You can't tell me what to do!
One unsettling notion to me is the ideal of freedom. Now I'm sure reading that sentence will strike you as a red flag in itself. In the recent times, I've learned that freedom is only great in certain contexts. I'm only speaking on my behalf, but I've noted now that at times I'm thankful to have some sort of obligation.
Like any person, I also want to amount to something in my life. I want to make a difference. That's a given. But without some sort of obligation, without some sort of grounding to tie oneself down, its hard if at all possible to get there. Thats I think where the term "keeps them grounded" comes in to play. We all need something to keep us grounded from flying away with that liberty. The dictionary has a handful of definitions for freedom, but the one that really stuck out to me was
Of course there's legal limits in place that means we have to listen to police officers when what they're telling us to do is reasonable. There are moral and ethical limits in place (for most of us) that say that we must listen to our parents. We should have a certain amount of respect for our friends/colleagues, and a good way to exhibit that is by listening to them and doing as they say. Of course as we go further down the chain of important people in our lives the importance of what they say dwindles, but not necessarily rightfully so. Sometimes the one that provides the best advice is the one that provides the freshest advice. The reason Google does so well is because it has so much young talent. Obviously we shouldn't always listen to the advice of people who aren't so close to us, but we should give them an ear, and consider what they say. And weigh it against our own conscience and moral upbringings. Had every decision we ever made been this thought out, I'm fairly sure we would have made far fewer mistakes in our lives, but its obviously not always that convenient to make the right decision.
Back to what I was saying, I think its important for us to not take the ideal of freedom to an extreme. When a friend suggests something to you, maybe instead of shrugging it off as a "Whatever, I'll do what I want and you can't tell me otherwise!" (A totally American concept to begin with) we should have enough respect to weigh the words of those who weigh upon our minds. Weight isn't always a bad thing, because without it you'd just fly off into outer space. So too can you not simply fly away with the joy of freedom. There is joy in obligation as well, a oft forgotten tidbit. Soldiers join the army for the obligation of protecting their company. People get into relationships for the obligation of being there for someone, and letting someone be there for them. People follow religion for the obligation of having a guiding light in their lives and listening to it, instead of wandering aimlessly in the dark.
So why this sudden reflection on liberty and obligation? Why am I complaining that we take our freedoms too far? Because I'm in college! Where freedom is taken to a whole 'nother plane. Where we frequently experience things we'd never consider had we lived with our parents! But I also feel like I've been forcing my obligations on a friend of mine, and I want to apologize for that. It does hurt pretty badly when they say things like "whatever, I'll do what I want and I don't care what you think", but maybe they view themselves as some sort of freedom fighter trying to fight off an oppressive foreign entity (like myself).
Sound familiar? I certainly hope so, because its the same story told time and time again. Take any great work of literature, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, most of the Final Fantasy games (maybe not the greatest works of literature) but their supposed clear defining whats good and evil is what appeals to people. Maybe it's not so simple in the end though. Maybe both sides had/have a good point, and deserve a second look. And maybe theres more to liberty then what it seems like at face value.
Like any person, I also want to amount to something in my life. I want to make a difference. That's a given. But without some sort of obligation, without some sort of grounding to tie oneself down, its hard if at all possible to get there. Thats I think where the term "keeps them grounded" comes in to play. We all need something to keep us grounded from flying away with that liberty. The dictionary has a handful of definitions for freedom, but the one that really stuck out to me was
The absence of or release from ties, obligations, etc.It's obviously hard for me to say any of this since I'm sure I'm very much taking that hugely overarching concept of freedom for granted, and its by no means a concept that can be summarized in a few paragraphs. It's been something fought for for countless ages from the supposed oppressed, be it because of religion, race, gender, whatever. But (as with all things) it comes with a limit. We've all heard how the west idealizes excess, and I think that's true with absolute freedom as well. We as Americans, think that we should do basically whatever we want. That we shouldn't listen to anyone. What kind of logic is that? That no one knows whats good for us except ourselves? That no one is knowledgable as far as my affairs are concerned except for me? I don't completely buy into that notion.
Of course there's legal limits in place that means we have to listen to police officers when what they're telling us to do is reasonable. There are moral and ethical limits in place (for most of us) that say that we must listen to our parents. We should have a certain amount of respect for our friends/colleagues, and a good way to exhibit that is by listening to them and doing as they say. Of course as we go further down the chain of important people in our lives the importance of what they say dwindles, but not necessarily rightfully so. Sometimes the one that provides the best advice is the one that provides the freshest advice. The reason Google does so well is because it has so much young talent. Obviously we shouldn't always listen to the advice of people who aren't so close to us, but we should give them an ear, and consider what they say. And weigh it against our own conscience and moral upbringings. Had every decision we ever made been this thought out, I'm fairly sure we would have made far fewer mistakes in our lives, but its obviously not always that convenient to make the right decision.
Back to what I was saying, I think its important for us to not take the ideal of freedom to an extreme. When a friend suggests something to you, maybe instead of shrugging it off as a "Whatever, I'll do what I want and you can't tell me otherwise!" (A totally American concept to begin with) we should have enough respect to weigh the words of those who weigh upon our minds. Weight isn't always a bad thing, because without it you'd just fly off into outer space. So too can you not simply fly away with the joy of freedom. There is joy in obligation as well, a oft forgotten tidbit. Soldiers join the army for the obligation of protecting their company. People get into relationships for the obligation of being there for someone, and letting someone be there for them. People follow religion for the obligation of having a guiding light in their lives and listening to it, instead of wandering aimlessly in the dark.
So why this sudden reflection on liberty and obligation? Why am I complaining that we take our freedoms too far? Because I'm in college! Where freedom is taken to a whole 'nother plane. Where we frequently experience things we'd never consider had we lived with our parents! But I also feel like I've been forcing my obligations on a friend of mine, and I want to apologize for that. It does hurt pretty badly when they say things like "whatever, I'll do what I want and I don't care what you think", but maybe they view themselves as some sort of freedom fighter trying to fight off an oppressive foreign entity (like myself).
Sound familiar? I certainly hope so, because its the same story told time and time again. Take any great work of literature, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, most of the Final Fantasy games (maybe not the greatest works of literature) but their supposed clear defining whats good and evil is what appeals to people. Maybe it's not so simple in the end though. Maybe both sides had/have a good point, and deserve a second look. And maybe theres more to liberty then what it seems like at face value.
posted by Tosif at
12:03 AM
1 Comments:
Wow, dense topic! A few things that caught my eye - first off, there's a difference between being a freedom fighter (meaning, one who stands up for their civil liberties) and being stubborn/prideful (meaning, someone who rebels just to make a point).
Second, though I agree that the advice of elders and those close to us deserve at the very least our respect and consideration, I also understand why it's so hard to give them that.
They may have our best interests at heart, but they may also have a blind spot when it comes to giving advice, since they're looking at us from a different perspective than an objective observer would. Ya heard?
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Shabina, at 3:32 PM
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