"Leave Me Alone!" ~ Is Unlimited Freedom Good For Us?
I happen to live in what's called the United States of America but I consider myself a citizen of the World.
The U.S. has always put out the line that it's a free country…
Most Americans now feel hampered by what the combination of party politics and corporate greed has done to limit true freedom.
But, what is true freedom?
Is it doing whatever the hell you feel like doing?
If that were the case, no one would ever get a ticket for running a red light…
Does true freedom have something to do with working within a structure that helps you release your potential?
As a writer, I need to impose some structure on my creativity. If I didn't, words the meaning of which when or if then never would sense make exampling for :-)
I've even been known to create a scene-by-scene outline for a book and then, as I do the actual creative writing, lacerate the outline, sever its limbs, cut into its flesh, and mutilate its form.
Still, if I hadn't outlined first, my finished book might have resembled the patch-worked body of Frankenstein.
So, I think the best expression of freedom–freedom to release your maximum potential–comes when you have some basic structure or form established within which to create.
Therefore, I like traffic lights. I even like taxes (the principle of them, not their current distribution). I also like the formal dance of dating instead of the animalistic breeding some folks crave.
What I absolutely do not like is unlimited freedom to do whatever the hell my body and emotions seem to always be demanding of me. Sure, when I was twenty-something, I thought that was what life was all about–get what you can before it's all gone…
Now, in my sixties, I realize that the most valuable possessions in life come after long, hard work–work done in a way that abides by principles that structure the release of my creativity in ways that have endurance–work that lasts long enough to get me up that mountain of aspiration to the peak of satisfaction–satisfaction that also endures…
Another thing I do not like is political/corporate power structures that beguile with promises of unlimited freedom and deliver mass slavery to cycles of consumption that never quite satisfy, never give lasting peace or security or tranquility…
So, yes: "Leave me alone!" But…
Please do give me the social structures that protect my freedom to create…
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Tagged: crisis, freedom, humanity, justice, peace, world, writing
