Escape from Freedom- That's the title of Erich Fromm's book, which is a commentary on Nazism and authoritarianism....
The title has always intrigued me....Why would anyone want to run away from freedom? And the answer that I get is that with freedom comes responsibility, with rights come duties...We want to be free but do not want to accept the burden of making decisions or take efforts to bettering the situation when the situation so demands.
Its Independence day today.....And I'm bombarded by the media which serves me with the 2 usual, cliched viewpoints that I hear without fail, year after year....
Viewpoint Number 1 is the annual "Ode to the Motherland"....The gushing praise and loud celebration of our culture and heritage.....Of India's natural beauty.... And the sacrifice and courage of our freedom fighters.
The title has always intrigued me....Why would anyone want to run away from freedom? And the answer that I get is that with freedom comes responsibility, with rights come duties...We want to be free but do not want to accept the burden of making decisions or take efforts to bettering the situation when the situation so demands.
Its Independence day today.....And I'm bombarded by the media which serves me with the 2 usual, cliched viewpoints that I hear without fail, year after year....
Viewpoint Number 1 is the annual "Ode to the Motherland"....The gushing praise and loud celebration of our culture and heritage.....Of India's natural beauty.... And the sacrifice and courage of our freedom fighters.
Viewpoint Number 2 is the annual bemoaning of "the state of the country"...The lack of "progress"....And the incessant blaming of every authority for not doing their job....
According to me, both these viewpoints are right...And both are wrong. Rather, both are incomplete....And the idea that is missing in both is the same....namely, neither talk about the role of the common man....
Take the first view...Yes, India has a rich culture...undeniably..But how many people on the streets are really respectful of it? There are so many people out there who don't know who composed Vande Mataram, nor its lyrics...Though they know all the latest Himesh songs..And there are enough ignoramuses who believe that Gandhiji was the Prime Minister at one point of time...And yes,India is beautiful...But are we really preserving that beauty? Declarations of "undying love" deface historical monuments..Deforestation and pollution taint the natural beauty.....
The second viewpoint offers the same arguments that I've just made...that the country is in a bad shape..But then, the people who hold this view generally blame it on the Government.....I'm not saying that the Government is faultless...I'm not naive enough to believe that....All I'm saying is that the people who blame the government should take a good look at themselves first.....
I've accused the Government often..Of ineffectiveness and negligence....But I've done that only because I'm sure that I've done my bit for my country..It may not seem like much....But I do it because I know that someday it might make a difference...I follow the laws that I think make sense..And I protest against laws that I find oppressive...I make myself heard, because that is both my right and my duty....I don't litter on the roads or destroy public property..Nor do I allow people around me to do so....In any small or big way...Whenever I get a chance to serve my countrymen I take the opportunity and do my best....I'm not boasting about how patriotic I am..just trying to make a point that if each and every one of us wants to, then we can collectively make a big difference....
Freedom gives you great power and with power comes responsibility to use that power well....We as citizens of the Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic Of India are granted the following by our Constitution:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation. (Refer to the Preamble of The Constitution Of India).
Its a lot really..Let us all make good use of the powers bestowed upon us, and discharge our responsibilities without shirking them...And only then will we be truly able to embrace freedom....Till then our lives will remain an attempt to Escape from Freedom...Remember, "If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem".
4 comments:
well, first of all, one should do somethin 'bout the word "socialist",i just hate it.
so, the common man is not mentioned anywhere; obviously, y wud one mention someone who doesn't exist? the "common man" doesn't exist in india, he comes to existence just a month or so before elections and then goes back into oblivian. to be mentioned, the common man will have to prove his existence first, n to do that he will have to start doin somethin for this country(now don't ask me wot, coz my ideas r wot ppl call crazy/revolutionary in today's world), only then will he have proved his worthiness to be mentioned anywhere.
now, there's one more view(if u ask me, im more inclined towards it), it states that the common man never did anythin, cannot do anythin and will never be able to do anythin.
it has always been an individual or a group of few elite persons who have brought 'bout any change anywhere. so havin a dictatorship is much better than having a democracy like us, provided that that dictator is somebody who deserves to run this country.
"a mob has many heads but no brain."
don't know who said this, so like to quote it as my own ;)
moderated comments...hmmmm
Thanx for your comments :)
Yes moderated comments...I dont mind opposing viewpoints but I do have a problem with excessive use of profanity..hence the use of comment moderation.
The point I have been trying to make is that the "common man" is living in oblivion and that he needs to make his presence felt. So I guess we agree on that point. But I do not agree with the point that the collective cannot achieve waht the individual can. No doubt we have always seen shining examples of individuals who have revolutionized society..but they were able to do so only because they had the backing of their followers. The common man can do a lot if he wants to...he just has to want to....
Would love to have a discussion with you about your so-called "crazy and revolutionary" ideas...I may agree with some..and disagree with others..on the whole it would be a great experience!
see, u too agree wid my view,i am also makin the same point, it has always been the individual who has been able to achieve anythin. But to achieve anythin big, one needs to have manpower, n thats where the collective comes in, but the vision remains to be of a single person. The collective is gud at follwing instructions but not as gud(if u ask me, pathetic) at thinkin.
one example that fits the above description of collective is our software industry, we have millions of ppl working here, but all they do is code, while the software is conceptualized and designed by a small(but elite) team situated in some other part of the world.
i cannot think of an example where the colletive has done somethin worthwhile. can u??
btw, wot exactly is this "style of writin" thing?? care to elaborate??
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