What is Freedom?

Funk and Wagnall’s Dictionary describes it as “ 1.The state or condition of being free; the condition of enjoying civil liberties. 2. Political autonomy 3. Liberty from bondage or slavery.”

In this sense I feel somewhat confused. We, as Australians living in a democratic society are always described as free and lucky people. I can see that we are meant to be free from Dictatorship and not witnessing or being forced into war in our country. We do not have to do compulsory military service and we have the freedom to vote for who ever we choose.

But really how “free” are we? The theme of this edition of Opus made me start evaluating exactly what freedom I do have as a human being on this earth. Initially I felt that I had a great deal of freedom, feeling somewhat empowered by the passing of the RU486 bill in parliament, taking the decision out of the Minister for Health’s hands, but the more I sat and thought, the more I realised I am more a slave than anything else.

Ultimately I have no freedom whatsoever about my life. By life I mean existing. I was born because my parents had sex and a sperm fertilized an egg at the right time. I had no influence in this process. My life was in the hands of my mother and nature. I wasn’t terminated, which could have been a free choice made by my mother, and nature decided that I was fit enough to go full term. Even this may not have been completely true, considering health problems I have, but medical science took over and, as a fetus I was given the right nutrition to to be born healthy.

I do have the choice to end my life at anytime I chose, although in this country suicide is illegal and if anyone chooses to help me end my life then that too is illegal and they are arrested for murder or manslaughter. So I don’t technically have freedom over my life. Death is also a choice, which is often dictated to us by nature. Unless we suicide, our lives will come to an end completely out of our control, therefore giving us no freedom to live forever.

But all this we know, and it is out of our hands. It is silly to judge our freedom by our birth and death. I choose then to look at the everyday lives we have in between and see how free we really are during this time. I think I should skip past the age where we don't have enough brain activity to know if we are free, and move straight onto the age where we can actively make decisions.

School is the first shackle of slavery that we are forced into, at a young age. The majority of children would rather not be at school, yet it is a requirement in this country that all children must be educated until the age of 14, and then we can continue at school, stay at home or support ourselves in the work force. Don’t get me wrong, I think education is a great thing, and anything that expands a person's mind is elementary to responsible thinking, yet this is still an example of our slavery to the system from a young age.

We, of course, have the freedom to become what ever we choose, although I would have very much liked to be a bird when I was younger and unfortunately due to the laws of nature this could not be.

We have the freedom to vote, although if we don’t then we are hit with a fine. I did not vote this government in, yet I am obliged by law to follow its rules and have no say over what laws they pass, despite my freedom to protest anything I find unjust, this never seems to come to much. If I do protest I do not have the freedom to swear, step on another’s property without permission, hinder police, be naked, chain myself to anything, incite anger, say seditious comments and so on, because this is all illegal. I do have the choice to participate in illegal activity, but in doing this, my freedom could be removed through imprisonment.

The ultimate form of slavery in our society is money. Without it, it’s difficult to function, and due to soaring property prices it is near on impossible to become self sufficient without first slaving away making enough money to buy a property. Due to the abolishment of trade in our economy, our main source of nutrition has to be purchased. Scarier still, we pay for water, and this is set to increase with our water shortages.

Despite this article possibly appearing like a whine fest, I am grateful for the life I live. I am free to love whom I chose and be an independent woman. I have more freedom of speech than most in this world and I have the freedom to go where I choose, when I choose. But in most cases I choose not to live a self-indulgent life, because ultimately I am a slave to the world, which created me and nurtures me. I need oxygen and food and water and without it I will die. The only thing that can give me all this is the earth. I am totally reliant on the continuity of a flourishing ecosystem to create a stable environment. I am reliant on the world functioning effectively, and to have this I am responsible as a human to do what I can help that continue, and when it doesn’t, try to stop the things hindering the effectiveness of nature.

It’s a fine line between freedom and slavery, and definitely one, which can only be defined personally. I have the freedom to be a slave to nature, and despite the juxtaposition of this, it makes perfect sense to me….