On Freedom

We're always free, but we're never free. we go to the market to buy some fruit, and we feel free in the beautiful sunshine, and the smell of tangerines. But then we go to the counter and pay with currency that the government has issued. And we leave the store and we have to wait for the white man on the crosswalk box to appear, before we walk. But we could just ignore the white man and cross at our leisure. but then we might be run over. or we could just look around, and wait until there are no cars, and then walk when we feel safe. but then my decision to walk is being shaped by the driving patters of others... this can not be freedom.

i think i am confusing freedom and happiness... or maybe freedom and peace of mind. Nietzsche would say freedom has nothing to do with happiness, and that freedom is "the ultimate form of cruelty." maybe that's too extreme for me.

I have been thinking a lot about freedom lately. In its many forms: political freedom, freedom of will, freedom of consciousness, freedom to be one's self, freedom of belief.

It is amazing that a term can be applied to so many broad categories.