by Daniel Reneau

Created on: August 14, 2009

Freedom is fought for and died over, today and yesterday, by many. Nations have raised from the earth, and have been razed in the name of freedom. Freedom to me is this: the absence of limitation and boundary be it of man or nature. It is not wise to have absolute freedom because we are human. We can not have total freedom or freewill on the grounds of this: law, physical limitation, and ignorance.

Law, point one, is a hindrance on one's freewill. Under absolute freedom one could commit murder, theft, or any other crime because the terms: crime, law, punishment, right, and wrong do not exist. We as a society have passed, or have not ever attained, the state of pure freedom from law. The lack of freedom from law is a two edged sword: one, it serves the community by protecting it from criminals and those who would do harm; two, it stigmatizes and demonizes those who do not assimilate to the laws. Remember if the revolution had not succeeded many "Americans" would have been hung or imprisoned for treason; these men are just as bad as any other criminal except we are taught that their cause was just, and it was, but that is irrelevant.

Physical limitation, point two, is a boundary we all feel. No man has the ability to fly without the assistance of mechanical means. No man can survive under the ocean for an extended period of time without the assistance of machines. No man can survive in the aether of the universe without mechanical assistance. We, the race as a whole, do not possess the ability of free-roam of this world or any other know in existence.

Ignorance, point three, the greatest hindrance of man-kind. Without knowledge, commonsense, or the ability to learn we cannot as a society advance and reach those places and vistas that are held from us by limitation. The ignorant did not invent the submarine, space-stations, or the aeroplane. The ignorant did not invent law, morals, or the concept of freedom; the thinkers did. The ignorant demonize and stigmatize new technology that can take us farther into those vistas only imagined. The ignorant make the laws that hinder freedom. The ignorant deny mans ability to follow a moral code, resulting in restricting laws that choke freedom and freewill.

In conclusion freedom and freewill are hindered by: law, physical limitations, and ignorance. Though in a roundabout manner the thinkers are also to blame for some limitations. Freedom can not exist in its pure form in our society or in our or the next few generations. Maybe it is a good thing we do not experience total freedom and freewill.

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