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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| The Illusion of Freedom |
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| Maliha |
| 04/18/03 at 12:06:24 |
| [slm] The Illusion of Freedom: This word has been touted, thrown around, redefined, and shoved down our throats since the tragedy of 9/11 and the recent sickening invasion of Iraq. The administration claims that "Terrorists attack us because they hate our Freedom!. I laughed at the absurdity of this statement when I first heard it, and then I was actually shocked to hear average americans mimicking these same quote. I am puzzled. What does freedom mean? What about this peculiar brand of American freedom that "terrorists" hate so much? So I decided to investigate this issue further. Take heed I aint no scholar, just a curious soul bearing witness to the madness of our times. To find the most basic generic meaning of Freedom, I decided to check out the dictionary. So here's what I got from a quick search: free·dom ( P ) Pronunciation Key (frdm) n. The condition of being free of restraints. Liberty of the person from slavery, detention, or oppression. So to be free, is in essence to be free from restraints. This is quite interesting. Living in a country where almost everyone is wallowing in debt. Here are some intersting facts about Americans and debt: -Unprecedented numbers of Americans are in debt for record amounts -50 million credit cards are issued annually -70% of credit card holders carry a balance, which averages over $3,000 -Payments on debt now account for 92% of family disposable income -total consumer debt is over 5 trillion dollars. That's about the same as the government's "national" debt everyone keeps talking about -Personal bankruptcies are at an all-time high of about a million a year More facts can be found[url=http://www.getdebtfree.com/truth_about-debt.htm] Here![/url] Anyone who is going to argue that being in debt does not mean you are not free, has no concept of what is known as Economic Slavery. A real issue in these post modern times of greed, and unprecedented consumerism check out [url=http://howardsviews.com/CreditCard4.html] Howard's Views[/url] for more info. Being economically disadvantaged, leads most people to go into a guilt mode, perpetuating break ups of families due to financial friction. Another part of the definition of Freedom is as follows: Political independence. Exemption from the arbitrary exercise of authority in the performance of a specific action; civil liberty: freedom of assembly. This is quite interesting. Although this country is theoretically built on "freedom and justice" for all, we know that historically its never been the case. From the extermination of Native Americans, to Slavery, to post 9/11 terrorism acts. Now we have the Patriotic act which gives authorities the right to go into all your records without any qualms, we have secret evidence that overrides the many amendments offering security for "innocent till proven guilty". There is no need to even provide the evidence, or representation to the many detainees that have been forced into prisons for a crime that don't even know. The freedom of assembly is another one that is fast being eroded. Numerous stories of Peace activists being disrupted, arrested, and shut down testify to this matter. Exemption from an unpleasant or onerous condition: freedom from want. I thought this has got to be the deepest one! Freedom from want? Wow! Living in a culture that is writhing in its own lusts, desires, and wantonness, this almost sounds like a sham. The whole consumer industry is based on creating wants. Its based on manufacturing, sealing and packaging all our desires to the minutest tastes in order to tantalize us into buying more, and of course you never have to afford it. There's always debt! Then there's the issue of addiction. Here are some interesting facts: -Approximately 14 million Americans — about 7.4 percent of the adult population — meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse or alcoholism.1 -More than one-half of American adults have a close family member who has or has had alcoholism.2 -Cocaine is a $35 billion illicit industry now exceeding Columbia's #1 export, coffee. -Current estimates suggest that nearly 600,000 people need treatment for heroin addiction. -In the 25 to 49 age group, illicit drug overdose is the fourth leading cause of death, about the same number as motor vehicle crashes. The above statistics are nothing of course. Just barely a scratch on the surface of an enormous problem that is currently facing most americans. The issue of addiction transcends illicit drugs and alcohol into tobacco, pornography (including child pornograph!), and even prescription drugs and other random cleaning supplies! What people would do just for a temporary high. An escape from a meaningless reality into oblivion. The capacity to exercise choice; free will Yes the capacity is there. For there are many people who live in the United States that have remained successful extricated from the various trappings of this society. The dazzling temptations are there though. All you have to do is turn the TV on for an hour to see just how much is out there. Not to mention bill boards, tantalizing magazines, and "street" pharamceuticals. Ease or facility of movement Fast becoming a joke in the wake of the New airline industry Terrorism Act. Here's a glimpse into this: The Department of Transportation is proposing to establish a Privacy Act System of Records, which will classify all commercial airline passengers as suspects of Terrorism and a threat to national security. The reason for doing this is to enable the agency to collect information and conduct background investigations of all airline passengers in a manner, which would otherwise require a court order. There's already people that have been "banned" from flying in the United States. This guy in San Fransisco was trying to board a plane, but because he is affiliated with an anarchist group and an active member, he discovered he can't fly. This White guy was deemed "a threat" to National Security because of his ideological views. Now there goes that freedom. Frankness or boldness; lack of modesty or reserve: the new freedom in movies and novels. Its interesting to see this added here. It would be cool to do some research and see just how long ago it was added. Now *this* is a freedom generously afforded to Americans. Lack of Modesty. As long as you can strut around naked, paying no attention to the moral decay of society, we are truly progressed. With the rise of STD's, single mothers, teen pregnancies, and broken homes its certainly nice to be able to say we are free to be morally decadent. The right to unrestricted use; full access I don't know what this means. Unrestricted use of what? Full access to what? I hope they don't mean the Truth. With so much irrelevancies spewed out by the state controlled (or corporation controlled? Is there a difference) media, no wonder so many people are simply confused, or downright apathetic. The right of enjoying all of the privileges of membership or citizenship: the freedom of the city. yeah right. I guess if you are a White, upperclass, citizen you may not have anything to worry about. As for the rest of the population, including the lower classes, this is quite a different story. A right or the power to engage in certain actions without control or interference (John W. Aldridge). I guess this is where the Bush doctrine emanates from. The right to invade countries against international wishes, the right to bomb humanity into extinction, the right to plunder the resources of this dying earth, and the right to march us all into oblivion..without interference of course. This was quite a refreshing excercize for me. Now I wonder what about American freedoms do these "terrorists" absolutely hate? The next logical question that maybe posed is of course why do so many people want to come to the United States, and why am *I* here? Very good questions, I will explore those questions and more in my next segment of The Illusion of Freedom! |
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