Freedom time
I can't remember who I heard say this first, or when, but I think it was sometime in the mid-1980s when there were a whole bunch of movies involving time travel - or perhaps the movies all had an even narrower plot device, one where it would be hard to explain how so many similar movies were made at the same time, like the more recent glut of movies about penguins.
"It's just penguin time," the person would say. His theory was that forces in the universe build up to create an irrepressible need for penguin movies, for example - so they all get made.
It seems like it's freedom time. And maybe it's simply a reaction to the Ron Paul phenomenon, if it's really big enough to be called a phenomenon. I keep running into blog entries and other essays that come to the conclusion that we beat our heads against a brick wall by making the state's inexorable attack on freedom our focus - instead the focus should be on remembering that freedom begins and ends in our hearts and heads.
I was way overdue finding dare2befree's take on this, "Freedom - what are we waiting for?" A fragment of this gem:
And I love and say amen to how dare2befree finishes:
"It's just penguin time," the person would say. His theory was that forces in the universe build up to create an irrepressible need for penguin movies, for example - so they all get made.
It seems like it's freedom time. And maybe it's simply a reaction to the Ron Paul phenomenon, if it's really big enough to be called a phenomenon. I keep running into blog entries and other essays that come to the conclusion that we beat our heads against a brick wall by making the state's inexorable attack on freedom our focus - instead the focus should be on remembering that freedom begins and ends in our hearts and heads.I was way overdue finding dare2befree's take on this, "Freedom - what are we waiting for?" A fragment of this gem:
WTF are we waiting for? What do you personally want to be freer in your life? What is preventing you from doing that? What would make things more enriching for your family? TPTB will never tell you that it is ok to live your life as you see fit. Go ahead, hold your breath until they do. They don’t give a shit about anything except more power, more control, more minions to bully. Why wait for them to give you permission to do what you want to do?Sunni, today, draws attention to a brilliant cartoon that Dale produced over at Anarchy in Your Head, which opens up the same thoughts.
And I love and say amen to how dare2befree finishes:
I refuse to allow anyone to scare me into being a good little sheep anymore. I plan to live the life I want — not someone else’s version of what I should do with my life.And of course my mind keeps coming back to the song I posted in my comment to Sunni:
Take my love, take my land,
take me where I cannot stand -
I don't care, I'm still free ...
Labels: Firefly, freedom, individualism, liberty, refuse to be afraid, Ron Paul
posted by B.W. Richardson at
10:40 AM
3 Comments:
It seems that this movement is in danger of becoming another victim of what I will call the "caricature spiral". It happened with the "turn on, tune in, drop out" phenomenon, and really the whole peace movement. What starts as a great idea (world peace, questioning authority) becomes a tag line that people spout without understanding it, and eventually it becomes an excuse. It was an excuse to do drugs (among other things) with the hippy movement and the Leary followers.
I think the media has a lot to do with the transition of a movement from legitimate to ridiculous. I think of television shows in the early 70's that made a joke of the hippy generation. I'm thinking specifically of Laugh-In here, but not exclusively.
You know how it is, the weirdest, or loudest voice gets the microphone, and that becomes the rest of America's picture of what the movement is. I like the idea of "taking back America", or "refusing to be afraid", but it is an easy transition from that to to "conspiracy nut" if the wrong people get too much exposure.
I agree with most of your philosophies 100%, but I want to temper my rhetoric until a serious contender for the leadership of this movement (if that's what is happening) emerges.
Ron Paul certainly IS NOT it.
He's a free market anarchist, and I will never hitch my wagon to him. I mean, shit. He's already a caricature in my book.
Sorry this was so long.
Seems to me the only thing keeping yourself from being free, is yourself.
Excellent one line motto of the type that I speak of, John. Thanks for making my point.
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