The Interminable Freedom Struggle

 

The Oxford Dictionary defines freedom as the power or right to act, speak or think as one wants, and the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.

Looking from an evolutionary perspective, consider the case of the primitive people. Theirs was a struggle for gaining freedom from the forces of nature. From the discovery of the fire, the wheel, the manufacture of weapons of sticks and stone, to the advancement of science and technology over the centuries, the man succeeded in gaining much self-sufficiency; but at the cost of the many things.

Nature also can be seen to be retaliating against this subjugation. The leveling of mountains, clearing of forests, the building of dams and skyscrapers, the release of pollutants into the environment have all led to the imbalance of the ecosystem. It’s quite evident in global warming, changes in the weather-cycle, frequent occurrences of droughts, floods, etc.

Even the wild animals, which man seems to have so proudly subjugated, crave for freedom. Ted Hughes, in his poem Jaguar, describes a caged-jaguar unwilling to accept its predicament; “He spins from the bars, but there is no cage to him. More than to the visionary his cell: His stride is wilderness of freedom.”

Moving on to the historical struggles, the revolt against the monarchy in the earlier centuries, the feudal wars of the Medieval Period, and the ordinary people’s rebellion against the colonization following the 18^th century Industrial Revolution. Struggles within and outside the countries continue even today. But very often, when we struggle on the basis of religion, nationality or gender, we are left with some heart-rending pictures such as those of Aylan Kurdi and the other children from Syria.

In the areas of Arts & Literature, we can see the struggle for freedom of expression. For example, the Romantic Movement of the 18^th and 19^th centuries rejected industrialization, organized religion, etc., and celebrated nature, beauty, and imagination. Later in the 20^th century, in poems such as ‘The Burning of the Books’ by Bertolt Brecht, we see writers raising their voices against the dictates of autocratic regimes such as those of the Nazis. And today, in an age of post-modernism, we can view writers who express their raw feelings, and critical views of today’s society, sans fear of imprisonment.

Having thus contemplated the evolutionary and historical aspects, I wish to take your attention to the mental struggles for freedom that we face today. According to the Neo-Freudian Karen Horney, basic anxiety is created in a child born into a world that is so much bigger and more powerful than the child. And after a struggle for overcoming this anxiety, the child may either overcome it or might develop neurotic personalities. Apart from that, in the day-to-day scenario, are we aware of the mental slavery that we are being subjected to?

We all use social media. It is true that it helps in keeping people connected over long distances; unknowingly we are being enslaved by it. I’m implying not only the addiction or the non-judicious use of time over it but also the fact that many a time, we promote posts without checking its authenticity. As a result, we end up being pawns of biased thinkers, instead of being advocates of facts. A piece of news that hit the headlines some years ago about how Facebook is killing democracy. Reports have shown how Cambridge Analytica, a UK based company used psychographic data from Facebook to influence the voting behavior of American voters.

Fashion is another area of concern. In our mad rush behind the latest electronic gadgets, apparel, hairstyles, etc. we are again becoming mentally enslaved. For example, taking selfies has become a widespread trend, so much so, that taking too many selfies is being considered as an addiction called ‘selfitis’. What Shakespeare wrote about the fashion of hats in the play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ holds good even today: “it ever changes with the next block.”

Films and Advertisements are also areas in which we seldom struggle. Very often, subliminal messages are encoded in these advertisements so as to influence our buying habits, etc. In Psychology, subliminal perception is the registration of sensory input below our normal conscious awareness. The reason why we are vulnerable to these subliminal messages is that we are defenseless against such registrations which occur below our conscious awareness.

We need to ask ourselves what we are struggling for, and what we need to struggle for…. Take a moment to think about all those struggles- both physical and mental- that we are aware of and need to be aware of. Let nothing inhibit our potential. No matter how big or small a problem, we must never give up. Getting a low score in an exam or being betrayed by people you trust etc. are very likely to pull us down. But we must move on. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “If you can’t fly, then run; if you can’t run, then walk; if you can’t walk then crawl; but by all means keep moving.” “For how long?” you may ask. In the poem ‘Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night’, we see the poet Dylan Thomas’s exhortation to his dying father D. J. Thomas: “Rage, rage, against the dying of the light.”  Therefore, unto death and even in its face, we should continue this struggle.

Let us live blissfully, but cautiously, being vigilant at all times, in this interminable freedom struggle.