Freedom, or the Lack of it

melaniegin

When I think of freedom, I am suddenly pedaling past parked cars, the wind whipping across my face. I am lying in the warm grass with my love Max, picking out animals in the clouds. I am calling my best friend Ellen – no, I am racing into my car headed directly for our favorite Starbucks – and we are laughing.  I am at peace, for today I am young, and I have all the time in the world to find my way. But the question often arises in my mind: Am I truly free?

First of all, what is freedom? History offers many definitions. During the Revolutionary War, freedom equaled liberation from the taxes and dictatorial leanings of the British monarchy, and could only be won by “dissolving the political bands” connecting the colonies to the Crown.

In the years following the Civil War, freedom took on a more literal meaning. Abolitionists worked for the demise of physical slavery, and in 1865, the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in the United States. Since then, activists have eliminated many of the restrictions on our human rights: women gained the right to vote in 1920, the civil rights movement broke down the color barrier, and disabled individuals and gay rights groups have made great progress in protecting their liberty.

And yet, although we are lucky to live unshackled in a democratic country, I question whether we are truly free. I argue that we are subjected to mental slavery: of being conditioned to adapt societal mindsets rather than learning to form our own.

In childhood, the conditioning begins. Children are taught to respect their elders, to use their manners, and to do well in school. Diverging from the expected behaviors – the mean, in a sense – brings from parents what the social psychologist Michel Foucault calls micro-penalties: scoldings, time-outs, and the occasional beating, all designed to keep the child from edging away from what is socially acceptable.

Even preschools perpetuate the conditioning. Paul Tough’s article Can the Right Kinds of Play Teach Self-Control?, published in the September 25, 2009 issue of the New York Times, documents how schools use a program called Tools of the Mind to help preschoolers exert control over their emotions. The program stresses “mature, dramatic play”, complex scenarios in which young children adapt specific societal roles; for example, a boy might be given the role of a father. When the boy acts in a way that is not consistent with the socially accepted ideal of “fatherhood”, the other children chide him. In this way, the children are conditioned to the “correct” way to act in society.

Both parents and schools thus teach young children to perform within the structure of society. We grow up believing that we want what we have been told to want: acceptance letters to good colleges and stable careers top the list.

As we grow up and enter adulthood, we become slaves to our salaries. We work tirelessly in hopes of a promotion and yet worry about paying our bills on time. Most likely, we too will have children, and we will condition our children in the ways that our parents did us: we will scold them when they “misbehave”, and deviate from the societal ideal, and we will reward them with treats when they prove capable of fitting in.

Over time, we have adapted society’s standards as our own. We have created adjectives like “rational” and “intelligent”, which require a judgment simply for use. Perhaps this is the price of living in society: having a societal “average” against which each individual is weighed, examined, and conditioned to conform.

And yet in this society, I believe that there still exists room for freedom. Too often, we accept what we want without really asking why we want it. So my response to that societal conditioning is to constantly ask myself, “Why?”

Why am I going to college? Why do I enjoy soccer? Why am I going to the beach? I question myself, and if I find that I am acting simply because I’m obligated to and not because I want to, I don’t do it. 

Stripping us of freedom in the modern age is more theoretical than the overt physical enslavement that occurred in the early 1800’s, and yet it is just as crucial for us to maintain a sense of self as it was back then. Be yourself, wildly, unapologetically yourself. If that means jumping onto tables, singing at the top of your lungs, or just being completely lazy, so be it. Be you.

Freedom, or the Lack of it

114 thoughts on “Freedom, or the Lack of it”

  1. Unknown's avatar christina says:

    ok i’m going to have to show my bio background here for a second and disagree with your definition of freedom in relation to societal norms. Parenting is not a restriction of freedom, although some parents indeed do such, at its core it is teaching the child how to become a functioning person. It is present in all forms of life. Humans, however, are born with the least developed brain and so need to be taught and shaped the most of any other species. As far as control of emotions or gender roles, these actually vary significantly with different culture, but gender roles are another biological entity. It is most advantageous for men and women to pair up and procreate as we have an ingrained need to spread our genes. On another note, i do think it is a good point to stop and think about all of our actions. Too often people go to school and get a job that is not a true fit for them just because that is what they think they are supposed to do. People hold back emotions when they need to be shown. You definitely bring up some good points. 🙂

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  2. Melanie Gin's avatar Melanie Gin says:

    Hi Christina, thanks for your comment. I draw different conclusions from the evidence you just stated. First, you say that the goal of parenting is “teaching the child how to become a functioning person.” I ask, who and what defines a functioning person? I would argue that it is the parents, doctors, and teachers that define whether a child is functioning physically, socially, and intellectually up to par. Second, you say that “humans need to be taught and shaped the most of any other species.” Perhaps, it is biologically true that children develop their brains by observing others. The parents thus have the obligation to help their children grow, and can see to it that the children end up as they want them to. They teach their children what is acceptable to society by establishing rules. “Don’t throw your food.” “Don’t swear.” “Eat your vegetables.” I do concede your point about the different sexes, and it being most advantageous for men and women to pair up in order to procreate. There are other societal pressures though that prompt men and women to match up. 

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