Freedom requires a long-game approach. There’s no “Utopian” switch that when flipped cures all problems and creates the perfect society. Instead, over time individuals earn freedom as they harness the same power as the men or women supposedly in charge. Becoming free, and achieving freedoms for the oppressed, starts with becoming the best you. On any given day an authoritarian figure can do something unagreeable to your beliefs, putting you in their game. They’re looking for a reaction, a distraction, from the big picture. If you are more concerned with every move they make then you’re not concerned with yourself. Instead of playing their game, you should be building up your powers to push back. And it starts with becoming the best you.
Whether you’re a pink knitted hat wearer or a Don’t Tread On Me flag waver, you desire freedom. Although you may have convinced yourself “if the right person is in power I’ll be okay,” that’s merely an illusion. The powers granted to the government were not created to give one person absolute power. They were meant to give everyone a framework for a freer world. With the obvious incapabilities of the government to achieve a freer society, the question becomes: How can we create a freer world for ourselves?
Become Absolutely Open-Minded
The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion. – Albert Camus
To really have your existence be an act of rebellion don’t stop at being absolutely free. Be absolutely open-minded, absolutely un-bigoted, absolutely non-sexist, absolutely not racist, become so absolutely open to everyone no matter their race, religion, sex, gender, or nationality, and you will start building a freer world. Your very existence will be a protest to the man in power. And at the same time, your actions will improve the life of the people around you. It’ll improve your neighbor, your community, your country, and your connections with the world. Becoming absolutely open-minded is an act of rebellion without the need to protest in the streets.
Tune Out the Noise
Stop paying attention to the media. Whether you find a trustworthy news source or not, it’s all an attempt to fill your head with nonsense. For every person that agrees with the news, there’s another person disagreeing with it. Either way, it’ll rile up both sides and break down any chance of an absolutely open-minded rebellion. It’s okay to be uninformed. It’s okay to not know what’s going on in current events every second of every day. If you’re truly focusing on making the community around you better then there’s no need to listen to the news. It’ll do more harm than good.
Become the Best You
The growing rebellion, the acceptance of everyone, and freedom starts with individuals. It all starts with people who hold their moral standards, their beliefs, and their desire for a freer world to achieve freedom. Focusing on becoming the best you may seem selfish, but it’s not. It’s the starting point for change. It’s the catalyst for freedom. Working every day on yourself, your capabilities, and your open-mindedness starts building the framework for freedom.
Decide what you stand for. And then stand for it all the time. – Clayton M. Christensen
Freedom won’t be earned by going through the system, but by becoming so free, and so open-minded, that your very existence is a rebellion. Freedom begins with you, the best you.