Am I Free?: Philippine Independence Day Special

Every June 12, Philippines celebrates 117^th Independence Day (Day of Freedom). Aside from the bliss derived from a non-working Friday, Today’s national holiday has no longer the same value as it was written in my history books. Despite our heroes’ act of shedding their lives, currently, Independence Day is a portrait of long bed hours, malling, trip to the beach, party, travel, recreational activities and ceremonial flower-giving to unresponsive statues, rather than an in depth perspective on how to safeguard the freedom those heroes once fought for.

Virtually, I stop believing that our country’s freedom still exists. Since childhood, I grew with the paradigm that our country is under a sort of neo-colonialism and that in one way or another we are controlled by our past colonizers and super-power nations through business globalization, investment, capitalism, and cultural imperialism (western culture, use of imported products, and etc.). The latest news on territorial disputes has also strengthened my views on the disintegration of our freedom as the country remained lax and bullied by neighbouring powerful countries.

The macro views on freedom is too complex for a non-expert like me to fully discuss with authority, so let’s just drop that topic to the so-called experts and continue with the aspects of our lives which we have partial or ultimate control. Earlier, as I look at the June 12 red print on my calendar, I started the day with a scourging question at the back of my head:

AM I FREE?

Freedom encompasses various facets of our lives; within the bound of laws, we have the right for freedom of speech, political freedom, freedom of choice, freedom of assembly, association, academic, intellectual , scientific and one of my favorite topics--financial or economic freedom. Notwithstanding its complexity, Wikipedia simply define Freedom as “the power or right to do as one wants.”  As much as I want to answer with a certain” YES, I am ultimately FREE”, I somehow believe that freedom is not absolute. I may be free from one aspect but somehow struggling in another or I may opt to do something but it is prohibited by law or existing morals.

If I cannot do whatever I want because I am bounded with laws, existing conditions, morals, societal norms and etc, then I am not free after all? I think it is a distorted view as well. Again, freedom is not absolute, that’s how our universe operates and answering a general question without a define criteria would result to dysfunctional and misleading answer as well.

It would be an endless debate trying to prove one’s state of freedom for as long as an ultimate measurement and degree of freedom is vague. Before everything gets too complex, I’d like to answer the question in the simplest approach I can: I am free. I am free because I can sleep well at night free from anxieties and haunting conscience. I am free since I can stroll around and lick my favorite ice cream flavors without threats or constraints. I am free to love and be loved by the person I want to be with (I know someone out there is waiting for this line).  I am free because I am the person I should be. I am free because I have peace of mind and internal liberty. I am free simply because I am pursuing the life I desired, live my passion, and embark on self-actualization without violating the law or curtailing someone else’s right. Finally, I am free because I am free within.

In the end, no matter what our existing conditions would be, there is one freedom we inherently possess and can never be taken away from us and that is our freedom of choice on how we respond (attitude), react, and see the circumstances in our life. As captured by Viktor E. Frankl in his Man's Search for Meaning, freedom is definitely within:

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

In celebration of our Independence Day, ask yourself:

AM I FREE?

References:

i. Freedom, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_(disambiguation)

ii. Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2782.Viktor_E_Frankl

Photo credits: feelhappiness.com

Disclaimer: Unedited, Unadulterated