Freedom is an illusion. That's what many will tell you, and what I myself believed for many years. But is it true?
It's very easy to look out at the world, at the oppressive system that seeks to control our every decision and usher us down a predetermined selection of life paths, and to come to the conclusion that we're not free. But I question whether this interpretation of our environment is an accurate one, or if it is yet another paradigm intentionally pushed upon those of us able to see past the first layer of the deception. Are we really the victims that we purport ourselves to be? Or is that but another belief we have made the choice to adopt in order to feel comfortable, just as the ones who ignore the oppressive system altogether have done?
If we are victims of a tyrannical system that has stolen our freedom, then we have every excuse not to act as a free person would. Do you know how many times I have tried to answer for myself the question, what would I do with my life if I could do anything I wanted? If I was truly free? I have thought about it an awful lot, and I'm still not even sure I have the answer. Figuring out what we truly want from this life is almost as difficult as discerning the meaning of life itself. But by embracing the belief that freedom is but an illusion, we no longer need to ask that question. We resign ourselves to a simpler set of choices, and to one of the paths society has already elected as appropriate for us.
But if we truly assess the world we live in, honestly and diligently, can we really deny that we are free? Perhaps those of us incarcerated, or in another form of physical bondage, can make that argument. But to those of us who are not, what freedoms are we truly without?
They will tell you we don't have freedom of speech. But we do. If I want to say right now that I think the Jews cannot be trusted because I suspect they have been infiltrated by the Ancient Phoenicians, who are controlling the governments of the world through "phones" and through data and the internet, and that the New World Order's rising "phoenix" is a metaphor for the return of the Phoenicians to power, then I can do so. There might be someone, or some people out there who will seek to censor my words, or punish me for making such an accusation, but that does not negate my freedom to say it - as I have just proven.
Some would argue we are not free because we need money to do everything, and therefore have to work to acquire it. But do we? I have the freedom to walk into a supermarket and start eating the fruit therein. Sure, someone may come along afterwards and try to take me away to a cell, but in that cell they will then have to feed me. The decision is still mine. And if I want to avoid the cell altogether, I could just spark up a conversation with a random person in the street. I could inform them that I am hungry and have no money, and would appreciate it if they would invite me home for dinner. Sure, many people might say, "fuck off." But, I can guarantee not all would, and if you ask enough you would find that meal, and perhaps even a bed to sleep in for the night, because people aren't half as evil or apathetic as the news or television would have us believe.
Perhaps you believe we're not free because you cannot go and build a home without planning permission from the government? Again, says who? If you know how to build a home, and you can acquire the resources to do so, then go and build. There is no one controlling your mind and body to the extent that you cannot make the conscious decision to lay that first foundation and build upon it.
If you want to tell me you're not free because you have to have your child vaccinated, or send them to school, then I disagree. You can choose to do, or choose not to do, whatever you want. If you feel that you are not free then you have to recognise that that the only thing preventing you from being so is your own fear. But it's a choice, a choice we are free to make, to be afraid of consequences. Just as it is a choice to say I don't give fuck and I will live my life the way I want to live it.
The irony here is the consequences only exist because so many of us have convinced ourselves we are without freedom. If we all lived our lives the way we wanted to, instead of the way we are led to, then there would be no way of controlling us, for we'd be too many, and too free of mind and body to tolerate any who would seek to punish us for doing what we decided to do.
Perhaps you don't think it advisable to live your life free of the worry of consequences. But, I do not think it wise to live your life within the confines of fear. You can make the choice to see past the illusion of the illusion of freedom, and to liberate yourself and do as you please. We can decide to be beholden to no laws but the laws of our conscience, and the consequent code of morality that our conscience provides us with. It's as simple as deciding not to allow fear to manifest in our lives as walls and ceilings that restrict our possibilities.
If you read this post and end up in jail because it inspired you not to give a fuck; then don't blame me. You had the freedom to make your own choices. You always have.