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Freedom, power -never balanced

Free Ukraine

By JPWrites.2Published 2 years ago 7 min read
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Freedom, power -never balanced
Photo by UX Gun on Unsplash

Freedom is…The power or right to act, speak or think as one wants, The state of not being imprisoned or enslaved The state of not being subject to or affected by something undesirabl

This is the official definition of the word freedom.

Interesting wording from my perspective. As stated in statement 1, the power or right to act, speak or think as one wants. I find the use of the word power in this statement belittling and incorrect. Freedom and power do not belong in the same sentence. Power is defined as the ability or capacity to do something or act in a particular way. For example political or social authority or control, especially that exercised by a government. Power is something sought after by people thirsty for control, those looking to do something or act in a specific manner. Where as freedom is a state of allowing any one person or being to act, think and feel the way they decide to. This could be based off beliefs or just preference for example.

Historically power is what interrupts freedom, and like most history, it repeats itself over and over again. Since the beginning of time thirst for power has taken away or temporarily paused freedom over either an entire population or a segment of it. Today this world is being awakened yet again by the balance,or lack there of, between freedom and power.

Let me tell you a story,, and all I ask is you to consider who the person I describe is…

Once upon a time there was a man who for unknown or misunderstood reasons believed he was entitled to power over a large group of people. This man believed only his kind mattered. This man was prepared to take any action, even kill to further his own agenda and gain more power. This man segregated an entire nation and began carrying out a plan supported by many that would boost his propaganda. This one man was responsible for a great many deaths, children, men and women alike. This one man and his followers were driven by a thirst for power to a degree in which they were willing to commit genocide to gain such power as a group. This man was a dictator, with a vision that only involved his own needs and wants. This man used his own freedom, to destroy lives, take lives and push forth his own views. As a a man in power he had weapons and ammunition to start a war, and that is just what he did. This man managed to start a war that affected the entire world. Nothing would ever be the same.

Now before I tell you who the man I just wrote about is, let me ask you one more question. Is freedom something you believe you have?

I don’t. I currently live in a world where power reigns over all. Where I am free to think for myself, but my words online are filtered by those in power.I live in a world where others felt their lives mattered more than my ancestors. I live in a world where I constantly think before I speak or act. Not because I can’t, but because I often second guess whether it’s worth the risk. I live in a world where people in power affect everything, the economy, taxes, what is taught in schools, the media… I live in a world where people continue to suffer at the hands of racism, sexism, violence, social standing, war, gangs…. I live in a society where a thirst for power overwhelms freedom, even if it’s in subtle ways. Could it be worse? Of course. But I had hoped that as a globe we would have been able to do better because we know better. I hoped that as one entire global population we would be able to separate the need for power from the glory of freedom.

Freedom is being able to act, speak and think in our own ways. Freedom is being able to stand up for what we believe in, to fight for change. Freedom is being able to celebrate our culture free from persecution. Freedom is being able to live a fulfilled life, even if we aren’t millionaires. Freedom is joy. Peace. Love. Freedom is not supposed to be a privilege, it should be a right. We have hundreds of examples of what freedom ISN”T, that we should know what freedom IS. We have so many examples throughout history of what freedom doesn’t look like, that we should be collectively fighting to sustain freedom the right way.

In school we learn that the halocaust was a terrible tragedy that we must learn from so that nothing like it happens again. We learn that enslaving African Americans was a plague that should be corrected at all costs, and never happen again. We learned that war was often fought for freedom, and that it’s patriotic and honorable to lay one’s life on the line fighting for the freedom and protection of our nation, our homes. In school we learned that bullying is wrong. We learned that being on a power trip doesn’t give anyone the right to commit crimes against humanity. In school we were taught to form our own opinions, to voice our thoughts and ideas, and to always learn more.

And yet, today I see a world where people in power have been allowed to ride out their power hungry needs, in order to further their own agendas. I see world caught between freedom and power. Knowing what freedom is, but not really having it. Rather only having parts of it. I see a world divided, by hatred, power, self loathing and carelessness. I see a world plagued by the inability to see beyond what is, focused only on their individual needs or wants. That is not freedom. It’s selfish, near sighted and heart breaking.

My heart is breaking not only for my own country, but for every other that has suffered in incomprehensible ways. My heart is breaking for Ukraine right now, as they suffer unimaginable loss and attacks at the hand of someone only hungry for their own power and not for any good reason. My heart is breaking for the business owners who lost everything during the global COVID pandemic. My heart aches for the children who feel uncertain of their futures, not because they won’t have one, but because they don’t know what terrible thing might come next. My heart aches for the parents who lost their kids to mental health as a result of the tragedies that only seem to be continuing. My soul feels despair for the entirety of this globe and the absolute disaster that it’s in.

I’m betting you have a few ideas who the man is that I wrote that story about. Sad really that there’s more than one answer. Pathetic that it’s not obvious. Adolf Hitler is the main character in that story. Though, it seems it could easily have been about Vladimir Putin. Let me ask you this, if it wasn’t okay for Hitler to commit genocide and start a war, if we were supposed to learn from that, then why now decades later, is one man’s need for power once again plaguing the world? Let me be clear, no one single person is entitled to kill, or to enslave or to in any way hurt others only to satisfy their need for power. Power is not freedom, and freedom is not power. Freedom is powerful, and if we actually learned from our mistakes, we would fuel our freedom with the power of unity. Because the only power that matters is the power that is found in unity, in freedom.

I was supposed to write about what makes life livable, about the joy in freedom. I don’t think writing something that is weighing so heavily on our planet, can really be joyful right now. I think people need to read the raw vulnerability that we all sit in right now. We as a world, are staring down the barrel of a gun that leads to history repeating itself, and the only way to get out of it, is through finding strength and love in unity, by allowing this world to be empowered by freedom. We must do better. We must globally do better.

humanity
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About the Creator

JPWrites.2

Hey everyone! just a small town author here writing a bit of everything.

Feel free to email me ideas or just check out my socials!

[email protected]

Insta @Jpwrites.2

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