Warning: Long post. No tl:dr.
Ok, I've had it... Thread after thread, day after day of people arguing over who has the right to do what. It seems people are a bit lost, spoiled even, so I decided to bring to you all a little lesson on one of our most basic concepts: Freedom.
Nowadays people seem to take most of our basic freedoms for granted: Voting for their leader and representative, the right to exist, the right to be treated as a human being, the right to live and be treated with some basic human decency. To the lucky majority of us we'll go through our lives unaware of what it's like to lack any of these. However, it seems some of us have gone astray, and forgotten what freedom is really about, it seems that in their search for freedom, they've crossed a very fine yet crucial line, that separates the quest for freedom from oppression.
It would be good if these people were to remember freedom wasn't always something you could count on. That it is actually a fairly recent concept and for the majority of human history "freedom" was something granted only to the elite few powerful enough to grab it themselves, and stomp all over everyone else in the process. It would be good to remember, that for the freedoms you have and so often abuse, so many gave everything they held dear, including their own lives.
The first thing I think it's rather important, not to say crucial, to clear up is the simple definition of the word. So let us reflect about what Freedom really means.
The actual meaning on the word is quite debatable: In it's political application it concerns legal rights, in it's philosophical application it has a myriad of interpretations, but the one meaning that's common to us all, the one meaning that truly matters to life in society is simple:
"One man's freedom ends, where another man's freedom begins."
Interesting concept isn't it? One man's freedom ends, where another man's freedom begins. What this really means, and what many people seemingly fail to grasp, is that I'm allowed to do anything, until my actions interfere with another person's life. What this means, more importantly, is that the only reason I should ever have to deny someone their action, is if said action is going to detract from another person's freedom, personal taste notwithstanding. Not for nothing did French philosopher and writer François-Marie Arouet, commonly known as Voltaire, once said "I may not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to death your right to say it".
It is a funny concept we so often forget, that one has the right to do something despite our liking. That we do not have to agree with what someone is doing, to recognize that they have the right to do it. How many amongst us are capable of recognizing that legitimacy of an action they disagree with? How often do we conveniently overlook the meaning of freedom in order to suit our own interests? For every time we ignore freedom, for every time we're incapable of recognizing a right that's not convenient to us we undermine the same principle we strive for, the same principle we regularly demand from those above us.
Let us not forget, that for millenniums, freedom was something restricted to the royal families and the land owners. That not a century ago, the mere color of your skin could dictate the "limits" of your freedom. That freedom was merely a dream to strive for. That not 50 years ago Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the Lincoln Memorial and taught the world a most valuable lesson in tolerance, respect, and the true meaning of the word freedom.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr - I have a dream [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm]
"There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by a sign stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
[...]
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
What applied to America then still applies today to the entire world, and what was said about black people is equally valid for every human being in the world, no matter his ethnicity or sexual preference. If Dr. King focused on black people, was merely because at the time it was the most pressing matter. Was he alive today, and he would remind you that his message was just as valid for blacks as it was for gays, bisexuals, Arabs and every other human in the world.
It has been over 40 years, closing on 50, since Dr. King's "dream" and, while much has been achieved, while Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have been infinitely proud to see that even a black man could rise to president of a country where his ethnicity is a minority, his "dream" is still not fulfilled. There's still something basic people have not yet grasped. Something fundamental, structural even, to a tolerant and free society that we, as mankind, have yet to accomplish:
Freedom doesn't apply only when you think it's right. Freedom doesn't apply only when you like it. That sheer respect for our fellow human being has to outweigh our disapproval of their message or actions to respect their freedom. That so long as their actions would not harm others we are capable of putting aside our differences.
Nobody should ever ask you to enjoy, by force if necessary, something you don't. Nobody should ever force you to live your life the way they think is right. But conversely, you can not, ever, force other people to live their lives in the way you think is correct, lest you are prepared to forfeit your own right to live the way you want.
We should never forget, that right and wrong are perspectives, and if such a thing as a "legislation" was created was merely to uphold the basic principles of freedom, so each of us can live out their lives in whatever way they consider right. Using the law to oppress, to rob people of their freedom, is to undermine the basic founding principle of the very same society we live in.
I realize that most people will not read this far. I realize that if I'm very, very, lucky, I might bring a single person to reason and that otherwise this will be for nothing. Regardless I needed to let this out.
My question to you, if you have "survived" this far (oh come on, I was generous in my paragraphs. Didn't do a wall of text or anything), is simple: Are you as tolerant as you like to think? Are you truly able to live out Voltaire's words, to accept someone's right to do something you disagree with if it doesn't hurt anyone?
(No tl:dr, I told you.)
Ok, I've had it... Thread after thread, day after day of people arguing over who has the right to do what. It seems people are a bit lost, spoiled even, so I decided to bring to you all a little lesson on one of our most basic concepts: Freedom.
Nowadays people seem to take most of our basic freedoms for granted: Voting for their leader and representative, the right to exist, the right to be treated as a human being, the right to live and be treated with some basic human decency. To the lucky majority of us we'll go through our lives unaware of what it's like to lack any of these. However, it seems some of us have gone astray, and forgotten what freedom is really about, it seems that in their search for freedom, they've crossed a very fine yet crucial line, that separates the quest for freedom from oppression.
It would be good if these people were to remember freedom wasn't always something you could count on. That it is actually a fairly recent concept and for the majority of human history "freedom" was something granted only to the elite few powerful enough to grab it themselves, and stomp all over everyone else in the process. It would be good to remember, that for the freedoms you have and so often abuse, so many gave everything they held dear, including their own lives.
The first thing I think it's rather important, not to say crucial, to clear up is the simple definition of the word. So let us reflect about what Freedom really means.
Interesting wouldn't you say? Freedom comes from love and peace and displays negativity towards breaking this peace, not from hate.Wikipedia on the etymology of the word Freedom said:
The actual meaning on the word is quite debatable: In it's political application it concerns legal rights, in it's philosophical application it has a myriad of interpretations, but the one meaning that's common to us all, the one meaning that truly matters to life in society is simple:
"One man's freedom ends, where another man's freedom begins."
Interesting concept isn't it? One man's freedom ends, where another man's freedom begins. What this really means, and what many people seemingly fail to grasp, is that I'm allowed to do anything, until my actions interfere with another person's life. What this means, more importantly, is that the only reason I should ever have to deny someone their action, is if said action is going to detract from another person's freedom, personal taste notwithstanding. Not for nothing did French philosopher and writer François-Marie Arouet, commonly known as Voltaire, once said "I may not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to death your right to say it".
It is a funny concept we so often forget, that one has the right to do something despite our liking. That we do not have to agree with what someone is doing, to recognize that they have the right to do it. How many amongst us are capable of recognizing that legitimacy of an action they disagree with? How often do we conveniently overlook the meaning of freedom in order to suit our own interests? For every time we ignore freedom, for every time we're incapable of recognizing a right that's not convenient to us we undermine the same principle we strive for, the same principle we regularly demand from those above us.
Let us not forget, that for millenniums, freedom was something restricted to the royal families and the land owners. That not a century ago, the mere color of your skin could dictate the "limits" of your freedom. That freedom was merely a dream to strive for. That not 50 years ago Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the Lincoln Memorial and taught the world a most valuable lesson in tolerance, respect, and the true meaning of the word freedom.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr - I have a dream [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm]
"There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by a sign stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
[...]
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
What applied to America then still applies today to the entire world, and what was said about black people is equally valid for every human being in the world, no matter his ethnicity or sexual preference. If Dr. King focused on black people, was merely because at the time it was the most pressing matter. Was he alive today, and he would remind you that his message was just as valid for blacks as it was for gays, bisexuals, Arabs and every other human in the world.
It has been over 40 years, closing on 50, since Dr. King's "dream" and, while much has been achieved, while Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have been infinitely proud to see that even a black man could rise to president of a country where his ethnicity is a minority, his "dream" is still not fulfilled. There's still something basic people have not yet grasped. Something fundamental, structural even, to a tolerant and free society that we, as mankind, have yet to accomplish:
Freedom doesn't apply only when you think it's right. Freedom doesn't apply only when you like it. That sheer respect for our fellow human being has to outweigh our disapproval of their message or actions to respect their freedom. That so long as their actions would not harm others we are capable of putting aside our differences.
Nobody should ever ask you to enjoy, by force if necessary, something you don't. Nobody should ever force you to live your life the way they think is right. But conversely, you can not, ever, force other people to live their lives in the way you think is correct, lest you are prepared to forfeit your own right to live the way you want.
We should never forget, that right and wrong are perspectives, and if such a thing as a "legislation" was created was merely to uphold the basic principles of freedom, so each of us can live out their lives in whatever way they consider right. Using the law to oppress, to rob people of their freedom, is to undermine the basic founding principle of the very same society we live in.
I realize that most people will not read this far. I realize that if I'm very, very, lucky, I might bring a single person to reason and that otherwise this will be for nothing. Regardless I needed to let this out.
My question to you, if you have "survived" this far (oh come on, I was generous in my paragraphs. Didn't do a wall of text or anything), is simple: Are you as tolerant as you like to think? Are you truly able to live out Voltaire's words, to accept someone's right to do something you disagree with if it doesn't hurt anyone?
(No tl:dr, I told you.)