long enough, we are told, and we will find freedom.
This is not liberatory. This is the opposite: it serves to keep us all locked up, separate, unable to recognize each other’s inherent worth and humanity. If we were truly free, no one would be struggling to provide housing and food for themselves and their families. No one would be living a single accident or illness away from overwhelming debt. Young people wouldn’t be afraid of being gunned down in their schools. Places of worship wouldn’t be terrorized regularly. Indigenous peoples wouldn’t be trampled upon by settler societies and their ponderous bureaucracies.
In a free world, everyone would be guaranteed livable income, whether they worked or not, and regardless of the type of work they did. Everyone would be respectful of people, whether different or similar to them. We would be free to engage in healthy, safe relationships, and we would not shame anyone whose relationships looked different from our own. Racial and gender violence would be nonexistent. Medical and mental health needs would be met, and fresh, nutritious food be would be available to all. Everyone would have access to clean, drinkable water.
If the world were free, I would not see people in my communities sinking under the struggle of living under a capitalist society. I would not feel shame asking for help when I needed it. I would not be afraid every day of racist, anti-queer, sexist violence. I would be able to walk down the street without being the target of crude and dehumanizing language. I would not have to worry about surveillance and being persecuted by my own government.
In a free world, we would care for ourselves and each other, and we would care for the earth and nature. We would grow crops and share our harvest with our neighbors. Today, I try to plant the seeds of such a society, hoping they will flourish and bear fruit one day. Like the girl in my illustration, I dream of a lush green world of abundance and joy. I dream of a caring revolution.
This post was inspired by Freedom Challenge #4: If you lived in a free world how would your life be different? from @sagescrub.
By the way, if you’re interested in the idea of Universal Basic Income, Manna is a cool new project trying to make that happen. It’s pretty small right now, but hopefully it will grow more. Check them out here: Mannabase (this is my referral link).
Dividers created by @javehimself, and used with thanks.
