
I’m disturbed at how a small minority (including some very powerful and wealthy corporate interests) are using the word ‘freedom’ to create intellectual, cultural and social chaos; playing on natural fears and frustrations to turn people against both health and environmental advice and regulation. Much of their rhetoric is actually a call for individuals to ignore the common good. Yet all of us—all beings—are connected. No-one can be free alone.
Perhaps we need to fight for this most important of concepts; become articulate about the discipline required to maintaining our delicate gift of freedom. We need to protect it from those who would corrupt it and even weaponise it to undermine our shared wellbeing.
So I’ve done a thought experiment: What would a ‘Declaration of Shared Freedom’ look like? (I haven’t been able to find any, in the sense that I mean it here). Could we develop a statement of our shared understanding of freedom in 2022; a statement that might clarify our dialogue around freedom?
I’ve made an attempt which you can read below (This is the raw text. Get back to me if you’d like a better formatted version.) I’d LOVE to receive your response to this (via comments or email) and, even better, your ideas for enhancing it.
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DECLARATION OF SHARED FREEDOM
Freedom is a beautiful gift of democracy. But it is fragile, and needs to be nurtured and guarded. If it comes to mean, merely, freedom from constraint, it will lead to chaos. True freedom gives us the opportunity and the responsibility to optimise the wellbeing of ourselves and those around us – be they loved ones or strangers.
Freedom requires discipline, justice, clarity and care—from individuals, communities and governments.
………
In order to secure and sustain our individual and shared freedom we declare, together, that:
- The human spirit is best nourished when people are free;
and
2. We can only be free when we are adequately protected from the harmful choices of others
and so…
3. in exercising our freedom, we have a shared responsibility to the wellbeing of all.
We recognise that freedom, if it is to survive and flourish, requires personal and corporate discipline to counter the natural (and often productive) human tendency towards self-interest.
And so…
4. To optimise collective wellbeing we, collectively, will design, modify, agree and abide by guiding principles (including rules and regulations) in the interests of the common good. We elect governments to coordinate that work, and call on them to do it collaboratively equitably, transparently and responsibly.
These guiding principles will include the following:
5. Freedom of action cannot take precedence over the safety or wellbeing of others,
6. The ‘free’ choices of an individual or corporation (no matter how wealthy) cannot take precedence over collective wellbeing.
7. The right to free (public) speech must be protected with care. It does not include the right to:
- lie, or to generate or share false information;
- ridicule, demean or exclude others, based on their identity, particularly those belonging to minority groups that have commonly experienced exclusion or alienation.
………
8. As far as possible each person will be free to be and express who they are, and who they identify themselves to be, (within guiding principles 5 – 7)
and
9. No-one will control the identity of another, or restrict their rights or freedoms based on that identity.
………
Together, we will strive for true, shared freedom, so that the human spirit can flourish – individually and together.
Hi Tim
I’m not sure my comments here can necessarily add to your draft declaration, but what I do know about rights is the other side of the rights coin is responsibility (I have a responsibility to ensure my rights don’t infringe on yours). Sadly this side gets forgotten.
Secondly when bell hooks talks about love,she states love in her understanding has 5 attributes (trust honesty commitment constancy & responsibility). Doesn’t sound very romantic but it does tell us about the everyday. You know those moments when you’re there for each other. Listening accepting being present not judging no pretence.
Thirdly a human rights bill
might help protect some of the rights individuals corporates and the political elite want dismantled?
And lastly my BFF went down the Qanon rabbit hole. Sadly what I learnt is there is very little care for the other (or care for the earth uts water and animals). And instead a sense of righteous individualism, a sense of self-importance, and anger too (culture has taught them well). There’s a large smidge of racism here too. And a willingness to co-opt other liberation movements sayings/meanings without a backward glance.
After 2.5 years of being patient and listening I left the relationship of 20 years. I dont wish harm yet I no longer have any sympathy.
Thanx for listening. And hope you n yours are well.
Wendy
Thanks Wendy,
Re your first three points, I’ve always been struck that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights includes this crucial clause: . “29.1 Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of (their) personality is possible”.
‘In which alone….’! Strong words! This underlines your observations about the connection between rights and responsibility. May we all be free enough to strongly and lovingly enact our responsibility to others.
And re the QAnon rabbit hole—sigh. It’s painful to lose loved family or friends to cultish movements like this. Especially when the completely mad ideas espoused by its creators and its followers are defended in the name of ‘free-speech’. Alas people come to inhabit such a closed bubble of logic (eg–‘anyone who disagrees is naïve or has been duped by the deep-state/mainstream media/google searches/big pharma/left’) that sometimes, if we can’t avoid the subject altogether, we just need to step away. It hurts, eh.
Tim;
Thank you for this. It is so thoughtful and pertinent. It is very refreshing to to see these important ideas being shared so articulately. There is hope!
I would just like to emphasize how urgent it is for people to understand the power of the scientific method and peer review when they are gathering information to form their opinions and make their decisions. It is a skill that seems woefully lacking these days and often leads to misguided skepticism, fear and distrust. Science education should be a lifelong focus and pursuit for everyone, especially in these times when so many wonderful and fantastic scientific breakthroughs are being made every day. It’s hard to keep up with all the good news even for science enthusiasts. Once again, thank you so much for sharing these valuable and much needed ideas. They are very helpful.
Ah yes. Thanks Jim. This is a really core issue. Good scientific method (that beautiful cycle of sharing what we know, and then inviting others to ‘test’ that knowledge, based on peer-reviewed evidence) relies on true freedom. Of course it’s corruptible by forces of money or power, but any lover of genuine freedom should be fighting to keep it clean, not ignoring it. And our modern dilemma is that, in the online world, good science is just one voice amongst a whole crowd of shouted, misinformed opinions. And when misinformation is challenged, people claim ‘censorship’.
I have a growing, chilling, sense that self-interested forces may be actively trying to undermine trust in science, (as well as the concept of government regulations designed for the common good). Who would want to do that? When I navigate to the root sources of much of the misinformation around Covid, I find that they are also spreading misinformation about the science of climate change. And they invoke ‘freedom’ as a defence. This, for me, underlines the urgency of re-claiming true, shared freedom, rather than allowing the word to be used as a tool for distraction, chaos and even corporate self-interest.
Thanx Tim
Yes the loss of my friend was deeply felt.And I struggled with it for a while. Perhaps becauseI there was little I could do to change her mind?
And she chose a tribal belief over our friendship. Sadly in the end I couldn’t reach her.
I also referred to bell hooks on love because isn’t there a saying that hate isn’t the opposite of love, its fear that is the opposite? And sadly love (and certainly compassion) seems to be in short supply among those who are calling for so called ‘freedoms’. And that people who ate oppressed and groups who are discriminated against could teach these people about loss of freedoms!
And lastly isnt priviledge not just about having a benefit over others, but someone who doesn’t face the same kind of barriers?
Stay well
Wendy