Prisoners Of Freedom
Everything, even the information presented daily on this website, is a sideshow; distractions from the reality that a perpetual war against an enemy that is too conveniently indefinable will permeate the consciousness of generations to come.
There will come a time when our neighbours, our friends, and members of our own families may go too far, say too much, and be singled out as nefarious societal contradictions. By then we will have become so desensitized that few will speak up for them, let alone risk action to reverse what will seem irreversible.
That is the future that we are willfully allowing to be constructed. One that is governed by the need to guard against a continuous threat, an ambiguous enemy that can be too easily construed as whatever is relevant to escalating the perpetual state of fear in which we now find ourselves.
How low will we cower in the name of fear? To our knees? To the point where we surrender freedoms or agree that they can be curtailed for the sake of abating a fear that will only be amplified by the recognition of the fact that freedoms were abandoned to help mollify our collective anxiety?
We use antibacterial soaps and spray our counter tops with germ killing sprays. We alienate ourselves from those in our communities that are considered of less value or different - because of financial status, race, and religion. We help ensure that divisions within our society deepen because of our fears when the only way of dispelling them is to confront them and expose the commonalities that we all share.
We are prisoners of freedom, and thus form the engine that will ultimately ensure its demise. That is the way of all things; political constructs being no different. What we currently refer to as democracy, like any other political ideology, will eventually fail. In fact, it has been wandering the road to failure since its inception. And in the shadow of that failure, of the diminishment of its true application, counter measures will no doubt spring up to provide balance, even though they be labeled treasonous. The corruption of ideas, no matter their initial brilliance, represents one of the few constants in human history. To think that current democratic applications represent the height of mankind’s political achievements is therefore rather naïve. In purity it will, most assuredly, rank as one of our more brilliant ideas, but to submit to the belief that we now find ourselves at the pinnacle of human existence is precisely why it will eventually succumb to the weight of its numerous and long standing misgivings.
Freedom, viewed in a political context, is an illusion. Only gray areas of afforded liberties exist, ones that can be perpetually manipulated and altered, thus redefining our understanding of freedom depending on circumstance. Current circumstances dictate that the diminishment of certain freedoms are required to protect the survival of our political ideology, even though that ideology was initially designed to ensure the protection of freedoms and the inability to impede them based on fear. Not surprisingly, modern democracies have never truly adhered to their founding principles; the plutocratic being far more predominant in what we refer to as the democratic experience. It is precisely because of this misconception that the debasement of the idea itself can occur with such regularity and without a dramatic response to its usurpation.
We are creatures of habit and therefore rely on certain elements for constancy. One of those elements is fear. Interestingly, the other is a sense of freedom, or, at least, freedom sought. The bizarre dichotomy of our society is that both have become quintessential aspects of its character. We fear the loss of freedom yet believe that the loss of freedom must be tolerated to combat fear. Thus, trapped in the middle, we fear what might occur at the expense of freedom’s loss but, at the same time, oppose direct confrontation with the reasons for it.
That is the vacuous reality of societies that are simultaneously manipulated by both fear and the mythos of freedom. It is, in truth, why we are so susceptible to those distractions offered us that balance our personal senses of fear and freedom. You are, for example, free to consume; but with consumption comes the anxiety of spending, thus leading to a state of fear and subsequent reliance on mechanisms that help ensure that you are able to afford to maintain a sense of freedom. That would be why wealth is so highly coveted in our society despite the fact that it has nothing to do with true political freedom whatsoever.
How many terrorist attacks are there on a daily basis around the world and do they, for example, kill more people in that twenty-four hour period than starvation? Each day, a child dies every five minutes from starvation. In all, there are over 850 million people in the world that are starving. Yet, which is the greater fear and how does our sense of freedom relate to each? In the case of terrorism it causes fear and we are willing to sacrifice freedoms. In the case of hunger it is something that is not feared because many of us have the freedom to ignore it.
Of the two, we have the ability to defeat one of them, yet don’t. Ironically, much of the planet has spent trillions on combating the other, and that in only a six-year period.
Despite the tenets of various political and religious ideologies, freedom is the one undeniable goal of all humanity. Only the definitions provided by ulterior motivations convolute its meaning. No one single ideology can claim to be freedom’s outright champion, just as no one religion can. No act of barbarism or force can be undertaken to justify its pursuit or defense without the realization that the freedom of others, that being their right to exist, has been denied them in the process. Ultimately, our freedom resides in the same place, and in the same sense, that our fear does. The irony being that it is a state of mind that waits only to be fearlessly and decently acted upon, and that to do so scares us more than anything.
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October 14th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Wow…
October 14th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
freedom is never cost-free
October 14th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Nice piece of writing- I thought the explanation of the irony within our dichotic society was well made:0)
Fresh eyes…my question to you is- why should there be a cost to freedom? Shouldn’t freedom in a sense be somethign that we all have a RIGHT to? We shouldn’t be made to feel that we have to sacrifice ‘this or that’ in order to obtain something so fundemental. By instilling fear into our being- we have come to believe in so many ways that in order to be free we have to give our lives or to fight in pointless wars. That is the brain-type-washing that our government propagates upon us. The fact of the matter is- everything cost something- but this shouldn’t be one of those things…
October 14th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
well…actually I was not thinking in militaristic terms.
Freedom: 1. ability to act freely: a state in which somebody is able to act and live as he or she chooses, without being subject to any undue restraints or restrictions
How free is anyone to act? There’s always a cost. A restraint of fear. There’ll always be someone to judge your actions.
I think you may be onto something about that island.
October 14th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
NOTHING IN THIS LIFE IS FREE BUT AT WHAT EXPENSE IS IT ENOUGH? THE MONEY WASTED IS THE ISSUE BUT AT THE SAME TIME HOW CAN YOU PROMOTE A PEACEFUL WORLD TO THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER KNOWN IT? OR ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT, TO THOSE WHO ARE BLINDED BY IT. ALL IS NEVER PEACEFUL. MEDIA HAS WARPED OUR MINDS INTO BELIEVING EVERYONE IS THE ENEMY. NOONE TALKS AND NOTHING GETS HEARD UPON DEAF EARS!
October 14th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
It’s Ironic… To defend freedom they take it away.
I remember when I used to go and visit my parents and Saudi and as soon as I would land in the airport I would feel sufocated. Not being able to drive, having to dress a certain way and many other restrictions.
Driving into Syria I felt the same way. Knowing that if I said something negative of the Syrian regime would land me in jail was the reason.
Now, when I go through US customs, I feel the exact same suffocation. The defenders of freedom, have stripped their country of much of it.
October 14th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
[quote comment="29337"]well…actually I was not thinking in militaristic terms.
Freedom: 1. ability to act freely: a state in which somebody is able to act and live as he or she chooses, without being subject to any undue restraints or restrictions
How free is anyone to act? There’s always a cost. A restraint of fear. There’ll always be someone to judge your actions.
I think you may be onto something about that island.[/quote]
Idiotic of me, retracted.
October 14th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Whoa. That’s def. outrage.
October 14th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
I fear being alone. I fear spending the rest of my life in someone’s pocket because I just want to wash dishes and laugh. I fear that I will never be financially stable enough to care for someone. I fear that my life is accelerating away from me without purpose.
Most of all I fear the changes I would have to make in myself to defeat the things that I’m afraid of.
October 14th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
[quote comment="29336"]Fresh eyes…my question to you is- why should there be a cost to freedom? Shouldn’t freedom in a sense be somethign that we all have a RIGHT to? We shouldn’t be made to feel that we have to sacrifice ‘this or that’ in order to obtain something so fundemental. By instilling fear into our being- we have come to believe in so many ways that in order to be free we have to give our lives or to fight in pointless wars. That is the brain-type-washing that our government propagates upon us. The fact of the matter is- everything cost something- but this shouldn’t be one of those things…[/quote]
Actually, maybe some of the troubles lie with “Shouldn’t freedom in a sense be something that we all have a RIGHT to? ”
I think we should have specified RIGHTS and be free to enact them.
Freedom is too broad a term.
Look at what Samar mentions above, “Not being able to drive, having to dress a certain way and many other restrictions.”
Somewhere along the lines someone had made up the rules about driving and attire there. You’re free to follow the rules. Freedom exists until it encroaches on what you feel is restrictive.
Not being able to drive and wear what you want certainly encroaches on our sensibilities in Canada.
And of course the fear comes from the repercussions of ignoring the restrictions. Someone calling you a freak for wearing an outfit is nothing like getting arrested or shot for it. (Not all costs are monetary)
October 14th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
This is a really good piece, thanks for continuing to make us think.
October 14th, 2007 at 8:48 pm
i agree with what you’re saying..i perhaps made a statement that could be understood as vague…of course there are perameters to what we are ‘free’ to,. And the spectrum over which these freedoms and fears include is vast- . What i want to say is some of the restrictions that are put on our freedom i don’t agree with- ie. these ‘rules.we are free to follow’. Things like having to dress a certain way or not being able to drive. These are the restraints i dont agree with- and being fearful of the repercussions of not following these rules isn’t fair. I do know that we all must follow certain rules in order to uphold structure and avoid chaos. And i realize not all costs are monetary.. ..
You don’t get somethign for nothing- I just wish we weren’t forced into being afraid-… Fear is being bred into us and i simply find it unfair.
October 14th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
hey matt,
i was at the fredericton show and i am the photographer who met you after the show on your bus, i showed you some pictures and you said to send them to your site… i don’t exactly know where you want them sent… just message me or something, this is a sample of one of the shots i got http://invisible8moment.deviantart.com/art/matt-good1-67272646
as for you commenting on having a great time in Fredericton, I’m sure i speak on behalf of everyone when i say it was truly our pleasure. your music is a constant inspiration
October 14th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
Fear and freedom in democracy.. One of the topics that in my opinion should be at the forefront of every microphone of spoken word in every pub in canada. Fear is an instinct inherited from our earlier ancestry of our species evolution. Shamans have been among the few individuals in communties to harness, and over come fear, through the use of ritualistic ingestion of psychoactive substances. While billions hoard at the turnstyles, wheather that be in front of the tv or at wal mart to vent their daily frustrations and subconscious desires to be freed from this force we call fear. Fear and love are two polar opposites, in moments of calmness and meditation, in moments of love, fear is absent, and all earthy posessions are of no matter. We are undergoing a systematic debasement of morals and values, throught the consistent decensitization of sex, violence, drug abuse, etc. Which in turn has the effect of confusing most unconscious minds to the extent that we are running through life in search of that light at the end of the tunnel, under the doctrination of “fear”. So whose fault is it I ask, look in the mirror youll find the answer within the black stillness of your eyes. Dive in to chaos and learn to swim, when you all do, you will see that the world will begin to make sense, and “fear” will then be your ally.
Jesse Patrick O’Neil
Life is the Moment
October 14th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
…. i am the photographer who met you after the show on your bus
Wow, man. I’m not going to lie, thats pretty sweet work. Keep it up!
October 14th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
Justin Ley: ….i am the photographer who met you after the show on your bus
Wow, man. I’m not going to lie, thats pretty sweet work. Keep it up!
October 14th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
I don’t mean to drag this into a US-centric discussion, but I read a few articles the other day about Rice saying how screwed up Russia’s democracy was, and while reading her talking points, I came to realized the US had essentially failed at every one of them themselves, at least with their current government. It’s ironic that the current administration feels the need to call to question the pursuit of freedoms of other countries, or the pursuit of nuclear technologies of those same countries, even though the US has systematically eroded their own constitution, and have ultimately trampled on the rights and freedoms of their own citizens by fear-inspired mechanisms.
October 14th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
When Canada and Mexico become part of the USA, you won’t have to fear anything.
We’ll protect you.
Really…………………..
October 14th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Incredible post.
October 14th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
Nah, I make a joke……….Why would anyone think that the USA would want Mexico! Too hot and destined to be hotter !
And Canada’s too big!!!!! And cold!!!!!
……and it’s Chowda……. :)
October 14th, 2007 at 11:10 pm
Sometimes when I read things like this or watch documentaries, I find it pretty depressing to the point that I kind of question whether I want to bring kids into the world, because I don’t want them to have to live in the f-ed up world that will be in existence in the future.
The US is a big force behind this problem, whether it’s instilling fear in their own people or wreaking havoc in the world. Have you been in an American airport lately? the last few times I’ve been in one, let’s say Aug and Jan of this year, and the summer of 2006, they had ‘Orange’ threat levels. That’s the 2nd most severe rating. I, maybe as a foreigner or just someone who’s not fooled by it all, laughed when I heard it the first time and shook my head out of disbelief when I heard it a year later. But what about all the less educated or brainwashed Fox news watchers out there? Of course they are affected by the announcements.
Not only that, but the US seems to always be causing problems in other countries, and has been for many decades. How many times and in how many countries have they gone in secretly and caused rebellions to occur against the government? In most cases, the local governments had natural resources (minerals, oil) and were looking in the best interest of their countries by making the companies state-owned. So it doesn’t take much to guess what the US government’s motives were.
When are they going to stop? Who can stop them? The US economy isn’t exactly doing well. Who is really benefiting now? and in the future? How far are they planning to take this?
After the bush vote scandal, surely faith in democracy has dropped. What will we be left with after democracy fails?
I find with the climate issues and world politics it’s hard to have a positive outlook on our future, it’s no wonder people choose to have their heads in the sand.
October 14th, 2007 at 11:45 pm
Matt, you are great.
No fear of posting about ‘contentious’ issues. I just wish I had the knowledge and guts to be able to do the same… it’s great to read something that articulates well what SHOULD be talked about/debated, not who’s on the cover of (and what they’re wearing) the latest ‘Hello!’ magazine.
And this may be slightly tangential to the post Matt made, but it made me think of a quote and a song (especially the last verse of the song):
“If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.”
-Noam Chomsky
Kill for gain or shoot to maim, But we don’t need a reason
The golden goose is on the loose, And never out of season
Some blackened pride still burns inside, This shell of bloody treason
Heres my gun for a barrel of fun, For the love of living death.
The killers breed or the demons seed, The glamour, the fortune, the pain,
Go to war again, blood is freedoms stain, But don’t you pray for my soul anymore.
2 minutes to midnight, The hands that threaten doom.
2 minutes to midnight, To kill the unborn in the womb.
The blind men shout let the creatures out, Well show the unbelievers
The napalm screams of human flames, Of a prime time belsen feast
As the reasons for the carnage cut their meat and lick the gravy,
We oil the jaws of the war machine and feed it with our babies.
The body bags and little rags of children torn in two
And the jellied brains of those who remain to put the finger right on you.
As the madmen play on words and make us all dance to their song,
To the tune of starving millions to make a better kind of gun.
(Iron Maiden - 2 Minutes to Midnight)
October 15th, 2007 at 12:22 am
“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.”…….Charles Delano Dickson
Relax: It’s ok to have children……..really.
The world is not going to blow up tomorrow.
You can still make phone calls- take out Library books. Really………George Bush is not going to hunt you down.
October 15th, 2007 at 1:51 am
How long did it take to write that?
Absolutely sums up our present day fears of freedom and liberties that are unconciously permeatting our society and gives more information of the ways in which we must overcome our fears.
I also enjoyed Jesse O’Neil - Fear can become your ally. I believe Don Juan informed Carlos Castenada of similar allies.
I also liked bruisevelvet - why should there be a cost associated with freedom? Absolutely. Why is there?
I think that when the commonwealth was developed to take people out of what’s called “The State of Nature”, the main idea was to create a society that functioned for the good of the people in being able to maintain a standard of living where the threat of invasion was removed and gave the people a sense of security that there families, possessions, and property were safe. For, “the state of nature” was the state of man without limitations and who had the power to punish and defend himself by any means of survival and therefore, chose to move within a society to preserve their right to their property and the means of aquiring a quality of life that omits fear of theft, invasion, or murder.
Now whether or not Man entered into this description of commonwealth willingly is to debated - due to the fact that Monarchies, hereditary monarchies, etc. have existed for centuries and even BC (Before Church) and so, whether these societies ruled on behalf of the rights and freedoms of the people is bound to question.
But, John Locke, another Pioneer of Political thought and Liberalism posed that: certain rules should be set up for the rights of the people that the supreme power would need to adhere to in order to not remove the security of the people (because therefore they’d be better off in a state of nature), to keep trust within the people of society for the supreme power (that they are acting on the people’s behalf), to not take the personal property or wealth of the people (again, being that the people would be better off in a state of nature), and that no power could dispense the power of lawmaking other than to people that the society agreed upon (people the society has faith in). In fact, his ideas are one of the founders of democracy. He also believed that if the governement did not fulfill their promises to the people that they had the choice to rebel against it, to appoint another dictate or change the laws as long as it was done by a majority consent of the people.
YES, somehow, someway, the foundation of the democracy we’ve established is slowly failing. I believe Karl Marx wrote on the effects of Capitalism or economic order where our present day societies lay on a network of legal and economic institutions, or an “abiquitous web of transactions”, whereby it has a tendency for an economic society to fall (Boom & Bust). Which leads me back to “the advantage of the stronger”. Where Marx argued that Capitalism leads to the unfreedoms of others. The tyranny of wealth under Capitalism.
But, he also sighted that Capitalism was a stage needed in the political process and that it could benefit society as a whole if it was used appropriatly to rid global scarcity and the problem of justice, whereby there would be enough wealth accumulated to ensure that there was enough resources to distribute appropriatly and that these aquisitions were spread around.
Perhaps, the unfreedoms we feel now is just another turn on the wheel…..
Or perhaps, it will eventually cause a sort of anxiety that will propel the people to use fear as their ally and realize that there is no cost of freedom and try to bring society back to where it needs to be. The idea of society isn’t insane, just flawed.
I only wish I will live to see it.
October 15th, 2007 at 4:18 am
“It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.”
Was that Churchill
October 15th, 2007 at 6:43 am
Fear is in education as well, instead of freedom for kids to be - well, *kids*. And to find their own way. But that is to scary for most people, all the what-ifs and the differentness of someone else who choses (and has the freedom to choose) to live different from the rest of society, to raise & educate their children differently from pretty much everyone else (98% anyway), to learn alongside, to always grow and change, to live life - really *live* it - and not just observe from inside a box, a classroom (we institutionalize our children too), a place of fear that somewhere we’ll do it wrong and our whole entire life will be screwed up. (it won’t)
I find most parents I talk to really don’t understand and it comes from a big place of fear, not freedom. I am free, my children are free, and we are not scared - we are exhilarated. Our only goal is to raise them to be happy adults, not fearful ones.
It does take guts to be different - to have the internal freedom to speak your mind in a public spot like this. Thank you for putting yourself out there, for being a good example, for questioning it all, for educating the masses. It helps me feel slightly less crazy. :)
October 15th, 2007 at 8:13 am
Let us paint a detailed Picture in our Mind
of the worst Case Scenario….
Let us revel in an Orgy of Pessimism…
Let these all-encompassing Doubts and Fears
just keep on taking our Time….Energy….and Attention…
Let us carry on…. until it dawns on us
that the more we feed this Monster….
the hungrier it will become….
October 15th, 2007 at 8:59 am
Freedom doesn’t just happen, it has to be created and can be taken away either by force or deception. Those who tell us giving up a little freedom will bring more security are the real threat.
Great article Matt.
October 15th, 2007 at 9:10 am
What a wicked post
Very thought provoking , although you may feel a little under the weather your mind is as sharp as a tack !
“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose” - Janis Joplin - Me And Bobby McGee
Call it Democracy
by Bruce Cockburn, written Nov. 1985
Padded with power here they come
international loan sharks backed by the guns
of market hungry military profiteers
whose word is a swamp and whose brow is smeared
with the blood of the poor
Who rob life of its quality
who render rage a necessity
by turning countries into labour camps
modern slavers in drag as champions of freedom
Sinister cynical instrument
who makes the gun into a sacrament –
the only response to the deification
of tyranny by so-called “developed” nations’
idolatry of ideology
North south east west
kill the best and buy the rest
it’s just spend a buck to make a buck
you don’t really give a flying fuck
about the people in misery
IMF dirty MF
takes away everything it can get
always making certain that there’s one thing left
keep them on the hook with insupportable debt
See the paid-off local bottom feeders
passing themselves off as leaders
kiss the ladies shake hands with the fellows
open for business like a cheap bordello
And they call it democracy
and they call it democracy
and they call it democracy
and they call it democracy
See the loaded eyes of the children too
trying to make the best of it the way kids do
one day you’re going to rise from your habitual feast
to find yourself staring down the throat of the beast
they call the revolution
IMF dirty MF
takes away everything it can get
always making certain that there’s one thing left
keep them on the hook with insupportable debt
October 15th, 2007 at 9:14 am
This is a great post - It reminded me of how when people seem to think that I have no freedom, I always think of quoting you by saying “Freedom is just a word..”
October 15th, 2007 at 9:40 am
Or maybe “the only place to find freedom is in the dictionary…under F”.
Awesome post, and interesting comments…that’s what I love about this place.
October 15th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
[quote comment="29373"]
Relax: It’s ok to have children……..really.
The world is not going to blow up tomorrow.
[/quote]
Thank you for that. If I was implying the world would blow up, then I wouldn’t care about my children’s life as they would not be alive to see it.
I just wonder what the quality of life will be like and what kind of rights they will have 30 or 50 years from now.
October 15th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
Things go in circles, I think.
I betcha life in the future will be like life in the past. Less high-techy and more “back-to the-landish. Not because people want it that way, but out of necessity.
People are born, people live, and people pass on. This little globe just keeps on going in circles and hardly seems to notice us. Only the circumstances change. We all need to eat and sleep and get our monkey butts out of the rain. Nothing really changes except the governments and rules and regs, and new colors in the spring.
I teach my girl (16) what I think she needs to know. A lot of “survival skills”. Remember don’t let school get in the way of your education.
And don’t listen to your fears…….live free.
October 15th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
People are fearful of loosing their freedom because it is such a precious commodity. We are all afraid of loosing anything of value. It is the judgment of the value that differs. We, as the type families we are (small), worry about each member. Those who live in societies where their children are dying of starvation just keep reproducing and with a mindset of survival of the fittest are grateful for all that live. Fear is what keeps us human.
October 15th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Nothing Costs Nothing!
October 15th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
There is
Nothing
to fear !
October 16th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Matt, here’s your island:
http://www.propertyguys.com/listings/property.asp?propid=13266
I’m serious!