Freedom

Listen: “Free Fallin” by Tom Petty

It’s Forth of July 2022. Americans are celebrating their national freedom from the tyranny of the colonizing Empire of Great Britain. We fought for our freedom and stated the philosophy of our freedom through the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Most people throughout human history have labored under the oppression of warlords, dictators, empires, and kingdoms which have stripped humanity of basic human rights. We should pause and reflect gratefully for the freedoms which our democracy has provided for us.

However, freedom is a gift which comes with enormous potential to bless and curse people. We can use our freedom to liberate ourselves and others, but we can also use our freedom to oppress and enslave ourselves and others. It’s one of the tragic ironies of American history that while we were crafting our philosophy of freedom—that all men are created equal—what we actually meant was “all-white-adult-men.” We didn’t include women, children, African-Americans, or Native Americans as equals. We are still awkwardly trying to make amends for these violations of human freedom as a nation. White men used their newly declared freedoms from the tyranny of oppressive Great Britain to oppress women, children, African-Americans, and Native Americans. The oppressed became the new oppressor. Unfortunately, this is the pattern throughout most of history. Once the oppressed defeat their oppressor, they typically use their new freedoms to become the new oppressor. Even democratic freedom is a fragile gift indeed.

Our personal freedoms are not so different. Sometimes in an effort to maintain or exercise our personal freedom, we simply place ourselves and others in bondage.

Freedom to be me. Each of us is influenced by our genetic history and our environmental history. Our histories provide us with opportunities and limitations. We can use our personal freedoms to heal and transcend our limitations while we enhance and advance our opportunities to create love, beauty, and grace for ourselves, others, and the planet. Discovering our true self is a spiritual journey which unfolds throughout life.

Freedom to love. Our personal freedoms flourish best in loving, supportive relationships and communities. This is challenging. Unhealthy relationships and communities can result in relational pain, disappointment, heartache, abusive authority, and even trauma. Breaking free from relational or community bondage can be critically important for our health and wellbeing. At the same time, we can end up isolated and alone if we don’t learn to develop and navigate healthy relationships and community. In Tom Petty’s classic song “Free Fallin,” he seems to celebrate his freedom to be a “bad boy” and break a girl’s heart, but then he seems to regret the subsequent loneliness of his independent freedom: “I wanna write her name in the sky; I wanna free fall out into nothin’; Gonna leave this world for awhile.” I’ve always resonated with C. S. Lewis’ quote from The Four Loves:

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.

Freedom from bondage. Addiction is an example of freedom run awry. We all have the ability to pursue things we love. Many of the things we love are good gifts such as drink, food, sex, exercise, religion, work, dancing, cleaning, shopping, gaming, social media, caffeine, and other substances. Consumed and practiced in healthy portions and with healthy boundaries, these gifts can actually enhance beauty, love, relationships, and community. However, these good gifts can be used in selfish excess to numb out emotional pain, in effect, they become a substitute for nurturing, loving relationships and community.

Substance abuse disorder is an example of genetics, environment, and personal freedom which results in bondage. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous encourages its followers to pray for “freedom from self-will” (p. 87). It’s one of the paradoxes of freedom—“the ultimate paradox in free will is the surrender to spirit” (a comment on my Facebook page from Toni Jackson). It’s not a surrender to a religious system, but to your Higher Power, to love itself. In order to be free, we must surrender. Religious systems throughout history have propagated abuse of authority, oppression, and bondage, Christianity included. (Take a church history class if you are unaware of this, or read Do I Stay Christian: A Guide for The Doubters, The Disappointed, and The Disillusioned by Brain McLaren.) Which is ironic, because even The Apostle Paul recognized that some religious systems were really forms of bondage. His vision of Christ was one of freedom. Paul said, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1; NASB).

Free to be truly free. I’m grateful for freedom!

Shalom

©realfredherron, 2022