Freedom: Not in my lifetime

When it comes to some of the things I talk about such as freedom from authority, people are perhaps a little confused by what I mean but, it isn't that they don't understand the concepts. Liberty, anarchy, self-governance, peace, unity and love aren't new ideas, and have been discussed for literally thousands of years.

When the Buddha said, the root of all suffering is desire, this was about freedom of thought and detachment from wants, not the denial of them. What we deny, we empower with the same energy it takes to hold it back, what we fight we validate. Do you understand? Perhaps, perhaps not but that is your path.

Mine may be different as I have a clear picture of where I want to be and in what ind of world I would like to live and raise my daughter but, the way to get there is foggy. The path will also have to be sensitive and change as the environment changes around it. At times it will be a hard slog up a mountain and occasionally a easy glide down the other side until the valley turn back to the next slope upward.

For a long time, people have imagined a better world and even in modern history we can see that the attraction of worlds like Star Trek where exploration and potential are the norm of existence. Sure, most might not want to be fighting the Borg but, a society where money is not the driving force of action is for many people, attractive. We aren't there yet though are we?

But, we are better off overall. Even though we are a very long way from solving a whole host of issues we face, we are in much better condition than we generally give ourselves credit for. This is natural since human nature focuses predominantly on risk and suffering, not opportunity and contentment. This is part of the desire problem Buddha mentioned and what keeps most people living psychologically in the past or future rather than the present because they are attached to what has happened or their expectations of what will.

Many think that when I speak of freedom I speak from a naive perspective, as if I do not understand the fundamentals of the way things are and, how much control authority has over us. I do, I ma not ignorant to these facts but, sitting still within them is not conducive to getting into a future of freedom. To be somewhere else, steps need to be taken and even small steps can travel long distances with enough time, energy and consistency.

I am under no illusion, I do not expect that I will ever come close to seeing a world where the actual potential of human existence is empowered, where individuals can truly become great as themselves. Yet, I am also under no illusion that it is possible, it could be that way.

What many do not credit is that there can be moments of leaps and bounds that take place, technological advancements that can quickly and fundamentally change the experience of humanity. A good example of this is Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin and its subsequent effects on changing health globally and, very quickly. A similar thing could happen in many areas such as energy production or AI development and perhaps, when it comes to the latter, a strong general intelligence could discover a whole range of solutions to problems we currently are stuck upon.

It could be very easy to think that even if this happens, the authorities and governments would use these to control us further but, again this isn't guaranteed either. There are always cracks, always leaks and always unintended consequences. Plus, the AI may have other ideas than authoritative control or Terminator-esque domination. It could just choose to help us live freely. At this point, we just don't know.

Not knowing however shouldn't stop us from finding out what is possible, thinking, discussing, experimenting and failing often to discover the small successes that will step us along the path to somewhere better. People will cite history as a predictor of the future but, even that is not accurate since the environment is changing, we are evolving, even if slowly.

Cracks have appeared in the economies, energy concerns are raising, the availability of information is increasing, people's opportunity and access to all manner of tools that they didn't have prior is growing, decentralized communities are forming across the world. Things are going to come to a head, they are going to break in many different ways and if we do not annihilate ourselves before, we will rebuild and it is likely to be somewhat better than it was before.

Freedom is the ability to take responsibility for ones actions now, not the oppression one is under now. One can be in a cage and be free as long as what they do within the confines and with the resources available to them is at their own volition. No one forces you to behave badly, speak badly or oppress others, that is a voluntary act, a freedom. Many use this to chase what they are after and as said, the root of suffering is desire. We want that, we chase that and we as a society suffer at our own hands.

I am under no illusions when it comes to the risks both personal and at a community level, I understand that there is going to be a great deal of conflict, disruption and pain to take some steps but, I also know that pain itself is not suffering. Pain is an indicator of movement, a discomfort and like someone who looks to strengthen their body by stressing it, we as a world can strengthen ourselves by applying pressure to what we know to grow it into what it could be.

There will be injuries and casualties along the way but, there will also be new learning, new thoughts and of course, new results. This process is endless, there is no final destination for evolution although all things come to an end. None of us are going to have total freedom in our lifetimes but, we are all free to act toward that goal, we all have the freedom to approach freedom with the resources we have and, the resources we will continue to develop on the way.

Humanity is one of imagination that drives innovation, a group concerned with progress and future, science, technology and belief systems that without exception, see that the future could be something much better than the present. We may misuse these tools, we may be greedy and violent, we may be tyrants and self-interested but, we won't always be so to the extent at which we are. We are improving.

You are free to stand still, you are free to stare unmoving at your cage wishing it wasn't there, I am free to think about freedom and act within my limited capacity to take some small steps into the future. We will never be free but, every single one of us has the potential to move and improve this world so that tomorrow's generation have more to work with than today.

Even if I will never experience it, it doesn't stop me from working toward it. As I have said many times before, I think and act for the long-term.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]