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Perspective    
Freedom
by Naira Yaqoob 

‘There are two things one cannot give up –
One’s thoughts and one’s desires.’
– Ayn Rand

Freedom. It is a mighty word with mighty implications. Some may love it. Some may crave for it. Some may detest it. Some may enjoy it. But yes, no one can or ought to be indifferent to it. For argument’s sake, lets even say that some are indifferent to it. But only when they don’t understand its real meaning and implications…

What is freedom? What does liberty mean? What does independence signify? Is it being able to vote, to work, or to acquire property? Or is it just having the right to eat, sleep, and talk? Each one of us may interpret it in a different way or context. We may even have to redefine these very concepts with the changing times. Holistically speaking, I believe it means being able to live…to live and exist on our own terms and responsibility. It simply means to be happy, sad, and angry – when one wants to; to study, work, act, speak – what one wants to. Not when and what one has to! Ideally, freedom would mean to expect nothing, to depend on no one, to ask none.

In the words of William H. Whyte:

“To control one’s destiny and not be controlled by it,
to know which way the path will fork,
and to make the turning oneself;
to have some index of achievement that no one can dispute –
concrete and tangible for all to see,
not dependent on the attitude of others.
It is an independence man will never have in full measure
but He must forever seek it.”

In the words of Montesquieu: “Liberty is the right to do whatever the law permits”. This thought restricts freedom to the boundaries of the legal system of any society or nation. But isn’t it that liberty ought to be the right to do whatever the conscience and value system of a person permits. It would mean to be accountable to no one but one’s conscience and self. It ought to be the right of a man to exist – to exist by his own mind and for his own sake. And why shouldn’t we get and give this freedom? It is this very freedom that takes us to the threshold of integrity, character, and individuality. Without it, man can exist and live a life but not his own. His own life demands him to have a unique character, an admirable integrity, and a strong individuality.

Character in a person precedes both integrity as well as individuality. Without a sound character, a person may not be able to nurture his thoughts nor develop his desires. He may not be able to pay or receive respect in his life nor be able to accept responsibility for his deeds. Joan Didion explains it aptly:

Character –
The willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life
is the source from which self-respect springs.

Integrity, on the other hand, is the ability to stand by an idea. As is rightly said that if you don’t stand for something, you may fall for anything. Hence, it is vital for a person to have a belief and a value system. This presupposes the ability to think. Generally, we are conditioned to listen to others instead of trust our own instincts and common sense. We may not be given the liberty to develop our own thought process or integrity but we ought to struggle for it. This is important for it enables us to discover our individuality, which lies at the root of all progress. The basic foundation of liberty is this self-ownership. It implies that you own your life. If you don’t believe that you own your life, then you are admitting that some other person or entity claims that ownership – either in whole or in part. This individuality speaks of each person with a difference.

However, it seems that the very foundation of freedom seems to be under attack. It is here that a conflict arises. If our freedom is curbed, we may cease to exist and live on our own terms and responsibility. When you are denied your right to your own life, you are denied your basic liberty and independence. An oppressive culture and system destroys our individuality, our character, and our integrity.

Socialistic creed is that of self-sacrifice for the state and does the greatest harm to mankind by destroying individuality. Though it may do well to worthless and weak people, it can never benefit mankind. On the contrary, free societies recognize that freedom is a prerequisite for the development of our character, individuality, and integrity. Capitalism accepts individual rights and liberties. It supports the theory that the each man may get what he deserves and the worthy may survive. But then, it may have certain objectionable aspects as well. These views in themselves point out to the inadequacy and limitations of the social or economic systems that create laws, rules and regulations that may destroy the very concept of liberty, freedom, and independence. To quote Ayn Rand again:

‘There is no conceivable law by which man can be forced
to work on any terms except those he chooses to set.
There is no conceivable law to prevent him from setting them.’

As freedom has no significance without intellectual freedom, and intellectual freedom cannot exist without political freedom and political freedom cannot exist without economic freedom, it thus becomes imperative to create social and economic systems that support the ideology of self-ownership and liberty. Once created, each individual can feel his power of freedom that lies within him. But remember to use this power wisely. With humility…

April 2, 2006   

Top | Perspective    

The Week of April 2, 2006     
In Indira's Footsteps: Will History Repeat Itself? by Rajinder Puri
Wardrobe Malfunction - of Splits, Slips and More! by Usha Kakkar  
Weakness & Selfishness – Reluctant Parents of Virtue by Gaurang Bhatt, MD
Freedom by Naira Yaqoob  
How to Overcome Failure? by Sugandha Indulkar 
The First Line of Defense by Michael Levy 
Helping Your Unpopular Child by Garima Gupta 
Is Your 8 - 10 Year Old Crazy? by Gary Direnfeld 
Why do we have Kids! by Meera Chowdhry 
Child out of School is a Laborer by Malvika Kaul 
The Water Bridge A Short Story by NS Murty  
And, The Bell Rang A Story by Raghvendra Singh 
Saving our Life-Support System by William C. Gladish
Will the Creation of One World Solve the Problems of Today? by TA Ramesh
Neo Imperialism at its Best by Tahir Raj Bhasin 
Homeopathy: In a Realm of Its Own by Rajgopal Nidamboor 
The Homeopathic Treatment of Asthma by Dr. Muneeb Faraaz 
The Omega 3 Code by Neeta Lal
Risky Reconstruction & Breast Cancer by Elayne Clift
Human Rights and Criminal Justice System by Dr. Shanker Adawal
Panch-Kanya: The Five Virgins of Indian Epics by Dr. Prema Nandakumar 
Bheel Mahabharata: Kunti and the Birth of the Sun God's Child by Satya Chaitanya
Sadaat Hasan Manto : A Profile compiled by Aparna Chatterjee
Tamil Nadu, Here I Come! by Usha Kakkar  
Mothers Without Strings by Tripat Kaur 
Shaking Up the Diaspora by Crespo Sebunya
Looking Through Water by Darryl D'Monte
One Woman Army : A Profile of Zakia Arshad 
Epic Adventure by Anjum Wasim Dar  
Crowning Glory: An Interview with Manoj Bajpai by MH Ahsan
Pakistan Calling: An Interview with Akbar Khan by MH Ahsan