Freedom is not a license to do whatever we like...............

''We want our freedom!'' the protesters yelled as they marched 

down the city street waving their home-made placards and banners.

I was perplexed. As far as I know, Australia is a country in which

we enjoy many, if not most freedoms, so what freedom was it that

the protesters wanted exactly?

Basically, what they wanted was the freedom(?) to do what they

want to do, and when they want to do it.

Personally, watching people all up in arms because they were told

by our government to socially distance, wear a face mask,

 and limit the size of assembly, really upset me. 

It upset me because there are thousands upon thousands of our

fellow human beings who struggle to survive and keep their

families alive while being subjugated to inhumane, corrupt,

militant, dictatorial, void of any freedoms at all, governments.

Take Afghanistan for instance:

Image after image streaming from Afghanistan with real people

fleeing for their lives from a regime that has as a goal

to silence the voices of dissention. 

 Protesting, speaking out against the new regime in Afghanistan

is not accepted, indeed, it more often than not will result

in tragedy for the protesters.

I guess that perhaps for those of us who have the

 privilege of having been born in democratic countries,

 free to voice our opinions without the fear of governmental

retaliation, it can be easy to forget that for millions of us to

voice dissenting opinions to that of those in power may

result in incarcerations or possibly even torture and death.

Watching Afghani people climbing airport fences with

children in their arms, running barefoot onto the hot

tarmac, even clinging on to the landing gear on departing

army jets in a bid to escape to freedom, I felt ashamed

when I later watched the news footage of hundreds of (in my view)

privileged white (predominantly) people demanding 

their freedom.

Freedom, what is it really?

Being able to do what one wants to, when one wants to?

But what if what one wants to do endangers someone else?

Even in the most perfect of democratic countries there are

limits to what we can and can't do. For instance:

A democratic government still have to have laws and 

ensure that they are enforced. 

Freedom, as I view it, is not freedom if it does not include

 a certain amount of limits and responsibilities.

In short: if my ''freedom'' in any way hinders, endangers,

or limits your freedom, then I need to rethink how I

define freedom.

The way I see it, freedom is not a license to do

whatever we like, nor is it an entitlement.

Freedom only comes as a society when we personally accept

complete responsibility for ourselves and for our treatment

of others.

Instead of manning the barricades in protest because 

we have to wear a mask, social distance or only being allowed 

to have 10 people attend a gathering, perhaps protesting against

homelessness, poverty, low wages, financial inequality,

lacking public health schemes, lacking funding for war vets,

etc. etc. etc. may be worth a shot?

I mean, how big of an infringement on our freedom is it

really to wear a mask when we're out and about, or to socially

distance when we're standing in a line, or to get together

in smaller groups?

After all, there are millions of women who have to cover

their faces their whole lives, all of us require personal space,

and isn't get-togethers more about quality than quantity?

''Freedom is never more than one generation away from

extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in our

bloodstream.

It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for

them to do the same.''

(Ronald Reagan)

about the image: In protest of his treatment, a man stitched his lips

together. This happened here in Australia.

Ink, charcoal and acrylic on canvas board.