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So this is a somewhat old blog of mine... yet it still holds true in my thoughts today.



I just saw the videos of Neda, a young Iranian women being shot and killed by Iran's militiamen during a protest against the reelection of their current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This president has been said by some to be the cause of many if Irans current issues. Although I do not truly have an opinion on the death of this women nor the current president or Iran due to not having kept up to date with such stories which seem to always be based on half-truths the video did make me wonder what freedom means and at what cost should people work for it?



Freedom is said to be the right to act according to ones will without being held up by the power of others. This could encompass many different types of freedom, including freedom of religion, political freedom, freedom of thought, and much much more.

There are many countries that claim to keep their people from being "protected" from such freedoms. There are an equal amount of countries that claim to rule over their people while protecting such freedoms. But is anyone truly free?



I personally believe that there is no truly free person on this earth. We are all bound in some way, shape, or from by ideals or systems that we do not truly agree with. Some are bound by the government, some by religion, and others simply by the thoughts of others. Do you believe that pot, murder, same-sex marriage, etc. should be legal? Have you been able to marry your partner of the same sex? Are you able to find pot and smoke it in front of a pig? Are you truly able to do what you wish? Are you truly free?



Another issue that I personally feel is highly tied into this is freedom from religion. Many people of various different faiths claim to be free and to have freedom. Yet how much of their behavior is dictated by their religious icons? Gods who claim to be loving and kind? To have made you in their image? If god made all people in his image why are christians dealing with things that have been laid out in their book as immoral and sinful? Why do we eat food that we do not need until we are beyond full far past the feeling of 'full' and eat some more hours later? Surely this is gluttony! Why do we all seem to lust over that beautiful man or women? This must be lust! Why does nothing seem to feel better then just lounging about in bed on some days? If you do this you've broken the deadly sin of sloth! If god created you in his image why must you fight against your natural urges on a daily basis? Are you free from his oppression and rule?



The last way that we are not free as a society, country, or world is that many of us feel bound to the rules of our society. To some of us it matters not if we are threatened by jail or an eternity in "hell" but rather the possibility of jeers from the crowd and feeling like an outcast. Have you ever wanted to dress in one way but known that no one would approve? Ever wanted to say something but bit your tongue instead? Had an idea you thought was brilliant but was afraid that others would think you idiotic? Did you keep to yourself and follow the rules and customs of society simply because you didn't want to let your inner self show?



I truly do believe that almost no one is truly free from all laws and regulations of this world. Even sadder, most people have no idea what is going on and are gladly living the life of a complacent sheep. Yet, there are those who will forever have my respect who aim for something more, freedom. Yes the people of Iran are simply looking for freedom from their government, yet it is one step of many. For these people just a little more freedom is worth their jobs, lifes, and so much more. Perhaps we can learn from them. What is the price of your freedom? As for me, I side with the Iranians and the ever increasing number of those fighting for their freedom. Those who open their eyes more and more every day. There is no price to high.







Quotes on freedom, government, religion, and self-expression-



Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful. — Edward Gibbon



The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. — George Bernard Shaw



Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile. — Kurt Vonnegut



Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest. — Denis Diderot



The burden of originality is one that most people don't want to accept. They'd rather sit in front of the TV and let that tell them what they're supposed to like, what they're supposed to buy, and what they're supposed to laugh at- Marilyn Manson



Law never made man a whit more just; and by means of their respect for it, even the well disposed are daily made agents of injustice. -Henry David Therou



So what are your thoughts? What is your price? Any more quotes to add to the list?