by: Jesse S. Somer
Freedom for all species and people, and freedom of stress; is it possible? Could the Internet be a tool to getting there?
Freedom, what is it? I am an Internet writer whose job is to write about the Internet. Does that mean I am locked into this one area? Am I allowed to write about other things? Well today I am going to test out my supposed freedom, by writing about freedom. Some people say freedom is a state of mind, but I don’t know. What if you are a refugee locked away in a mandatory detention center waiting years for governments to process bureaucratic rigmarole? What if you live in a democratic society where you have to sign and have documents for everything from dog licenses to foreign visas? Are we really free, and if we are, how free are we?
Life on Earth for the privileged nations has become quite a comfortable existence. Or has it? Materially we have more than we could have ever imagined, but spiritually, how are we doing? If we are honest, each one of us has to live with the knowledge that for every creature comfort we have, someone in the world is having a little bit less; and then there’s the effect we have on the environment. So how free can we be with all this on our collective consciousness? The fact that we have more stress, anxiety and youth suicide today than ever before is a testament to the fact that life isn’t necessarily wholly better than our previous generations.
So why think of freedom? Why think of the problems of the Earth if I don’t have the answers. Everybody wants to hear solutions, but not many people are giving them. I once heard a guy called Professor Peter Sellars say,
“I’m now proposing the new period is the ‘Culture of Focus’, you find something that needs to be done and you do it.”
Could this be our ticket to physical, mental, emotional and spiritual freedom? If we focus our intentions as a society in an altruistic fashion, maybe all our strict social doctrines and rules will become less apparent in our minds and thus in our reality. If we are all thriving on the fact that we are doing our little part to make the world a better place for all concerned, maybe we wouldn’t be so obsessed with some of the issues that seem to pervade our minds today: war, greed, economics, racial and religious differences; all these may just become focuses of our past perception of reality.
I’m not pedaling easy answers and I’m not giving many examples of how all this change will come about; and I’m definitely not saying it shall be an easy task, nothing worthwhile ever is. The fact is, humans are always evolving and changing and it is easy to see that we still have a way to go before we live in a sustainable, positive global community. These thoughts are on my mind and I’m sure as I’ve spoken to many others, that it’s on a lot of our minds.
O.K., my job is to write about the Internet so I guess in the end I’ll follow orders. I mean hey, these words could incite a few positive thoughts out there in our collective community across the globe. The Internet is a pretty cool tool for communication across present borders and boundaries of our constructed systems. Just think about how much information and knowledge is now available at your fingertips. You can find out about nearly anything imaginable. For instance, if you did want to research the question about whether you are free or not, it’s the perfect place to start your search. It actually could take a large part in the development of true freedom for all species. That’s all I am going to say about that. Maybe we are already free, but could we become freer? Think about it my brothers and sisters.