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On Freedom, its Obligations and Society's Preference for Slavery

This piece is going to talk about my preference for slavery over freedom. And how and why I try to hide my preference from public view.

The meaning of freedom and how self awareness fails to interact with it?

I talk a lot about freedom lately and it's clear I do not understand the meaning of the term I spout so boldly. Curiously, I quickly lose my confidence when the meaning of freedom is brought under proper scrutiny. Yet I'm not self aware enough to confess to that observation of ignorance at depth.

Why is it hard for me to observe my ignorance and selfishness, especially when I want to be seen by society as a good, honest, law abiding citizen? There must be a deep psychological reason which is forbidden knowledge for the politics, science and economics driving society and its so called freedoms.

I cite society as being close to the root and a driving force because I constantly seek validation from it more than anything else. Even family.

Freedom and obligation are mutually inclusive else they are not freedom

With any form of freedom, lets take 'freedom of speech', comes obligation. That is, when one acts on freedom, one is also obliged not to cause harm by those actions. The obligation is not a mere sentiment. It is integral to freedom itself. Freedom acts must always be checked by a balancing obligation. Obligation is mutually inclusive, else the freedom will likely cause harm if allowed to run 'free'. 

But I tend to let go of the tightly connected obligation rather too quickly and easily, all the time. Making a big show about my freedom rights and hardly ever stating the balancing obligation I promise to deliver alongside it. And this is a riddle I cannot find the strength and time to resolve for myself. I know its a problem and I bury it away, deep enough so it cannot easily bother me.

Next best alternatives - an escape route and the evolution of society

Freedom, at its deepest root, is a very difficult thing to wield authentically. Because the inescapably connected obligation is so hard for me to uphold. So much so that the next best alternative is easily considered, in helping me to escape from the obligation. Especially the next best alternative which retains an appearance of obligation, an image of it. The appearance of obligation is so attractive it becomes everything. By creating an image of obligation, I can cry freedom, avoid the obligation while retaining the appearance of having committed to it in front of other people.

So this overwhelmingly attractive alternative helps me to forget the eternal nature of freedom comes with a very uncomfortable and heavy weight of obligation. But this heavy weight is not a dead one. Nothing could be more alive in spite of my denial of the obligation. This heavy weight is really like a primordial  'inner light'.

Prior to civilisation, this secret knowledge about freedom and its shining light of obligation stayed with an individual hunter gatherer until death. It was known and not believed. It was essential for survival naturally. Society, through 'innovation' and via the 'intellect' has allowed the individual to 'get rid' of the obligation. By allowing my expedience to be taken care of later... maybe. If the intention is never to account for this debt, system wide slavery will inevitably emerge if that is the general nature of societies more powerful collective groups. And so be it.

System wide slavery emerges - the price is a master

A master might not just be a person as in the traditional slave sense of the word. I can create a master as an 'image' of such a person, ideologically, with just as much power over me, usually more. The primary function of a master is to allow me to act 'freely' yet without committing to a connected obligation. This is commonly manifest in the law, morals, religion, etc... So long as I obey my master, his laws, his morals and so on and so on, he will allow me to 'escape' from my obligation. But he will have a price.

I will give my master everything(both materially and psychologically) and in exchange he will:

  1. free me from my obligations in the world 
  2. redistribute a piece of 'the everything' to me, maybe too little, maybe too much, there will be no accounting for it. I may win, I may lose
Think about the weather, or a stray asteroid heading for earth. These things do not ask my permission. They do not see me as separate from the world as my image of freedom without obligation tells me.

On accepting my slavery in a kind of latent contract, the deal I make with my master is this: 

  • as a slave I produce 'everything' and allow my master 'legal' title to ownership of my 'everything'
  • the master gives just enough back to keep me producing without rebellion, and with a promise that he will take care of my obligations
  • this general condition becomes the norm and its called society, embellished with faux 'freedoms'
  • eventually the normalisation becomes so popular I cannot remember its genesis
  • from then on, I unconsciously make myself feel guilty whenever I remember to place this pathology under proper scrutiny
  • when I try to bring my master to justice, I find nothing there to act on, because it was just an image thought created in the first place, so my tendency is to blame whomever blame will stick to most easily.

Images - the tool of systemic slavery

I could flesh this all out with more words. But the following short poem is enough for 'The New Man'.

Thought creates an image of the world,
Then thought worships the image it just created,
Finally, thought declares the image, as truth.

Thought can now proceed to act as if its just showing me what's there as a fact: "I'm simply showing you how things actually are!"

This is known in the world of forbidden knowledge as 'The Movement of Thought'. If I focus and try very hard, occasionally I can watch my thought 'moving' like this. The activity of watching thought move is like prayer or meditation. Its never a done job and requires continuous focus until death.

The child in me knows - that I prefer slavery to freedom

This is not to make out that my master is an evil overlord or God. After all, he's just an image I created and now worship. It is to say that I have surreptitiously chosen slavery as the fundamental mode of social organisation to escape from my obligations in life. A kind of democratic vote. But why?

Though horrid, systemic slavery still feels like a slightly more cosy place to rest my weary head and this is why thought always tempts me to choose it. Rather than the place of absolute and unconditional freedom where I will meet head on with my tightly connected and very hard to meet obligations. 

Of course, today I choose the easier route - the well trodden path, in the hope my debt to the world will never need to be paid.

In the final analysis the child inside me, already knows this hope is untrue. And is ready to start acting for me if I chose an authentic life. So,

If I can bring forth what is within me,

What I can bring forth will save me.

If I cannot bring forth what is within me,

What I cannot bring forth will destroy me.


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