Freedom...

Yep, we are a free country. Are we really? What exactly does it mean to be 'free'? I know a certain 17 year old that puts it this way...

"I don't follow no rules!"

This, of course, is hardly freedom, for although such a notion would seem to liberate the proponent of such a concept, it would invariably encroach upon some other person's freedom in some shape or form, in effect taking their liberties. So, freedom doesn't simply mean there are no rules, it means that there are rules when it comes to how these concepts affect another person.

There are also unwritten rules. There are countless people who have lost a job after saying shit in a blog for the world to see, things they wouldn't say at work for fear of being held responsible for it and fired. This is an unwritten rule, because one can say anything they wish in a country where freedom of speech is guarded like fort knox, but only if one is willing to accept the consequences of such speech. The rule would be, you can say anything, as long as you accept complete responsibility for what you say, and accept all repercussions deriving from such oratory.

So, when the above 'boy' said he didn't follow any rules, the situation he is hoping for is that he can do what he wants when he wants, regardless of who it effects and how it affects them, and wants complete asylum from any consequences that ensue.

This is unrealistic by any stretch of the imagination, but we are talking about a teenager, and teenagers in general extract only those things that suit them from such concepts and disregard the rest as unimportant because it doesn't suit their needs. Eventually they learn, and those that don't end up blaming the world for their troubles, because of course they can't be held responsible for anything, that is the way they want it, so the blame must lie elsewhere with people that are 'out to get them'.

One of the problems with America is that more and more people are getting older, but still confuse freedom with protection from persecution for their actions. These older people also have their symbols to hide behind as well. How many times have you been tailgated, only to have the tailgater come screaming around you to make a point that they think you are moving too slow. Then, as they come around you, you see they are sporting the christian fish. If you look around you will see there are more people than you realized have a symbol to hide behind. This type of person feels that as long as they have on display their symbol of patriotism or worship, anything and everything they do is above reproach. One of my favorites is the US Flag. Bill Maher says it best.

I like the Flag plenty, but I never forget it's only a symbol, a reminder of what we stand for, not a replacement for actually standing for it. Brave Americans in past wars didn't die for the actual flag -- they died for the freedom it represents, including the freedom to burn it. Too many in America lead with their emotions when it comes to the flag, becoming illogically protective.....

The problem with the flag at this moment in our history is we've become masters at fooling ourselves into thinking there is a way to get everything with very little effort. It's ridiculous we need to even be reminded of this, but just displaying a flag doesn't actually do anything, any more than 'tying a yellow ribbon' brings home a hostage or AIDS ribbons cure AIDS. If we think we've done something because we went to Kmart and bought a flag, then the flag is actually hurting, not helping us.

So, I got off on a tangent even before I started in on what I really wanted to say. I've said it before, we live in the 'entitlement age' (not my phrase, my wife brought it to my attention, but I don't know where she got it from) and people everywhere seem to expect everything on a silver platter.

For example, at 45 years old I already have a pension. This pension, although not much, gives me more freedoms than others without it, because I have more options in the job market without worrying as much about earning what I think I need to live as I want. I can work part time, go to school, and have days when I can go exercise at ten o'clock in the morning when most others are working. It aint the life of Riley, but it's better than some.

Young persons today believe they should have such freedoms right off the bat. We live in a free country, and this gives them the right to the same freedoms I have. They expect to move out of the parent's house and right into a place at the beach. What people with such notions fail to realize is that they don't have this right. What they have is the right to pursuit of achieving the same thing, which in my case was 20 years with the military.

What got me thinking about all this? I was just reading about some of the examples I used earlier, the possible consequences of blogging. It's amazing what some have done with this. One guy I was reading about worked for a newspaper, and on his blog he says some pretty weird shit. There is even a picture of someone, I don't know if it's the author or not, a picture of a guy with his dick in a penis pump, but otherwise clothed normally.

Unwritten rule? Hell yeah. Someone puts a picture like that on the Internet, their boss sees it, the boss is going to have a different opinion of this person than the one they held before they saw the picture, guaranteed. Is this written down anywhere? Hell no, but you can take it to the bank just the same.....