We are born free!

[LightAngel]

Yes, we are born free.

Not because anyone grants it, but because nothing in us was meant to be owned or shaped by anything outside our own truth.

But the world has its ways.

It gives us roles before we know our voice, rules before we trust our instincts, and expectations that make us forget who we were.

So the freedom we arrived with becomes something we must rediscover.

Awakening is remembering, it is a return to the self we were before the world told us who to be.

So, who are you really?

[andy06shake]

Yes, we are born free.

Not because anyone grants it, but because nothing in us was meant to be owned or shaped by anything outside our own truth.

But the world has its ways.

It gives us roles before we know our voice, rules before we trust our instincts, and expectations that make us forget who we were.

So the freedom we arrived with becomes something we must rediscover.

Awakening is remembering, it is a return to the self we were before the world told us who to be.

So, who are you really?

I love the concept and will happily entertain the illusory ideology as much as the next man.
 
I understand that freedom is a notion we cannot live without, and that humans would simply never get anything done without a modicum of trust. 

But I don't think true freedom exists in this world outside our own heads. 

Due to the fact that we require at least a semblance of rule and law to be in place if we wish to interact with one another in groups.
 
Otherwise, anarchy prevails, and survival of the fittest becomes the order of the day.

Then, freedom simply collapses into whoever is strongest or most organised.

I suppose the best way i could put it would be to suggest not that freedom cannot exist.

But that it's relative, and not absolute...

[ArMaP]

I think it's a question of choices, as we are free to make them, at least when become old enough to do it.

It's true that we may not be free to do whatever we want, but that's because we choose to accept society and their rules.

We (almost) always have a choice.

[andy06shake]

I think it's a question of choices, as we are free to make them, at least when become old enough to do it.

It's true that we may not be free to do whatever we want, but that's because we choose to accept society and their rules.

We (almost) always have a choice.

Seems to me a lot of our actions equate to multiple choices as opposed to actual free will.

Maybe we just navigating a tree of possible choices?

Where the options themselves are shaped by biology, upbringing, mood, context, etc. 

Meaning we don't create the options, but we still participate in selecting between them.

Let's just say it's one of those fields where further study is most definitely required...

[BeyondKnowledge]

What is freedom. Is a child free to drink poison just because they have no understanding of what it is? A child cannot have freedom of all things and survive. Neather can an adult have full freedom and exist in society. There are always rules that must be followed to protect the individual and those around them. 

The trick is to balance the freedoms we still have with the ones we give up in order not to just have a neighbor walk over and kill us for what we have. But as with anything, there are very many and varying openions where this balance should be.

Solve that one to most people's satisfaction and you just might get elected some day, or linched. Both have happened in the past.

[andy06shake]

What is freedom. Is a child free to drink poison just because they have no understanding of what it is? A child cannot have freedom of all things and survive. Neather can an adult have full freedom and exist in society. There are always rules that must be followed to protect the individual and those around them. 

The trick is to balance the freedoms we still have with the ones we give up in order not to just have a neighbor walk over and kill us for what we have. But as with anything, there are very many and varying openions where this balance should be.

Solve that one to most people's satisfaction and you just might get elected some day, or linched. Both have happened in the past.

Look at what happens to a child who fails to receive love and attention. 

Nothing is free, not even normality...

There is always a cost or price to be paid.

[Maxmars]

Is it possible that freedom is a misplaced counter to burdens we ourselves create.

Prisoners can feel free... so much so as to protect their imprisonment.

The question may be the problem.

It's not we are free...

But how can we not be free - suddenly?

Freedom is the baseline.  Not something to fix on.

We sacrifice freedom for love, for hate, for justice, and for pride.

The measure of freedom is inside us...
I think maybe we're never "not" free... until we 'ourselves' bind us.

And we must... it is the sacrifice we pay for not being alone and isolated.
(Ironically... alone and isolated are also 'perceptions' which persist even when they are not true.)

The human world is not the real world.
The real world is not human.
It dictates... we obey.
The human world is ours...
beginning with what we think.

Freedom is the vehicle of wonder... and more.

No one truly imprisons us but ourselves...
and to be fair, it's often by choice.
Conversely, it's usually only you or I who can really 'free' our individual selves.

Ooops, sorry for the stream of words... 

[Creaky]

Yes, we are born free.

Not because anyone grants it, but because nothing in us was meant to be owned or shaped by anything outside our own truth.

But the world has its ways.

It gives us roles before we know our voice, rules before we trust our instincts, and expectations that make us forget who we were.

So the freedom we arrived with becomes something we must rediscover.

Awakening is remembering, it is a return to the self we were before the world told us who to be.

So, who are you really?

Not born free, that’s a western day dream, lucky you to think that

[IdeomotorPrisoner]

Yes, we are born free.

Not because anyone grants it, but because nothing in us was meant to be owned or shaped by anything outside our own truth.

But the world has its ways.

It gives us roles before we know our voice, rules before we trust our instincts, and expectations that make us forget who we were.

So the freedom we arrived with becomes something we must rediscover.

Awakening is remembering, it is a return to the self we were before the world told us who to be.

So, who are you really?

Freedom?

Well, in the philosophy of "Dawkins-Nietzschean Nihilism," (a phrase i just made up) it's taught;

Humans are mostly a herd of slave sheep without the slightest bit of true individuality, and all they believe to be personal choice and freedom is really just the memes and conditioning that they mindlessly follow while believing it was their choice to do so all along. "Conditioned to engage." 

This tendency keeps most people chained to trends of; slave morality, pop culture, god, the government/the system, celebrities, influencers, icons, boogeyman, cults of personality, social media accounts, likes for their hive mind, and the positive reinforcement that makes adopting any of the previous feed an endless cycle of pay for play validation.. 

But that's just what nihilism says. 

As an American, and we are just one of MANY western countries undergoing a "democracy reversal meme"... becoming "less free." 

It seems everywhere the far right is elected to bring back "the old ways," it's done at the expense of democracy,  which backsides into autocracy and authoritarianism. 
 

The V-Dem Democracy Report

2026 highlights a major global regression, with democracy declining to 1978 levels. As of early 2026, 74% of the world population (6 billion people) live in autocracies, while only 7% live in liberal democracies. For the first time in over 50 years, the U.S. has lost its status as a liberal democracy, falling to an electoral democracy amid a broader trend of autocratization in Europe and North America.

Key Findings of the 2026 Democracy Report:

• Global Decline: The world has 92 autocracies and 87 democracies, a dramatic reversal of democratic gains from the last 25 years.

• USA Autocratization: The U.S. is experiencing rapid democratic backsliding, characterized by declining civil liberties, severe pressure on the media, and reduced rights.

• Regional Trends: Western Europe and North America are experiencing their lowest levels of democracy in over 50 years, with 6 out of 10 new autocratizing nations located in these regions.

• Key Drivers: The decline is heavily driven by weakening freedoms of expression, political polarization, and threats to political rights.

• Top Performers: Despite the global downturn, countries like Norway, New Zealand, Sweden, Iceland, and Switzerland continue to hold high democracy scores, according to World Population Review.

And I know I am an unthinking slave too, because I both agree with World Population Review that its happening, and am really discouraged by the phenomenon.

Go Base-Model Democracy!? No more need for those fancy liberal egalitarian luxury features anymore... sigh...

[LightAngel]

Not born free, that’s a western day dream, lucky you to think that

Well, you were born free, like every wild thing that knows its own path, and your soul carries its own compass.