Analysis About Freedom

But what about freedom as an end in and of itself? What are the consequences? Perhaps I should
backtrack. Earlier I asserted that the concept of freedom is abstract, and I believe it is about how it is
understood, discussed, and maybe even experienced. Nonetheless, freedom is defined; and according to
Merriam-Webster’s first definition; freedom is, “the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in
choice or action.” The very definition of freedom then, seems to support freedom to something – a
choice or action. Is it possible that freedom can be an end? And if it is, is it even desirable?

On the other hand, how many people truly experience freedom? Today, many of us do not experience
slavery in our historical understanding of the word. But do we experience other kinds of slavery? I
believe that our society enslaves us in many ways. In the first place, consider how we work and why we
work and how we are taught to work. The general premise is not to use one’s talents and abilities to
share with others, or to create something that makes a difference. The premise is to pay bills and to buy
things, many of which we are convinced to want in the first place. We become enslaved to our
organizational practices and to our careers, and of course, to the almighty dollar. And if you doubt it,
just Google search the state of personal debt in this country where living beyond one’s means is the
status quo; a status quo that has not left us free.

I think freedom is a balancing act. And I don’t think it’s one that we have mastered very well. Doing what
you want sounds a lot like freedom but doing what you want does not always have an end that is
freeing. Alternatively. Neither outcome sounds optimal. Freedom seems to me, like it is best exercised
as a means to an end. But even then, I think the end must be one that gives people the choice to make
the best possible decision. Perhaps “What is freedom?” like many important questions, is something
that will undeniably leave us with more questions than answers. But I suspect that when we find true
freedom, we realize that like most things that are good, it is not an extremity but something moderate.
And I suspect freedom gives us the right to do at all times what is right, even sometimes at the expense
of doing what we want.