Is Our Freedom A Fraud?

Our Freedom might be abfraud afterall, but as long as we live to reach our purpose, it doesn't matter. Live fully and enjoy life no matter cruel it may be

I am a human, so are you. I am a person, and so are you. I am a citizen of a country, so are you. We are few of those who are blessed with democracy, however, there are still doubts that cannot be erased from my head amidst the 'freedom' they say I am enjoying today. Am I truly free? Or better, are WE truly free? Or the freedom we have today, is a mere concept that is empty and a fraud?

So, what does freedom really mean? Based on the definition of this word from the dictionary. Freedom was formed by combining the word 'free' and the suffix '-dom'. Based on the history of this word, it actually meant 'beloved' or 'dear one'. Consequently, based from the Old English, 'free' came from the word 'freo', which meant 'exempt from' or 'not in bondage' where the current definition of the word freedom was derived. On the other hand, the suffix '-dom' is combined with another word to make a noun wherein, it refers to 'domain' that means kingdom. In general, 'Freedom' is a condition or state of being free from constraints. It sounds easy to understand, it is certainly a simple concept that everyone knows. But for me, there is a greater understanding and complexity that can be implied from this common word.

Freedom can sometimes be interchangeably used with the word liberty for both of these words describe the state of being free. In political aspect, 'freedom' can be understood as being 'free from something' while 'liberty' can be inferred as being 'free to do something.' But if we use liberty and freedom in general, liberty as well as freedom is an inevitable right of human. We are bestowed by God with mind. We make decisions with our own minds. We have the will to choose and think and that sets us apart from other living creatures.

Freedom can be divided into different understanding, we have our own concepts of freedom. For example, the Philippine yearly celebrates its Independence from foreign invasions. But are we really? Or better yet, did we truly gain independence from foreign countries? That's another thing why I can't stop thinking that our freedom is fraud. That might be another concept for freedom. Another is, freedom from your own self. Admit it or not, we often put constraints on ourselves. Why is that really? That's the question. But we all have our own reasons why we choose to oppress ourselves. It might be self-doubt, or we can't just express ourselves because of the society's expectations and the pressure from our own peers. It's like we are chained in a rythm and our only choice is to go with it. I surely think there is no such thing as absolute freedom among humans today. We are always bounded by law. Is that what you call freedom? Some may say yes because freedom is being safe but it does not apply to everyone. We always put limitations to everything. If freedom is being free to do anything then that means we aren't free at all. We all believe in our own God. He has commandments that should be followed. Another decrease to our freedom. We cannot always choose what will happen in the future. We can't always say everything we want and do whatever we want. Amidst all of this so called 'hindrances' to our absolute freedom that makes our believe of freedom today a fraud, these things keep the balance across the world. We are in a process of life that cannot be gone beyond. And that is absolutely not freedom.

The fraud freedom I am saying isn't as bad as we might think it is. How can I say so? Imagine, if we have absolute freedom. Do you think there'll be suicidal people? Of course none! We all know that suicidal people often commit suicide because they can't grant the freedom from themselves. They feel locked and sealed. That's a good point, however, If we have absolute freedom, Do you think there'll be peace today? None! It'll be more chaotic. Refraining from something in the current era may cause some mayhem in some areas but if we gain absolute freedom, the world will surely never be seen aesthetically by children today. It will be a catastrophic planet. We will be like wild animals who fight until death to survive and face tomorrow. That's why there is actually an advantage of this fraud freedom.

We are occupied by everything around us, we are blinded. We don't see the bigger picture of everything. We are too focused on what might happen that will affect us. We forget that while we are occupied by our own thinking, the freedom we have becomes more fake. We don't realize that the wall we built to protect our so called freedom slowly crumbles and falls because of the force that destroys our treasured freedom. We think because we can move freely and speak freely, we can feel the essence of freedom, but actually there is someone in the shadows lurking us and slowly manipulating us.

All in all, though our freedom is a fraud, there is still hope that true freedom will be achieved by someone or all of us, hopefully, if only we realize that freedom is us. We may never reach absolute freedom but it's okay. As long as we all know freedom is upon us, it is still an achievement. We have the will to be free. And that proves that the freedom in this world may be fraud, but the true freedom is inside us. And that freedom is waiting to be unleashed anytime. We just need to find our true value to reach that freedom inside us.