What's Your definition of FREEDOM?

[SwitchStories]

I stumbled upon a great video on YouTube regarding Freedom - it is very short:
Great Video about Freedom

I mainly associate freedom with financial independence. If I have enough money to live the way I want, to do what I am passionate about, then I feel free. I use money as a tool not as a life purpose. When I feel that I control my life and that I create value it also means freedom to me.

What is YOUR definition of Freedom? Location independence? Enough money on a bank account? Freedom from desires?

[noitcefrep]

Freedom is being able to do anything you want. If I want to murder, then I should have the freedom to do so. If they want to fight back as their expression of freedom, then so be it, but there should not be a governing body that fights for them.

Freedom is no government.

[Mounds]

Freedom to me is not having to worry about finances and being able to afford the things I love.

Edit: I just voted and noticed that out of four votes, I'm the only one who feels free. Freedom comes from within! Seize the day and get what you want!!!

[Cochonette]

Freedom is relative, not absolute. The question "do you feel free?" doesn't make much sense to me.

[NewSimon]

Freedom comes in different forms and is always a compromise.

[swim]

I votes yes. Cause i live in a 1st world country. And government aint that bad, if a bit annoying

[SwitchStories]

Originally Posted by Cochonette

Freedom is relative, not absolute. The question "do you feel free?" doesn't make much sense to me.

Because freedom is relative that is why I put the question that way. Two people in the same situation may have a different feelings about freedom.

Somebody can have a steady income and feel free because he can buy food, clothes and pay the bills while the other will need more to feel free - location independence, working for themselves etc.

[DanielWestman]

My view of freedom is being able to do anything you want, as long as you don't interfere with other peoples free will. If I want to sell beer on the beach, I should be allowed to do that. If I want to grow cannabis in my backyard, I should be allowed to do that. Sweden is mostly run by socialists who want to think they have the right to take your hard earned money and throw it away on useless stuff. They think they can spend the money better than you can as an individual. My dad gets taxed 55% of every penny he earns, so he works more than 6 months each year just to pay his tribute to the government. That's not freedom.

Financial independence would be a big step towards freedom, because if you're dependent on others for earning a living, you're not free. I don't want to be tied down to one place because of a job, mortgage or unnecessary material possessions. The biggest issue that's stopping me from feeling free right now is $20,000 in student loan debt, but I've made up my mind to pay off that debt as soon as possible.

A great book on freedom is "How I found Freedom in an Unfree World" by Harry Browne. There's some great stuff in there on how to become free from social restrictions, the government and more. An example: Most of us in this forum get taxed by the government, and there are indirect and direct ways to approach this issue. An indirect way would be to rally the people and demand lower taxes from your politicians and you could spend your whole life trying without knowing if you'll ever succeed in your quest for freedom. A direct way of approaching the matter would be to try to lower your taxes as much as possible, or even avoid paying them depending on if you're the kind of person who's willing to break the law and risk going to jail! Take advantage of tax reduction plans, place some of your assets overseas. If you have an online business with revenues from websites for example, open an offshore account and send some of your earnings where your government can't find it.

[IamAlsoThat]

To perfection backwards:

I want to be free to hire the government pay them taxes and have them protect me from you with their police.

[aggie]

peace of mind.

[codefreeze]

As with Mounds above I was surprised I was in the minority by voting 'yes'.

There are many aspects to freedom, and it's more a convoluted beast than it might first appears. It's partly related to money, but actually it does not depend on having more money. I know people who have very little (but enough) money who are free, and others who have literally millions that aren't free - they are a slave to making even more money. Weird isn't it.

Freedom is a strange old beast.

I consider myself to be free because I feel I have financial freedom (which is not the same as lots of money), and have my health - enabling me to pursue activities I love.

That isn't something that happened overnight. I think it's been a gradual process over some years, but it's a good feeling.

[Mounds]

Originally Posted by noitcefrep

Freedom is no government.

Can't resist. If you go to one of the worlds very under-developed countries, you can pretty much do anything you want without government interference.
Don't forget the free zone south of Mexico.

[KaleidoskopicVision]

Freedom, to me, is an internal attitude. Even when stuck in jail, it is possible to be free. Freedom of the mind, free from its definitions of what is and is not achievable and free from its own ignorance, is the ultimate freedom. With that freedom, no matter where you are and no matter who is trying to oppress you, anything can be done. True freedom is very close to and almost synonymous with enlightenment. How could you possibly free yourself externally, if you're still chained by ignorance?

[Angela]

I don't just feel free, I am free. I be free.

[supertom]

To be the source of my feelings.

[Ecce Homo]

Freedom is what I am.

[SwitchStories]

"Financial independence would be a big step towards freedom, because if you're dependent on others for earning a living, you're not free."
@DanielWestman: I totally agree with you - if you have a steady business/income that allows you to do what you truly love and it gives you flexibility to spend time on what you want not what you have to, then you can really feel free.

"piece of mind"
@aggie: that is another story about freedom - if we can keep peace of mind even in difficult situations, then we are free from the external circumstances

"There are many aspects to freedom, and it's more a convoluted beast than it might first appears. It's partly related to money, but actually it does not depend on having more money. I know people who have very little (but enough) money who are free, and others who have literally millions that aren't free - they are a slave to making even more money. Weird isn't it.

Freedom is a strange old beast."
@codefreeze - you are absolutely right! That is why I started the discusion. Money don't guarantee internal freedom. I focus more on the way we earn money and the amount of cash that make us free - it is very individual.

"Freedom, to me, is an internal attitude. Even when stuck in jail, it is possible to be free. "
@KaleidoskopicVision - so we have internal freedom when we can control our emotions and personality but there is also another aspect of freedom (external) - when we can do the things we want in our lives - create, build value, improve, change the world...

You can feel free externally (winning money on a lottery) but not internally (worrying about having so much money etc.). Interesting!

Just to summarise, when looking for Freedom in our lives it is good to focus first on the internal aspect of it. This will allow us to plan and execute the external changes.

Let's say that I have a job that is boring, it is not what I want to do in life etc. If I am angry and frustrated it won't help me to get out of the situation. But if I calm myself down, analyse what I truly want to do in my life and plan the way out step-by-step - then there is a greater chance I will become happy and free some day...

What do you think?

[inverse Paranoid]

Great question. You just inspired me to write this blog post.
Think Your Way to Freedom (250 words)

IMO, everybody is free. Whether or not they feel free depends on whether or not they tune into that freedom and exercise it.

[SnerpGoodWord]

I feel economically free, but I think my political freedoms are eroding. An increasing portion of the intellect, economic production, morality and overall energy of the US are being directed by the government for government purposes rather than by the private sector for private purposes.

Examples would be the increasing round trip tax rate, the percentage of scientific research funded by the government, the size of the standing army, and so on.

[inverse Paranoid]

Originally Posted by SnerpGoodWord

I feel economically free, but I think my political freedoms are eroding. An increasing portion of the intellect, economic production, morality and overall energy of the US are being directed by the government for government purposes rather than by the private sector for private purposes.

Examples would be the increasing round trip tax rate, the percentage of scientific research funded by the government, the size of the standing army, and so on.

How does what other people choose to do with their time take away from your freedom? Sounds to me like you're giving away your power to the movement of the masses. A ship captain can blame the waves and the wind for where his ship ends up, or he can simply navigate these variables to reach his destination.

[SnerpGoodWord]

Originally Posted by inverse Paranoid

How does what other people choose to do with their time take away from your freedom? Sounds to me like you're giving away your power to the movement of the masses. A ship captain can blame the waves and the wind for where his ship ends up, or he can simply navigate these variables to reach his destination.

It's not what other people choose to do that's the issue - it's that they choose to do it with my money, taken by means of taxation, and using a legal structure designed such that stateists have a substantial advantage over those who would prefer a system based on individual decision making.

[inverse Paranoid]

Originally Posted by SnerpGoodWord

It's not what other people choose to do that's the issue - it's that they choose to do it with my money, taken by means of taxation, and using a legal structure designed such that stateists have a substantial advantage over those who would prefer a system based on individual decision making.

Still, it sounds like you're focusing your energy on elements outside of your control. You claim to be in favor of individual decision making, yet you're trying to limit everyone else's choices by changing the laws of the land. An individual in a welfare state has even more options than someone in an anarchist state, the reason being that the anarchist can still practice anarchy in a welfare state, but a statist can't practice statism in an anarchist state. Ironically, the very thing you're arguing against actually increases your freedom to make decisions. After all, if everyone had to be individualistic to survive, the value of individualizing yourself would blur from all the varieties made of available.

Rather than seeing it as a disadvantage that other people can take advantage of government programs that you have no interest in ever utilizing, couldn't you see it as an advantage? Does a man who accepts free fish really have an advantage over a man who knows how to fish? Isn't the fisherman's job made even easier from more people eating fish, rendering his service even more valuable because he's one of the few capable of providing those fish? You could say that that's your whole point, statists are taking advantage of the system by capitalizing on markets that are benefiting from government intervention; but, as an individual, don't you have every ability to capitalize on those same market conditions?

Furthermore, aren't the governmental systems of most countries in a near constant state of flux? Will there not come a time when people tire of the statist government and replace it with one much more focused on individual liberty? You can use this time like a businessman who complains about a recession, or you can use it to take advantage of the unique opportunities availed to you by the time. I remember reading once that Andrew Carnegie would save up money for a recession, not to weather the storm, but to take advantages of the unique opportunities they provided. When a recession hit, prices would drop and he'd swoop in to buy massive amounts of resources at a discounted price, giving him an edge over everyone lacking the foresight or the gall to do the same. Similarly, individualists operating in a statist government can prepare for the inevitable swinging of the pendulum by positioning themselves to take advantage of what might happen when government handouts recede with the changing view of the country.

Not only that, they can capitalize on the conditions of a statist government by standing out in a sea of competition. When other companies and professionals are doing things by the book, they can rewrite the manual. Their competition may be able to do things cheaper by building their business around government handouts, but they'll be able to create something remarkable just by disregarding those handouts, in favor of creating something truly worthwhile, at the exact moment when the market is flooded with generic "me too" products.

Here's a quick example (from Seth Godin's brilliant book Linchpin) on how you can take advantage of a market, where everyone else seems to have the advantage, by being individualistic in the face of sameness.

Why do so many handmade luxury goods come from France?

It's not an accident. It's the work of one man, Jean-Baptiste Colbert. He served under Louis XIV of France in the 1600s and devised a plan to counter the imperialist success of the countries surrounding France. England, Portugal, Spain, and other countries were colonizing the world, and France was being left behind.

So Colbert organized, regulated, and promoted the luxury-goods industry. He understood what wealthy consumers around the world wanted, and he helped French companies deliver it. Let other countries find the raw materials; the French would fashion it, brand it, and sell it back to them as high-priced goods.

Let the statists take "advantage" of government handouts and loopholes. The same "advantages" that everyone else is taking advantage of, thus not really making it an advantage. You'll find your advantage in creating something truly remarkable from your willingness to be an individual when everyone else is just looking for a free meal.

You can't lose when you think like a winner. It may seem hard to realize how you're winning when everyone else seems to be getting a leg up, but your aversion to allowing your future to be handed to you is what separates you from the pack and frees you to find your own path.

Find that path. My guess is that you already have everything you need; but you can't cut your own path through the woods if your busy standing at the train station watching everyone else get a free ride.

[givejonadollar]

Who was it that quipped............freedom is too hot to handle........and too cold for the spine?