I would like to take this time to write about freedom for a minute because it has come up a few times lately. It seems to me that the idea of freedom or liberty is rather warped. What does it mean to live in freedom? To me the answer would simply be that freedom is a state of mind. To live free of any fear would be living in freedom. Does someone else give you that right?
Again, the answer to that question seems rather straightforward to me. It is a simple no. Living in a state of fear is also a state of mind and that is up to you to control or choose. When you say you are afraid you should probably ask yourself just what it is you are afraid of.
Now I said at the beginning that it has come up a couple times lately and I was referring to Veteran’s Day, a couple country songs I have heard lately that pay tribute to soldiers, and just simple bumper stickers that say support our troops. All these things seem rather stupid to me in very simple ways. First, how much money would it take for you to kill someone? Well apparently it is yearly salary of a marine for many American’s that have chosen to enlist.
So why exactly should I support them or the veteran’s that came before them? Well it has been told to me that for many people it is the only way out of an otherwise bad life and that it gives them more chances for a better life. I can only ask myself the previous question, if I were offered the chance to leave a “bad life” with “no opportunities” and all I had to do was kill someone, would I do it? The answer to me is again simple enough, of course I would not. There are other ways to give yourself opportunities and a descent chance in life.
Finally, if everyone made the decision to just not join a military force there would be no wars, as there would then be no troops to fight them with. Of course I have been told that is unrealistic as other countries would still have military forces and they would then be able to invade us and subjugate us against our will. Well that may well be the case, but I and everyone else who chose not to participate would not be the cause of the suffering and that is something I can live with.
If this all seems too extreme for you to think a reality then I think it would be wise of you to read up on the nation of Tibet which has lived as a refugee outside the territory of Tibet for decades peacefully rather than fighting in any way. I just do not see any reason why us being invaded by another country should be reason to be militaristic ourselves. There are worse things in life and one of those is living with the knowledge that you are responsible for killing.
