Meditations on Freedom (sort of)

Ah, the commute to work. What better place to let the mind wander and ponder! Finding itself in the perfect millieu to meditate upon the common fate of us all, as we jostle together along the subway tracks, packed like the proverbial sardine in a tin can (though this tin can happens to be hurtling us at breakneck speed not only toward the work-a-day portion of our existence but also, therefore, towards the end of the line, the end of the self, the big D, the big D that follows the big R, that is if we've planned right and put enough away not to find ourselves falling into the big P!).

So today, being election day here in Canada and all, I found myself trying to, yet again, stave off a sense of hopelessness and despair in the face of what appears will be a Conservative minority if not majority win. Even though any rational human might look at a few widely publicized news items and realise what a Conservative vote might mean, it would seem we have not. One, as I reported earlier, was when Harper was quoted as basically admitting that, even if elected, we need not fear they will be able to do all the nasty things we suspect they will do because right now, for the time being at least, there is a Liberally appointed Senate and bureaucracy to stop them (i.e. "watch out you ignorant pricks if you actually give us power long enough for some of these suckers to die off and be replaced by our goons!") Two, on the weekend, the Conservative party began refusing any interviews or contact with the press and media for fear of, well, let's see, not being able to bite their collective tongues any longer and go off like a sixteen-year old's pocket rocket on a first date? I mean, are they really that giddy about the fact they might get more seats than they've had in years that they think one of them is going to blow his load in front of a camera or microphone and let loose a wad of "holy fuckin' shit are you guys stupid we're gonna so fuck you up and Jesus is gonna be shoved so far down your friggin' throats you're gonna be literally puking up faith and spewing it all over this great land of ours and screw gay rights and abortions are illegal now and the environment can go fuck itself and I like to eat babies for breakfast even though that makes me a hypocrite because I'm supposed to be opposed to abortion and suck me and go to church heathen!" Or something in that general, dilapidated ballpark?

All this got me thinking, as I watched those faces staring at their dim reflections in the glass of the subway doors: At least we're free to screw up. At least we've got the freedom to make mistakes. But why do we screw up and make uninformed, dumb decisions? In part it's because we're complacent about our freedom, which in a way is a good thing. It means we take it for granted, we think it should always be there, should come naturally to human society and we go about our day to day lives knowing we've got this security. It allows us to feel secure enough that we don't go around blowing up things in the name of some cause or other. Of course, it's a false sense of security, but isn't it sweet that we think it will endure for all time just because? So we're free to shoot ourselves in the foot and we're free to be lazy and that's pretty much what's wrong with freedom. But is this complacency and forgetfulness an inevitable consequence of freedom? When did we forget that we need to be vigilant in protecting it? When did we forget that freedom must extend to all members of a society and that minorities cannot have their freedoms stifled at the hands of a moral majority? When did we forget that with freedom comes the responsibility to maintain it for future generations? I'm guessing that went out the door as easily, and perhaps nudged by the same corporate hand, as did our sense of responsiblity for the state of the environment as well for future generations. I'm also guessing that much of our laziness and complacency comes from a channelling of our energies and attention into other, simpler, more easily consumed activities such as shopping, DVD renting, internet surfing, and all other forms of current, Western cultural activities that mostly center around the dispensing of cash in order to get a quick sense of accomplishment or connection to the larger world.

So we get what we deserve. It's just too bad that there are a few of us who don't deserve it and are about to suffer because of the collective laziness of the many....or perhaps we all deserve it, but for slightly different reasons. Those informed few who actually vote with their brains and their hearts connected are probably the best of the worst, at least they are doing, with all the attention and care it deserves, that one action that democracy asks of them. But they are still not guiltless, in that, if they are truly as enlightened as they make themselves out to be, they should be out there on the campaign trails, working their asses off to make their voices heard, or trying to reform voting methods, or even just sharing ideas on a non-partisan level, and even if against seemingly impossible odds. That includes me, by the way. It is at election time that my own laziness is most keenly felt. This blogging at the mouth does take some effort but mostly it almost instantly disappear into the cacaphony of individual voices ranting and raving and pretending we're a community on the internet and yet again, we scratch an itch, doing something that's this close to nothing, typing away on the ether as if that could make a difference. And meanwhile, those who know that it takes practical actions to make a real difference have mustered up the corporate sponsorship and are out there almost literally pulling the wool over our eyes for their own shortsighted or selfish gains.