Re: Re: [2] Freedom or death

Darren Reynolds (extro@blue.demon.co.uk)
Wed, 13 Aug 1997 22:24:15 +0100


At 22:01 13/08/97 +0200, den Otter wrote:

>But how about this:
>As long as you're alive there still is hope (that you will someday be free;
>the
>only constant is, after all, change. Maybe you can *free yourself* from
>your
>oppressor(s).
>Also, being "unfree" doesn't *have* to mean that your live is miserable,
>and
>not worth living. Just look at kids: hardly any freedom, but quite capable
>of having fun. More importantly: you (and the rest of us) are not free
>*right now*
>(biology, governments, gravity etc). Do you hate your life that much, and
>if
>the answer is "yes", then why haven't you killed yourself yet? Probably
>because
>you belief that we can make the future a better place...So, why wouldn't
>you
>keep this (dynamic) optimism when you actually get to that future?
>There's always tomorrow...

Yes! Anyone who says they'd rather be dead than not free puzzles me, and at
least a couple of people leapt down your throat at your "rhetorical question".

Freedom is relative. You're not absolutely free until you can alter the
physics of the universe, and even that is debatable. Logically, there
should be few people alive who would rather be dead than not free.
Probably, there aren't many, and this case might be explained by a
misunderstanding about what "free" means.

Regards,
Darren