Generally, freedom is considered as the ability to achieve goals, as well as satisfy desires. However, it is important to identify the sources of such goals and desires. The goals and desires that individuals seek may be arising from habitual patterns, ignorance, or negative emotions that may end up enslaving them. Thus, it is important to realize that our preconceptions, attitudes, as well as spiritual practices can ultimately bind us to cyclical patterns of frustrations and disillusionment. People should therefore consider exploring the likely causes of the frustrations that bedevil their lives. Basically, everyone wants freedom. This is because freedom makes it possible for people to find the truth and create a happy society. According to Chogyam Trungpa, “we must begin by facing reality of our living situations. We cannot begin by dreaming” (Richard & Thelma 521). I totally agree with this statement because it addresses the challenges people currently face in the society in terms of freedom and its significance. Although people have the freedom to choose, they should be accountable for their actions, whether good or bad. This mean that individuals should always ensure that they make good and fruitful choices in life given the freedom they may have. Therefore, in order to achieve true freedom, people should focus on the actual state of things instead of beliefs about things.
True freedom begins with surrendering to reality and accepting things as they are. Historically, the early Roman Empire believed that it had the right to enslave the conquered behind the veil of civilization, which it intended to bring to the barbarian world. This means that true freedom could not be achieved as the majority of the population was under slavery. The slaves were generally considered as irrational and could not be trusted with political responsibility. It was until in 212 CE that the Romans accepted the reality in the Empire and granted full citizenship to all free men under their jurisdiction. Many historians believe that the move is to some extent responsible for the success of the Roman rule. The Roman Empire’s situation demonstrates that we should face things as they are, not as we believe they are. Had the Roman Empire not addressed situation undermining their quest for democracy, they would not have been succeeded that much. Thus, it is important to face the reality of our living situations instead of just dreaming.
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Karl Marx, one of the most renowned economic philosophers, believed that true freedom could be achieved by attaining a classless society. He posited that “our behavior, our hopes and aspirations, and our career choices are determined by the social class into which we are born” (Richard & Thelma 501). He figured out that a society that is made of the rich and the poor will not achieve true freedom for some reasons. For instance, the rich could tend to favor legislation aimed at keeping their holdings intact at the expense of the poor in the society. This is because the rich would always want to hold on to their money and get even more. On the other hand, the poor will continually desire to better themselves. However, such a desire may evolve into an obsession that may ultimately eclipse everything else in the lives of the poor. This implies that the freedom of the poor in the society will be significantly undermined. In order to effectively address the problem, Karl Marx focused on the reality in the society. He realized that there was economic inequality and centered his discourse on communism, an approach that could help in attaining a classless society where there is equality and freedom for all. Therefore, I believe that facing the reality of our living situation could go a long way in bringing about true freedom to ourselves and the society at large. Thus, people should not dream, but rather surrender themselves to reality and liberate themselves from pain.
In the current society, people are expected to live good and fruitful lives and they are free to make decisions regarding their lives. Basically, such decisions are based on the circumstances surrounding their lives. As such, people need to act in a manner that improves their lives. For instance, parents need to work hard and make fruitful choices for their families. All people wish to have happy families that are free from suffering. The responsibilities associated with marriage and family make people to hold onto jobs that they may not like. This shows that there are limitations to our freedom. As much we may want to freely choose whether to report to job or not, we need to realize that choices have consequences. For instance, if one fails to report to his or her job, he or she will not have income necessary for providing for the family. This implies that the reality of our living situation determine our actions. Besides, our freedom is tied to such situations. As such, economic circumstances are among some of the forces that may limit our freedom in the society.
In conclusion, it is demonstrable that we should always see the experience of life as it is. We should further figure out the truth of suffering, as well as the reality of dissatisfaction. As such, it is inappropriate to only examine the glorious and pleasurable aspects of life and ignore the realities relating to suffering and dissatisfaction. Thus, we should begin facing the reality of our living situations and desist from merely dreaming.
Work Cited
Janaro, Richard Paul, and Thelma C. Altshuler. The art of being human . Longman, 2003.
