freedom

Today we celebrate the Fall of the Berlin wall. Not that wall building has necessarily stopped, mind you. Just today the BBC had pictures workers sitting by the Israeli wall. It appears walls are alive and well. To say nothing of the wall America is building on its Southern border to keep the hispanics out. For good measure we called that one a fence instead of a wall.

Why then is the Fall of the Wall such a big issue? For many it signifies the fall of Communism and the victory of Capitalism. But what fall of Communism? China shows that Communism couldn't be doing better, decades after Ronnie the vanquisher apparently "did away with it." Just like he did away with the wall I guess?

The collapse of the Berlin wall means freedom, but what exactly is freedom other than a slogan? Are we truly free? Do we even want to be free? Who says freedom is what people want?

Apparently not the people! A cursory look at humanity will reveal how eager people are to give up their personal freedom, while at the same time singing its praises. It is only a little ironic that America, the most religious of all advanced nations, calls itself the land of the free. Because submitting oneself to religious teachings is one of the most common ways to give up a whole lot of freedom. And people willingly and eagerly submit as we can all witness.

Americans give up freedoms all the time. They join home owners associations to protect the value of their property, giving up the freedom to do with it what they would want. They submit to random drug testing at work. They let the government eavesdrop on their phone conversations or check their library records without a warrant. They let themselves be bombarded with advertising on a daily basis until they are no better than brainwashed automatons.

And look how readily the people were willing to give up even more of their privacy and personal freedoms in the wake of 9/11. The country did away with habeas corpus and nobody seemed to care. The government can lock you up and throw away the key. They never have to charge you. Does anyone care? Far from it! They think it is a good thing.

Everyone gladly submits to all kinds of searches in the name of security, even when there is no evidence that such searching is effective and even when the potential for abuse is well documented. When protections were in place, government officials managed to break the rules and spy on citizens. Do you think it is better now that these protections are no longer in effect?

America supports pre-emptive strikes. That is tantamount to validating thought crimes. 1984 anyone?

When it comes to freedom, all the evidence points the wrong way. People it seems, do not care much about freedom, just as long as they can shop and indulge in other excess. Maybe that is the meaning of freedom? Consumption!

Land of the consumers!