What does it really mean to be free?

in #freedom7 years ago (edited)

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In the modern world, freedom is the opposite of reality; but it is nevertheless his ideal.

Once upon a time there was a man who, while walking through the woods, found a young eagle. He took it to his house and put it in a chicken pen, where he soon learned to eat the same food as chickens and to behave like these.

Five years later a naturalist who was passing by asked the owner why an eagle, the king of all birds, had to remain locked in the corral with the chickens.

"As I have given him the same food as the chickens and I have taught him to be a chicken, he has never learned to fly," the owner replied. "It behaves like chicken, and therefore, it is no longer an eagle."

"However," the naturalist insisted, "he has the heart of an eagle and, surely, he can be taught how to fly."

After a brief discussion, the two men agreed to find out if it was possible for the eagle to fly. The naturalist took her gently in his arms and said with great intensity:

"Eagle, thou art an eagle; thou dost belong to the sky and not to this earth; stretch forth thy wings and fly."

The eagle, however, was confused; He did not know what it was and, seeing the chickens eating, he jumped and joined them again.

Undaunted, the next day, the naturalist took the eagle to the roof of the house and encouraged him by saying:

"Eagle, thou art an eagle; stretch forth thy wings and fly."

But the eagle was afraid of himself, and of the unknown world, so he jumped once more in search of food with the chickens.

The next morning he rose early and took the eagle outside the city, away from the houses, to the foot of a high mountain. The sun was just rising, gilding the top of the mountain with gold, and every crag was glistening in the joy of that beautiful morning. Once there, he raised the king of the birds and encouraged him by saying:

"Eagle, thou art an eagle; thou dost belong to the sky and not to this earth; stretch forth thy wings and fly!"

The eagle looked around and trembled as if new life were coming to it; but it did not fly. The naturalist then made it look straight at the sun. Suddenly it stretched out its wings and, with the screech of an eagle, it mounted higher and higher moving away in the sky.

It is possible that the eagle still remembers chickens with nostalgia; It is even possible that, from time to time, he revisits the corral. But the eagle has never lived a chicken life again. It was always an eagle, although it was kept and domesticated like a chicken.

Source: James Aggrey's Work (1875-1927)


The eagle is the modern man, he has lost his identity and his sense of life, he lives in a corral and eats chicken food, he has betrayed his true essence and he has immersed himself in the material life of comfort and conformity. After all, it is easier to be a chicken than an eagle, the chicken has security in its corral, it has only a small space in which to live, its owner takes care of it and has its food insured, it does not have to worry about problems and needs of life. The eagle on the other hand is different, it is free and must take responsibility for itself, it must move is an infinite space for him that is impossible to travel, he must be alert not to fall into the hands of a hunter, he has to fight against loneliness and adversity, he must protect and defend his life from all those who want to subdue him, and despite all this, nothing guarantees his life, he must survive every day looking also to satisfy his most basic needs.

Freedom is about owning one's life.

Being free has never been easy, almost every time being a slave is the simplest option, often it is so simple that it becomes logical, and looking for easiness we don't realize that we are subjecting ourselves to slavery.

Modern man is a slave to many things, because being free means being able to choose between all the options, and when one of these options is blocked, unable to choose, even for ourselves, then man loses his freedom. If you are afraid to do something, and you avoid doing it with all your might, because the fear that exists inside you tells you not to do it, then you are unconscious slave of your fear, because he is conditioning your options. This does not mean that you should do something that you don't want, but on the contrary, it is precisely because of that, that you don't do it, and not because something, such as fear, limits your options or forces you to do something.

The addicts are slaves of the lowest kind, they cannot control themselves or their impulses, and because their weakness, they lose their freedom.

Freedom is not the easiest option and it never will be, it is a constant struggle against all the forces that want to subdue us, be they external or internal forces, it is always easier to be a slave. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, and the eternal struggle to keep it alive, no doubt, is only suitable for people strong enough to give everything for it.

It is said that Diogenes once referred to Alexander the Great as "the servant of his servant", because Diogenes had conquered fear, lust, and anger; while Alexander still serves these three. Despite having conquered the outside world, he still had not dominated the inside world. This type of domain does not depend on anything or anyone other than us.

Many times we don't understand why since the beginning of our civilization, fear, lust, gluttony, greed, and many other aptitudes were seen as the lowest of a man, but it is quite simple, if you are not able to control your impulses, your fears, your temptations, then they control you, and you lose freedom with your own approval.

In the Battle of Thermopylae, for 480 BC the Greeks faced the powerful Persian Empire, the largest in extension of that time, if you have seen the movie "300" you know a little, just a little, of where the matter is going.

It is estimated that around 6,000 Greeks, among whom the 300 Spartans stand out, gave a fierce fight in a bottleneck against a superior army of 250,000 Persians. The Greeks were defeated in that battle for being betrayed by Ephialtes, and it did not mean a tactical or strategic victory. Although the Greeks ended up repelling the Persians, this battle in particular had no significant importance other than delaying the Persian offensive for two days. The real meaning of Thermopylae, does not lie in the military field, despite its tactical and strategic skills, this really is not important, the meaning that transcends beyond a simple lost battle and has lasted for two millennia, is that, Leonidas, king of the Spartans, could have surrendered easily, could capitulate or initiate a retreat, could give the offering of earth and water to the Persians and show his submission, but he did not, he preferred to fight against all odds against an army 41 times greater, just to maintain his freedom.

The 300 Spartans, who were free men, decided when, how and why to fight, they faced a Persian army that fought under the whip, with a large number of slaves in their rows. The Greeks fought to maintain their freedom and thanks to their victory today we have a clearer vision of it, it is the Greeks who started the first ideas of freedom, also those of democracy, and it was also the Greeks who created in its foundations all the western civilization.

Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end.

Freedom is a greater good and an goal in itself, but to achieve it is far from easy, it is very difficult to obtain it, you must convince yourself that you want it, and be persevering, because it is easy to acclaim your desire to be free at the same time you turn your back and unconsciously become a slave to all kinds of vices. It is not an easy task, because our masters; comfort, dependence, consumerism, materialism, fear, temptations, impulses, and others, do not let us out. It is very easy to confuse freedom with debauchery, and stop being slaves from the outside to become slaves of inside. It is a long and constant struggle, without rest, because it is not only necessary to conquer freedom but also to maintain it, it is perhaps the most difficult goal in the world, but it is not impossible.

Slavery is the worst enemy of modernity and of today's man, as well as of current societies, because ease always seems to be good, and it is much easier to be the slave of all masters, both internal (fear, gluttony, comfort, etc.) as external (welfare state, interventionism, dependence), to fight for ourselves and take responsibility for our actions, becoming truly independent people, and facing all adversities, but at the same time enjoying a life of freedom.

To conclude I will say that freedom is not a right, nor is it similar, cannot be guaranteed by any State, Leader or Constitution, not even the fact that we proclaim ourselves free does it really, freedom can only be conquered, but by nature we are free to choose whether or not we want to conquer it and to what degree.

Liberty is not one of man's inalienable rights' it is a desirable but difficult acquisition, and must be contended for constantly.


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I think this is an immensely powerful piece of writing, which I agree with very much of.

But I disagree with you on what freedom is. For me, it is not something that has to be battled. inequity, sure, but freedom? For me that is simply a mindset. Lock me in a prison and you still cannot take my freedom. As long as I have an imagination and a mouth to say "fuck you, I won't do that," then I am free.

But that's of course a very subjective interpretation. One that I don't expect many people to agree with.

Again though; an excellent post, and I would resteem it if the option was available to me. But this platform is all about money, so one cannot resteem a post from a month ago that leaves no opportunity for someone to make a profit from.

I have that same definition of freedom. And I believe that freedom must be conquered by the same thing that you say, it is "simply a mindset", we should not conquer it to anyone but ourselves, and that is usually the most difficult thing.

Lock me in a prison and you still cannot take my freedom.

That is true, and that is exactly what I say, but if you are the one you put in a prison, then no one can get you out of there, and you will have lost your freedom for yourself.

It's funny how you comment on this publication made a month ago, the exact day I was going to publish another similar one talking about freedom. I could not publish it yesterday for personal reasons, and I'm publishing it right now. If you want you can take a look, and tell me what you think, comments are always appreciated.

This is the post.

Thank you very much for the compliments. Greetings.

I actually thought that was what you were saying up until the last few paragraphs when I started to interpret it another way. I was incredibly tired when I read it though so this could be why.

Also, it wasn't an accident that I landed on here. You linked me this on one of my recent posts.

I did it? I must look like a spammer then redirecting from one post to another. It is not my intention.

That thought did cross my mind this time around actually. Lol. But, I wonder why it didn't the first time. You must be very subtle about it..

Anyway, I did a post a few hours ago about accepting spam on my posts now; if it is worthy. So this doesn't seem to be much different. But I've a lot to do, so much like last time, it may take a few days to get around to reading it.

Wonderful piece of writing



You really need to see the above anime with the context. This scenes is set before they fight a near-god entity on a cosmic scale.

I have seen the three videos, although I must say that I could only understand them a bit, I am a bit out of context, especially with the 2nd, but I think I understand what you are trying to say.

First one is from The Fountainhead movie. The second is from Gurren Lagann. It's an amazing anime and in case you don't have time for that masterpiece I searched the net for few stuff to give you some context. Hopefully they'll help :-)


I agree: maybe it's much easier to be a chicken. But it's absolutely worth it trying to become an eagle...

When I read the first columns I thought he would or must throw the eagle from an Cliff or a mountain that he learns to fly again (like Petrie in "the land before time")... Sometimes that would be the best way for human beings, too..

They should wake up of their nightmare and jump into a free life... whatever that means to everybody.. it will be not the same for everyone.. Freedom is a specific thing..👍

By the way: Is the novel a well-known or are this your own thoughts? Thank you for sharing this. I like it so much that I've resteemed ✌️

Thank you so much! It's great that you liked it. The story about the eagle is the work of James Aggrey, the rest of the post is my writing.

thanks for the information... I have to look this author! But like your text as much as the other part =)

"And the eagle, realizing it was indeed an eagle, flew back to the chicken yard and, one by one, killed and ate the chickens." ;-)

So true. This is why I am @citizenzero. I pledge allegiance to no regime. I have the highest morality, take full responsibility and am the ultimate authority regarding how I live my life. You and I differ in some of our beliefs, but if feel we are brothers in this regard.

"And the eagle, realizing it was indeed an eagle, flew back to the chicken yard and, one by one, killed and ate the chickens."

LOL

Well, part of being free is being able to discern the opinions of other people, and taking responsibility for one's own opinions, one does not always have to agree with another person, but it is possible to reach an agreement and respect the freedom of others to think different.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone was as self-assured as you are and we could all be able to live our lives with personal responsibility, respect for others and have the freedom to express ourselves as we saw fit? Without that maturity and self-reliance we one can never be truly free.

THIS kind of posts make hope, I m not the only one feeling the pressure of becoming comfortably numb. Have you ever went to a supermarket and when you enter, you look at all those squared packages, meat, veggies, cheese, whatever is packed to 100g, 250g and of course the whole amusement industry keeps us from asking the right question:

William Wallace: Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!

That's right. But the truth is that they have done a very good job on most of the people who are currently comfortably numb.

I'm glad it gave you hope, because hope is the first step of all the great, and at the same time, it's the last thing that is lost. Greetings.

I love your posts, I follow you, your blog is interesting! very good content! Congratulations! 👏👏👏

me encanta tus post, te sigo, tu blog es interesante! muy buen contenido! felicidades! 👏👏👏

Thanks!

Cerita nyan sangat bagus sekali saya suka dengan ceritanya postingan yang sangat bagus saya tunggu postingan anda selanjutnya.