What is freedom? Are you free? If not, why and how can you escape your 'prison', and lastly, what is your prison? I would like to hear everyone else's view on this subject.
I'm generally not an unhappy or angry person but I am pretty cynical for my age. America is a prison with its facade of "freedom". Escape isn't gonna happen anytime soon. Moving somewhere else would only imprison me in some other aspect of life. Obviously, stoners (me included) dream of living in Amsterdam, but there are so many liberties we take for granted here in the States that would be lost by moving anywhere else.
no one can really be as free as free really means- i mean theres always laws, rules, moral values... i don't feel free because i'm still in high school, i live with my mom, i have to hide shit all the time and sneak out... plus i live in nazi america, it seems like its getting worse everyday, especially because our leader is so obviously incompetent, yet he still got the majority vote by far. listening to the news... its depressing, so i don't anymore.
I am free. I am somewhat constrained by social/law restrictions. However I agree with many of these restrictions lawfully I will not steal from another person socially I will not randomly punch someone because I don't like the way they look at me. Sure there are unfair restrictions but there are always ways around it. As long as you look for freedom you will find it. Sure I'm not going to travel the world today but I will someday. I learn something new everyday. I have unique thoughts never thought by anyone else, if only I had artistic ability I could share them. Maybe I'm a slave to the capitalist machine but I am so sure I can find a way out that it doesn't even phase me. There's an escape around every corner and there has to be a way to make things better. Sure people have been writing about changing things for the better and taking action since the begining of known history but that doesn't mean that nothing occurs, it just means it hasn't worked yet. If everybody helps one other person things can change. We look at our corrupt governments and scourn them. We look at ourselves and see the bad things. We look at other people and hold them to stereotypes. But just a little change, a small effort can make all the difference. Freedom isn't a place, it's a state of mind. Who are you living for.
I'm beginning to think that freedom is a state of mind. Although, I do agree with Spas in that we take so much for granted when it comes to our freedoms as Americans. What is my prison?????? Me...I'm my own prison. I mean, other sources an cause me pain but in the end, I allow that to happen. As far as karma, the bad things that I do will come back to me; the good things I do will come back to me. Only I can justify my actions and only I can take responsibility for them. So, it's all on me.
very interesting topic, it just depends on how you look at it. for my man who says he lives in nazi america..well we arent that lucky..when the two scum of the earth races are widely present and controlling lots of the media and pushing all this 'tolerence' (i.e. putting up with bullshit), the country's cities are being downgraded (like when you walk into a black neighborhood and you can always tell its a black neighborhood before you even see any blacks)because of increasing migration,birth rates, and higher crime rates. and then we have muslims who are able to be educated at our universities and use our own resources to attack us. they use OUR own freedom of religion to wage THEIR holy war. its ridiculous. we need order.
Sounds like you don't have respect for other races. "Black" neighborhood aren't broken down because it chooses too, there are other factors. And not all muslims are terrorists. You're saying that America gives out too much freedom? If America is giving freedom now, I'd like to see what "order" is.
I'm not free. I'm tied down to whate the goverment wants me to do. heck, now that i ahev my green card i can forget about visiting cuba.... I'mt tied down to rules i never wanted to follow. Its like you signed a contract when you were born that you will follow wahtever Thay say or you are thrown to jail.. i dont remeber ever signing that! im a slave to my own self. I limit myself all the time. becasue i live in aconstat state of depression life always seems bad. i'm also a slave to this forum. it grabbed me and it wont let go!!! i have to visti it every day!!!! hahahaha.....
I think we are all as "free" as we allow ourselves to be. "Freedom" is a psyhological state. No matter the circumstances, humans have always seemed to prevail with a resilient attitude of mind over matter. Wait, strike that. We cannot simply allow ourselves to be free, we have to force ourselves to be free. We have to make conscious decisions to allow ourselves, our souls, our spirits, our minds, whatever we want...to be free. Some people say that we have no choice. All of our lives are predestined either by fate or by God or by some unchangable series of a chain of events set in motion eons ago. Some say that all of the particles which make up our universe were irreconcilably set into play in such a way that every action, every moment after the "Big Bang" was to be governed by that one nanosecond of physical movement. If that is so, then everything we are, everything we do, touch, see, hear, smell, taste and know...all of those things are the unchangable effects of the "Big Bang". If this is true, then even our thoughts could not be considered our own. Nothing we are is really a choice, but it is simply fate. However, I chose not to agree with this belief, but is that even within my power to decide?...or are these words right now still the result of one instance in space and time?
First of all I must once again take the defeatist attitude and point out that of course we, by simply being born, are inherently slaves. We are slaves not only to the government or other people or taxes, but to biology. We are compelled by our entire being to survive and procreate as long as we can possibly hold on to whatever it is that we have here. The only place you can truly be free is in you mind. That's not to say that complete freedom does not exist! NO no. Your psychological world is in fact a universe; wholly complete and limitless if you allow it to be. What we must now do is share this universe with the rest of humanity so that they may become part of the boundless galaxy. Do our best to create a physical parallel universe on earth making life a pleasure and joy for everyone (that includes you, oh and you too if you must).
In direct response (that means i wish an answer), freedom is not about force. True freedom in my mind is the exact opposite of force. It is effortless in truest sense of the word. This is where it becomes tricky and I take anouther hit. ah yes... i remember this feeling... hmmm.... oh yea... okay. Your 'force' is not a force at all. I can only explain it as giving up. To use a quote from a very good movie "it is only after we have lost everything that we are free to do anything." Thankyou in advance for your response.
Very well said! I used to look at things backwards until I read this. You're so right, it doesn't matter where we are, even if were chained up in prison, through our minds we can always be free. Sure the government bars us up, and puts a price on everything, but in the end, its our choice to live. As for me, I was/still am my own prison. It used to be very bad and I wouldn't let myself achieve anything(I blame that on the media lol) but I am slowly coming out of that prison and I must say, it feels great! Maybe wisdom free's our minds and we try to trap ourselves.
I think we are all free to an extent but we are also all bound by laws and statutes that take away certain freedoms. But I agree with RMJL I am my own prison. I always get me into some form of trouble and make it worse
Freedom...there is always so many view points. theres the person that always says, if you dont liek america, just go to another country....(cuz thats the thing to do, run from problems...) I personally think we are not free, if we were free, we wouldnt have this set way of life. I have done alot of thinking on this, and WHY do we have to live the way we do now. What if we lived in a different way, what is society was different, or thought about to be different? I guess we are somewhat free in our society to do what we want, but then again we are not free at all because the goverenmt can no let us be free. I know you all herd it, but we really do have a pretty bad government. But thats a different story. so basically what i am trying to say is we are somewhat free in our own society but jsut somewhat interesting shit... PEACE
I was talking with my friend the other day. And I was thinking that freedom is God. If you think about it, if your free to do anything in the world, thats great! But if you become free from yourself(if you know what I mean-anxieties/fears/laziness) that would equal a state of love, bliss, enlightenment, and as far as humans know, that is the closest thing to God. God is a state, a state which you are connect with, simply everything. The people around you, the things around you(nature) and the universe, and thats what God is, therefore God is inside of us all. Whoa.. sorry if that didn't make sense
Freedomn in my mind is breaking away form the false facade of emotions that we all have, freedomn is the ability to control your thoughts, unlike the selfish child it is now growing bored of a thought and reaching for a new one, so no I am not free............yet.
True, true, but I shall work as hard as I be the best person I can be. Nearly 20 years of schooling and they put me on the day shift, so I have casted aside such tangable images, and focus only on my training and the Dharma. lol sorry
I'm so not free it's ridiculous lol. I wish i was free to go to university and study philosophy and religion like so many people that take it for granted. I wish I was free from the everyday fight to live in peace. And even then I won't be free to pursue all the knowledge in the universe because death will come eventually. But that just means I have to cram everything I can into the short time I have left.