Fear in relation to freedom has been a burdensome topic on my mind lately. For several weeks, I've mentally wrestled with the idea of what makes a person free. Some would say that living in a "free" country in which one can make their own decisions (for the most part) makes one free. Some would say that freedom is a state of mind, that even those who are in prison can be free, if only their minds can conceive it. Some would say that being cleansed of sin means freedom (Psalm 51). "The truth will set you free!", whatever the definition of truth is. According to some, freedom "presupposes the absence of any obligations or constraints" (Hobbs). V for Vendetta asserts that the absence of fear is freedom.
The absence and/or presence of fear is something I would like to specifically address in an effort to come to some sort of conclusion about freedom, especially in this day and age and in this country:
Yesterday I watched V for Vendetta for the first time, ironically and unintentionally on the eve of Guy Fawkes Night. According to the movie, the West has become so immersed in fear (of terrorists, epidemics, war, etc.) that the people are willing to sacrifice their civil liberties in exchange for the illusion of governmental protection. Sound familiar? Here's the thing: The main character, Evey (played by Natalie Portman who is beyond brilliant, but who doesn't sell me on the forced British accent), becomes fearless (through torture (!)) and is, according to the film, now absolutely free. I think I disagree with this idea, though I am happy to equivocate.
Honestly, I think that a lot of times people embrace their fear. We like fear. It puts us on a side (us v. them: the people v. the monsters; the individual v. the challenge; the proletariat v. big brother; the free nation v. "the evil doers"; etc.) and we like being part of a team. Also, fear requires that we be saved from something/someone, a ridiculously romantic idea. Fear promotes the all too familiar dysfunctional love/hate relationship. Embracing fear means, in this instance, that we value personal safety over freedom(?), an idea that many think plays into the hands of big government. This symbiotic relationship between fear and freedom is what keeps us from breaking the law, keeps us away from the "shady" characters, and is even what makes us patriotic.
BUT perhaps being fearful or not being fearful doesn't matter in the freedom arena (she said as she dodged the storm of pumping fists and freedom placards).
It is difficult for me to qualify this reasoning, seeing as my whole life I have been afraid of something. To me, those fears were/are real and I mostly lose to them or am held back by them, though I am getting better at resisting. For example (and a bit off topic, but wait for the point), I am terrified of flying (yes, we all know it is probably a control issue, yadda, yadda, psychosis summary, yadda...). Two glasses of merlot and a zanex later not only am I not afraid of the big bad plane, but I am totally stoked that I get to fly. In fact, maybe turbulence would be fun, especially since rationally I know that statistically flying is the safest mode of transportation, terrorists or no terrorists! Does this count as freedom from fear? In this case, my fear is numbed, but if the plane crashes, it didn't matter whether or not I was afraid. The fear, whether actually there or not, had little to do with the outcome. So, what does this mean in relation to freedom? Will the outcome be the same regardless of whether or not we fear "the enemy"?
The fact is I don't know. (stupid abstract nouns!) There is still no conclusion. I have no concrete definition of freedom. There are only ideas of freedom. Maybe I am extremely disillusioned seeing as I have only ever lived in a "free" state. Rousseau asserts that people can be forced into freedom (which is deliciously ironic and fodder for a different entry... Thanks for the bedtime reading, Spark). I know that whatever freedom is, we're going to fight for it, by God! After all, and back to V, "one man's terrorism is another man's freedom fight". Maybe that's something to be feared, too.
This topic will hopefully be addressed at next week's salon at the Dallas Institute. I'll keep you updated. In the meantime, what is your opinion (and please be nice).
4 comments:
I can't believe I made it through the whole movie (hundreds of impassioned pleas to 'remember the 5th of November') without realizing the date. Until I saw your blog that is. Actually we saw it Saturday so it was Guy Fawks Eve.
Onto the whole Fear-Freedom dichotomy. Healthy fear is definately a gift. It keeps us alert when crossing a dark parking lots, and keeps us from eating that tuna that's been in the fridge too long. But fear can be devistating as well. In order for fear to be worth the anguish it should (a)increase awareness, (b)be in proportion to danger. There is no real doubt we live in a fear society. Just watch the news, every story that isn't about celebrities is abut fear. The power elite pour it over us by the bucketful to convince us not to ask too many questions. It's not even about political parties, it's everyone. Fear is the new religeon-as-opiate. It's not that fear and freedom are oposites. It's just that the more fear we feel, the more freedom we'll give up - the more prying into our private lives we'll accept - the more truncation of our free choice we'll swallow. Fear can be benifitial, but we must guard against blind reationary stumbling. We should be aware of possible threats, but not be paralized by that awareness - or willingly sign up for a system just as bad as the percieved danger. It astounds me that we are accutely aware of any one around who is middle eastern, but we completely forget folks like Timothy McVey. He was white trash, but do we get the same aprehension when we pass a trailer park? I've lived in my share of trailer parks; maybe we should.
A) Rich is really smart.
B) It is 4am, so I am not.
But here's what I, perhaps randomly, thought of as I read your post. There is this one section of a trail I used to climb a lot in high school where you walk across this ledge that's about 2 feet wide. On one side is a sheer wall up. On the other side, open air and about a 100 foot drop. Every time I would get to that part, I would feel fear. Then I would get this (crazy?) urge to jump. Now I'm not sure if that sprung to mind because it was a good example of fear keeping me safe, or if I think of flying (literally) off that kind of precipice and soaring around when I think of the word "freedom". And I'm not sure if I have a point here. In that moment, though, fear kept me safe; however, it is the thought of the freedom that I think of most when I think of that climb.
I used to have dreams where I was flying. Friggin' coolest thing ever.
So the short short version. I think a healthy dose of each is good. Too much freedom and we start throwing ourselves off cliffs (and you could argue that's your right as a free person...), but too much fear and we'll never make the climb or get the reward. Maybe people who can be controlled by fear just have a lack of imagination. See "Shawshank Redemption"...
life just good
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