Liberty not always is
violated by the authorities, no matter whether they are political, religious or
economic. There exist many other elements in the overall body of the society
that too attempts endlessly to rob you from your individual liberty. Attempts
of the parents to make their child “cultured” of their own estimate, force their
ideas upon him which they have accumulated from the society and so-called
heritage. In schools too kid is bombarded with the values those are thought to
be superior over other societies, to make him nationalist, culturist and if
possible religious citizen of best kind. The out sided forces are so much so
that they in some or other way try to control your thinking process,
politically or religiously which means restriction of the freedom of the
individuals to think and act independently. If the process of enslaving the kid
to make a good citizen out of him begins so early, what liberty would mean to
him?
Just talking of political
liberty or tyranny of majority may not be enough when we dream for real
liberty. Conditioning of human mind from childhood by the parents and society
is equally dangerous to the concept of liberty. If mind is conditioned notions
of the liberty too will be conditioned and hence the liberty will always be tainted
with the slavish sentiments. Talk on Liberty thus becomes just a fashion to
enchant the intellectuals which rather prefers limited liberty, accepting some
restrictions for the harmonious co-existence.
However, if closely investigated,
we will find that our definitions of the liberty are problematic because they
are made by the people those have grown up in the problematic conditions. Solutions
to the problems they have faced or facing may seem liberty to them but it may
not cover all the aspects of the liberty.
People are ultimately
grown up in the environment where purposely their mind is conditioned right
from childhood. Freedom from X or Y is felt when they counter them and decide X
or Y are the obstructive to their freedom. To remove X or Y from their way they
think leads them to the freedom. Freedom to them thus becomes political,
economic or religious in nature. The institutions they think are hindrance in
their way to their “free” action they think are tyrant. Any institution for
that matter is always tyrant to some or other extent. The gravity of the felt
tyranny changes with what the people feel about the institution. In a way
concept of liberty becomes secondary because it does not come into existence in
absence of tyranny, real or false.
Coming back to the
starting point, why parents desire to make their child “cultured”? Culture in a
way is collective subconscious activity of the people that reflects in people’s
actions. The culture varies with time and geography. The cultural ethics and
practices too vary, significantly, with people to people and region to region.
Making a person “cultured” would mean making him able enough to cope up with
the accepted social norms while aspiring for well being of his self, family and
the society he lives in. He should not create any nuisance, treason or any
harmful act that will cause disturbance in the smooth functioning of his
society. The liberty too is set within the circle of such norms. Liberty thus has the guidelines, many a times
tending to go in contrast with the very concept of liberty.
This way liberty would
mean one thing at front door and other, may be opposite, when at back door.
Norms may change with society to society and time to time. There is nothing
like absolute liberty in the world because no matter how the definition of the
liberty is widened it always will be restricted by some guidelines, laws and
institutional rules. Liberty to an American and Indian, that too depending on
to which class, caste, sect or religion he belongs, would not mean the same, no
matter how carefully it has defined. The words convey differently to the different
people belonging to the different sections and the different environments they
have grown up with. The conditioning of the mind, deliberate or not, decides
what one may take the liberty as! The fact is the society is the first factor
that begins encroachment on the liberty of its newcomer citizens. It begins
with the restrictions. The restrictions of the law are secondary about which we
mostly always are sensitive, but what our approach is towards the society?
Would this mean the
liberty always be shadowed by some kind of self sanctioned slavery? Wouldn’t it
mean that the liberty our thinkers are seeking is the liberty restricted by,
whether less or more, laws? Why absolute liberty would be impossible, because
absolute liberty may mean anarchy…lawlessness? Would it mean to have a society
without any social obligations?
Politically liberty may
mean anything depending upon the philosophies and understandings of the liberty
they have under their arms. Leftist or rightists or socialists may claim how
they desire to protect the liberty of the individuals, but indirectly it
becomes enforcement of restrictions on the liberty. The government is not only
law maker but a machinery to enforce them. Most of the time people feel that
the laws no more protect their liberty; instead they restrict their freedom to
think and act rationally. Direct and indirect restrictions even in libertarian
social systems are so much so that the meaning of liberty has become more and
more ambiguous and obscure. Liberty has become, in a way, dream song for a
person who is governed by many forces against his will.
The questions will arise
here that whether man is afraid of liberty, whether by nature he likes to be
governed, does by nature he likes to govern others while being governed? Forces
governing to the government could be abstract in nature, but they still do
exist and even topple the governments at times. When people desire for the
government of some nature that does only mean that they inherently need a
government that can enforce power upon them to maintain law and order. And at
other end people, individually, strive for the liberty! It is a kind of
paradox, with which our society is shrouded.
We have to go to the roots
of the human nature. Is liberty mere a hypothetical concept that everybody
dreams for but do not want it in practice? Is liberty thought to be just for individual
without his caring for the equal liberty of the other individuals? Is liberty a
force that is applied to restrict others liberty and not protecting it?
Parents are at liberty as
to how to nurture their kid. They are at liberty to mend their kid with
teaching the values they feel best to their understanding. They may even plant
their unfulfilled dreams in their kids mind, inspiring him to walk in that
direction to achieve them. Parents have that liberty. But as far as kid is
concerned, wont it be restriction on his liberty by imposed values and dreams? Would
he be at his own liberty to make his own choice of the values and dreams? May
be that he manages somehow to obtain his freedom, when grown up, but to what
extent? The values taught at home and in school and in colleges keep on
haunting the individuals for their life forcing him to define liberty in
restricted sense.
However, liberty just is
not a hypothetical concept, it has the practical implications. Hence it has to
be dealt with utmost care. Also we will have to think whether restricted
liberty is needed or protection to the individual liberty is expected from the
governments. And the last and main question will be whether at all government
is needed that somehow restricts the liberty or we need just an institution
(not government) that will perform the role of protector of the liberty and
nothing else?
(To be contd.)
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