So a few weeks ago, John O’hara posted this prompt on his facebook status update – “Finish the sentence – Freedom is…” The answers given included everything from “…what christ paid for on the cross” to “…the ability to walk around your house butt-naked without repercussions.” I was feeling random, so I offered up the classic Janis Joplin lyric “freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” I’ve never really thought about it, but since posting that, I’ve had to consider how true that lyric often is.
The concept of freedom is of course an emotional issue in the U.S. We are fond of the phrase “freedom isn’t free” and are told to honor the soldiers in Iraq for “ensuring our freedom.” Neither of those phrases in the way they are typically used have anything to do with freedom and usually have more to do with justifying the restriction of freedoms. So needless to say, discussions regarding freedom these days are a bit skewed. In my understanding of the concept, freedom means being free from oppression. That oppression can of course take many forms – including control, enslavement, or even fear. The thing is, no one is ever truly free from all forms of oppression. There is always something controlling us – using fear to keep us where they want us to be. So in light of that, the only people who are truly free are those who just don’t care about what will happen to them if they resist the oppression. In short, the people who have true freedom are those with nothing left to lose.
A few different things have me thinking about this. First, as I’ve been rereading and rewatching Harry Potter, I am amazed yet again at Rowling’s nuanced presentation of evil and oppression. Evil insinuates itself in that world slowly. It starts with minor restrictions of freedom – a teacher punishing students for telling the truth or the government not letting the newspaper report the real news. Lies are spread, loyalties questioned, and little by little the freedoms disappear, until non-pureblood wizards are being round-up and others are going into hiding. Those who speak out against the oppression face dire consequences – like the kidnapping and torture of their children. In the end it is only Harry Potter, the orphan who has lost nearly everyone he loves, – who truly has nothing left to lose – who has the freedom to stand up to the oppression.
Then this past week I read of the start of trials of protesters in Iran. The New York Times reported, “The Iranian authorities opened an extraordinary mass trial against more than 100 opposition figures on Saturday, accusing them of conspiring with foreign powers to stage a revolution through terrorism, subversion, and a media campaign to discredit last month’s presidential election.” Those that raised their voices for freedom are now bearing the brunt of oppression. Similar thing with the journalists who are now (thankfully) free from their captivity in North Korea. While they were trying to bring truth to the world, they both had a lot to lose in the process. Hearing the story of Euna Lee’s 4 year old daughter who was told during her mother’s captivity that “mommy was at work” broke my heart. I don’t know if I could be willing to risk never seeing my children again in order to fight oppression.
I know that making sacrifices is a basic part of fighting for freedom. If no one was willing to take risks – sacrificing their families and even their own lives, then oppression would simply continue. But those sacrifices are chosen. People have to be willing to pay the price to seek freedom. When oppression can’t demand a price of us, it has no power over us. So either society grants us that freedom or we decide that we don’t care what others may do to us – but either way we are only free when we’ve got nothing left to lose.