Freed(om)

“If the freedom of one man oppresses another, is it then still freedom?”

Here are some of the comments by the people who received my text:

Cheng Abarquez:
“One man’s oppressor is another man’s freedom fighter.”

Her point? Freedom is relative.

Mam Baguilat:
“Freedom comes with responsibility otherwise there will be an abuse of ones freedom.”

I believe that every thing comes with responsibility. Academic freedom goes hand in hand with academic responsibility. And so does other things.

Sir Arcilla:
“Freedom enlarges people’s capacities and power. It is not a zero sum game. Freedom is structural, dapat lahat ay nakikinabang, hindi lang iilan kasi kapag ganun kahit na the oppressed are free to fight dapat ang alipin ay malaya na. History is a continuing struggle for freedom but the fact that it must be gained with the blood of the oppressed means that freedom is not solely individual based. Society, in a given time, defines what freedom is, based on the interest or power of those who benefit from such a definition. It then uses all of its apparatus, armed/non-armed to preserve the discourse.”

Sabi ko relative naman po ang mga bagay-bagay. Ang kalayaan po ba ng oppressed ay nangangahulugan na matatapakan iyong freedom ng mga naghaharing-uri?

“Freedom is always relative. But be careful of falling into an ideological trap. Freedom for the oppressed does not mean less freedom for the oppressor; in the struggle, the oppressed are redefining freedom.”

I am fond of using the theory of relativity mixed with the concept of subjectivity as an excuse for making standards and definitions.(harhar) Most of the time, defining things is a hard task :showing to someone what freedom is is easier than explaining it. In the process of defining freedom, you are already restraining its concept. I haven’t come up with my own definition of freedom yet because Jose Diokno said:

“ For what is freedom when there is no food, or justice when there are no jobs? A starving man does not have much freedom of choice and there is no justice in poverty. Food without freedom, jobs without justice, would be like leaves without a tree. Food and freedom, jobs and justice-these are the key to peace.” -Jose W. Diokno

For now, let’s stop defining things but rather let’s act to redefine things.
Now don’t ask me what freedom is. I’ll just show you what it is. (*wink*)