This is my first post here, I find you all very intelligent, I am only 15 years old but philosophy intrigues me. I have studied the works of a few philosophers, mainly Immanuel Kant, this is an immature explanation of how I see freedom, or mostly how some perceive it.
William Wallace was right, they canât take our freedom mostly because we donât have any and never will, because the paradox will never stop. You want freedom? Take it, we have been fighting for it for years and years, to no resort. Freedom costs. Itâs kind of a hypocritical philosophy really. We fight for the right to be free. We fight for the right to have a free-market system so we can buy anything you want, whenever you want, from whoever you want.
We fight for the freedom of religious belief, thought mostly we just fight amongst ourselves about that. Sometimes we even travel to the other side of the world to make sure that those less âfortunateâ than ourselves can enjoy our special brand of freedom: video games, Coke Pepsi, Jesus, and Taco Bell. You have the right to eat tacos weâll say, and theyâll smile and say âFINALY!â Some people even have the right to bear arms. Sometimes their kids get in on that right. Sometimes people die for freedom and donât know it. Funny how freedom works, you die for it.
In the most perfect dream I will be sitting in a nice lawn chair on a high plateau, watching the demise of Western Civilization. Iâd buy a super powerful pair of binoculars, so as not to miss anything. Iâd have a big cooler full of drinks and beautiful women around, rubbing my feet and shoulders. And Iâd get new glasses, because the ones I have now are all scratched up. Better then a super summer blockbuster. No giant lizards, no aliens, no natural disasters. Just us. Swirling towards the bottom of the bowl. Iâll have some tacos and a shirt that says âfinallyâ
The chemical winds will blow through my hair as I monitor the major news networks for the details and endless updates. The field correspondents broadcasting from within the flaming debris, conditioned to remain impervious to the dangers and drama unfolding around them. The Earth bursting into flame. Little ships slipping picturesquely beneath the foaming waves.
Hell hath no fury like a man sitting in a lawn chair watching the end of the world who ran out of tacosâŚ
And then come the missiles. Having spent all my life living in a time of nuclear devices. I say launch them. Iâm curious to see what the fuss is about. Where to fire them? Iâm open to suggestions. Iâll play Pac-Man and Frogger while A-Bombs blow up around me like so many seagulls fed with Wonder Bread and Draino. Iâll do the Safety Dance, The Electric Dance, the Macarena and maybe me and the girls will even line-dance. Iâm gonna laugh maniacally because, what else am I going to do? There will be umbrellas in all the drinks, fireworks without warning labels, hundreds of rare T-bones, a million cigarettes, and plenty of pornography. Cause if youâre going down, go down big.
Thatâs freedom. Not some word in the dictionary. Not some corrupted thing bent to suit commercial purposes. Limitless freedom. Not Endless slow poison like today, no âtomorrow Iâll go to the gym after work.â Just sought after cancerous treats and spy-like glow-in-the-dark party favors. Naked riders, outrageous costumes, dangerous words blasted through megaphones, outlawed tunes played on outlawed guitars. A silence after a great noise. And then the ringing tone of a last, great chord. Thatâs Freedom, right? I am Canadian, and have nothing against anybody, you want freedom? Just take it, no war will change it. Wake up to the real world, that being the one within your head, there is no other.
Hopefully I contradicted myself in there somewhere.