I was pondering freedom today after a brief conversation with a co-worker. It started with a mention of the Pride parade that I had seen some pictures of on a friend's wall yesterday. I was commenting on how they sometimes have gone beyond what I feel is appropriate in a public setting, i.e. nudity. I feel that they shouldn't be doing such things, and my co-worker said something about their freedom. So I was thinking....
What is freedom? I want the freedom to make choices for myself. I want to choose what comes into my "self" through my eyes and ears. I want to choose how I live my life. But so does everyone else. So what happens when what I want to do messes with someone else's life? Whose freedom wins? If Bobby chooses to smoke, and George chooses not to smoke, what happens when they pass each other's sphere? If Bobby is smoking at that moment, George's freedom to not smoke just got taken away.
I have to conclude that my freedom only extends as far as it doesn't encroach on another person's freedom. I can only have freedom as far as it only affects my life. As soon as my freedom takes away the freedom of another, I've crossed the line of polite society.
We live in a nation full of laws. How many of those laws are written solely because so many people don't understand or live by this basic principle? We've made laws that you can't smoke within a certain distance of a public door because so many smokers did not act in a way that honored the freedom of others choosing not to smoke.
We all want our freedom, but I wonder how often we consider the freedom of others. I want the freedom "to" do something, while another person may want freedom "from" that same thing. I challenge us all to walk with honor, respecting the spheres of our fellow man. Live in such a way as to not rob your neighbor of his or her freedom. It's simple really, but how many of us will step past ourselves to honor another?
