antiFreedom

As I mentioned, the Quiz post below is a bit of an introduction to this one. The reason I posted it first? I suspected it would be hard to identify just what rules those are as relates to a specific time, place or culture (unless you're Kyknoord, who appears to be a veritable fountain - nay, waterfall! - of obscure knowledge!).

In truth, these are indeed the principles of Maat, found while researching the concept of Goddess a while back (which is fodder for a whole week of posts!). I found it fascinating how most - if not all of - these principles could extend across cultures and nations, times and civilizations as a way in which humanity could live in harmony. By the way, the link gives another side to the story of the Hebrew Exodus... :)

So why post this list? Well, I've been thinking Freedom lately.

A while back my journey took me away from the "closed" religious culture I'd grown up in. By taking that step back I got a whole new perspective that soon extended to other aspects of life. In a way, I began to question everything I believed or assumed I knew, testing it to see whether it was simply an accepted tradition I'd adopted without asking why, or whether it had some value for me as an indiviual that would affirm my belief in it. I literally threw all my views out the window, wiped the slate clean and started from scratch. (It's funny how one's upbringing still colours things though - you can never truly escape a bred-in point of view) I started to ask why I had conformed to the expectations of others in so many ways, and whether it was truly who I knew myself to be. Many times the answer came up a resounding "No".

Unfortunately this has also made me realize how many people are stuck in a pattern of servitude without realizing it. How they conform without question, supress their souls for the sake of sameness, and then turn around and impose that on the next bloke in the queue.

Also unfortunately, this questioning has made me a bit of a rebel to some. I will no longer bow the knee, can't see the logic behind it - and it scares the heck out of more than a few people.

Here's some of the freedom issues I've been pondering lately:

* Religion: Why does any one group get to tell everyone else they're wrong? Why do they seek to impose their view of God, the universe, the laws - instead of letting everyone find their own path? I'm not just talking major religion differences here (for example the rifts that often form between Christianity and Islam), but the cracks that seperate groups within a belief framework - the fundamentalists from the not-so-fundamentals etc. My perspective - each to his own. What's right for me may be wrong for you, and I seriously doubt any one person or group has exclusive rights to Truth! Let each live according to the light they find - whether it be Christianity, Islam, Paganism or any other of the million paths out there. Respect the fact that you cannot see through their eyes or tread their paths - and don't try force your way on them. I think this is where my issues with "evangelism" come in. Yeah, by all means share the light you've found, but don't keep score of "conversions" and don't guilt people into your path. Don't assume they're wrong, or lacking, or lost, or without hope. Sure - some may be, and you may be able to help them stand upright. But then let them find their own journey! Oh, and while I'm at it (and this is addressed to my fundamental friends, who run a school and have banned the high school dance in favour of a banquet - again) - what's wrong with dancing?

* Work (and here we're getting into dangerous territory, that may have me labelled anti-social, as in not conforming to society! :) ): Why is it that you have to shun the natural flow of the days and months, to be at a specific location at a specific time, work all the life out of you while the day ticks by, fit yourself into a role that determines how important a human you are based on job title and/or cash, but personal strengths - and then end your day too exhausted to lift your eyes to the beauty of the world around you? Why do you have to tell 3 different people if you're about to go home sick, and still be made to feel guilty for the fact that your body has given out and needs rest? Instead - how about trusting those you pay that they will take pride in their work enough to get it done. Not only within the time needed, but also to the best of their ability. Consider allowing people to do good work in rhythm with the way their bodies function - resting when needed, putting in extra effort when required, taking time to breathe and think and restore before plunging renewed into the tasks at hand. Don't place some humans further up an imaginary scale of importance at the expense of others, nor allow them to misuse power. Allow freedom and trust to work for you, instead of trying to herd cats. Forget office hours - let task fulfilment be the norm.

* Education (the biggie!): Who says what you know is what everyone else should know in order to live effectively? It may be useful in your life - but to me is just so much talk. Information fluff. But hey - perhaps education is all about passing on as much information as possible and letting you pick and choose what works for you. If so - why the exams? Then there's this "sit up and shut up" thing. Personally, I learn more if I talk about something. Just listening, no interaction - that's a recipe for it going in one ear and out the other! As for sitting still all day - ever heard of "numb bum syndrome"? Then there's the inane pedantic rules (don't walk on the grass, don't pee until break time), the uncomfortable impractical uniforms, the punishments (lines - enough to put you off writing for life!), the homework (negating the opportunity for you to learn how to work around the home, as all your time is spent doing exactly what you did for the 6 hours in school, only in a more exhausted state). OK, I realize that if you gave them all freedom, the kids would probably run around all day going nuts. I know I would, at least at first. Then I'd find someone interesting and hang out a bit - picking their brains as they pick mine, or getting my hands dirty trying stuff to see what happens (so what if we blow up the science block). I'd quit running around and become a civilized learner. And so would every other kid, including the bully ones that scare you. And those who have been medicated into a line of sameness. And those who never say a word in class.

* Information: There's little that riles me quite as much as having a "this page has been blocked by ---- (whatever programme is currently in vogue)" when I'm online. Why do other people get to determine what I can and can't see, read or learn? And why cap the amount of information allowed to flow to my screen each month? Not so long ago it was books being burned. Bibles printed only in Latin so commoners couldn't understand them. I can understand that some parents don't want their kids exposed to naked flesh in all its forms, and if they wish to limit what they see themselves - then by all means do so. But if one is hungry for information, or wishes to have an open mind, or tries to go outside a comfort zone to see how others see things - to have that option blocked gets under my skin. Schools do it too - a local primary school screens the library books so nothing non-mild gets through. Textbooks are kept tamed, views that differ from the norm never aired, banned from discussion. Why not let us choose for ourselves? Let us experience the world online and off in all its many colours, and then decide what is right for our brains to absorb, our eyes to see?

* Society in general: Much of society seems tied up in things that relate to one of the three above. Perhaps it's a church trying to run a country, or a particular model of work (and by default way of life) that is seen as ideal. But where is the room for individuals? Let's say we all went back to those 42 laws from Pagan Egypt of 5,000 years ago. They're basically still valid in that they require us to respect each other, respect the world around us, and respect our God/gods. A bit of "do unto others" with a touch of "live and let live"? And yet society seems to like clambouring over each other - dictating what an ethnic group, a cultural group, a people divided by imaginary borders, even your neighbours can and can't do. Those who are gay are supressed by those who are heterosexual. The black oppress the white or the white oppress the black. Tribes kill each other without really knowing why. Those who are for free sex are judged by those who are for celibacy. A dominant religion invokes its own perspectives on everything from crime to what you get to wear. And I ask why it has to be like this. Where is the freedom to be who and what we are, to live and move and have our being in the way that is right for us?

I'm running out of words, I've probably lost your interest way back around paragraph 3, but all this and more is running through my head as I try to find a future that allows me to feel free, to live free, and to respect the rights of others to do so too.