The Price Of Freedom

At this point of time you may think, I'm going to talk about India and its struggle for freedom.

Freedom. Seems like a heavy word. Dense with meaning. Understood by the oppressed, and the stoners.

Free beer, free software, freebies. Free has connotations of cheap, easily available. But oh boy' is it expensive. People say best things in life are free. Like clean air, or beautiful scenery. But if you are not naive, you know these do not come free. Clean air requires existence of trees, giving up on comfort of individual vehicles for the common good, to reduce pollution, expensive pollution control devices in the factories.
Beautiful scenery ? Where? In your living room? Or in the mountains, beaches, famous tourist spots? Is it free to travel there? To stay, to eat? Enjoyment of beauty is free of course. But getting there has a cost, like the fine print on a contract or an agreement.

Is it freedom, to curtail individual desires for collective good? Is it freedom, to express, but only the views echoed by the society at large? Is it 'freedom', to be sexist, racist? Are they not people, don't they have a right to their opinions?

What is freedom then? Isn't barbarian society free'st of them all then?

Is it freedom, to not have questions, and accept answers handed out to you? Answers, we all know keep things safe. If we have all the answers, there is no quest. No need to search, to sieve through the myriad of ideas. Brain does not hunger. All is well. There is peace. Stagnation. No stirring of the silts, no churning of the seas. Nothing new, nothing dangerous, nothing to challenge the existing status quo. All is well indeed. We can all go back to sleep. And live life half-sleep. There is really no requirement to be awake when this drunken stupor, this half slumber is so much more calming. Isn't that what we all want? Neo to have taken to blue pill in the Matrix.
Come on, the reality is even shown with a red pill. Red, as in danger. The symbology was not lost on me.
I set about examining reality and fortunately it left me with more questions than answers. There seem to be two freedoms- external and internal. External as in everything around you - society, career, art, science, nations, ideologies, religion, associations, friends, family. I'll not ask the common exhortations of " Do we really have freedom of expression". My question is where do expressions come from? Are your ideas and ideologies really your own? Or are brighter minds than your's lighting the flame and giving it direction. For their own benign or malign causes. How much of your mind is your own? 

If you used a drug once, and want to use it again. Is it freedom to do it, or is it freedom to be free of addiction and to refuse to do it? What is the cause of action? The prompt, the drive? Where does the desire to do anything come from? Is it freedom to be driven to do things? Or is it freedom to refuse to do the things? Is it freedom to refuse to do what is necessary?

Then what is duty? What is obligation? Is it not curtailing of freedom? 

Let us examine one level deeper. Brain rewards you with endorphins, dopamine, serotonin and such other happy hormones when ever you do something desirable. When you achieve something, when you complete a task, when you conceive a child.. The brain rewards you. And you, like a drug addict seek these pleasures and rewards, these handouts. And brain, like a part of a collective organism, rewards you for behaviour which ultimately propagates and protect humans as a species. Freedom?

Is choice freedom? Choices strain the brain, puts pressure. When choices are taken away there is relief, a lifting of burden. So are choices freedom? Or lack of choices? Discipline is curtailing of choices. Then is discipline, freedom?

In science, degree of freedom is defined by degree of movement. Then is Chaos freedom?

Is freedom desirable at all then? May be we should let the machines have a free reign. Because freedom is never free and raises far more questions than it answers.

Still people struggle for freedom, everywhere, everywhence, throughout the times. 

So it must be important. Even at a heavy price.

I think I should have freedom too. If only i could figure out what it is.