Peace or freedom has often been pitted against the other to
sway the minds of those who eschew the one for getting in the way of the
other. The balanced attempt to achieve
both peace and freedom has eluded mankind throughout the ages with only short
intervals of both combining to gift to man a Shanghai-La existence. Even in those short intervals of time one or
the other had to be spent in order to lift the other. There is a direct correlation between the
attainment of Peace and the realization of Freedom.
For most the two terms are often interchangeable with peace
being a form of freedom and freedom being the act of peace. Our desire should be to obtain both in
harmony but the reality of peace is often the result of a vigorous defense or
active offense against foes that want neither peace nor freedom for those that
appose their designs.
Peace can be obtained as long as you’re willing to give up
your freedoms and accept the rules imposed by those in control. The issue of peace over freedom is in a sense
a form of slavery, an acceptable repression of thought and action, giving up
the rights of free thought, free travel and self-improvement for the safety and
security of a like Nanny State.
There are millions who would rather have that peaceful
feeling of complacency rather than the fight over choice and independence. This is not a black or white issue but rather
an issue of degrees. On one side are the
anarchists who want no laws nor controls, choosing to live without the rule of
any law, willing to take their chances with others that feel the same way. Survival of the fittest might be apropos with
the weak almost always subservient to the strong. The week however could find a sense of peace
as long as they succumb to the demands of the strong.
Another issue is for those believers who would rather lay
down their lives rather than have to fight.
There wish is that everyone gets along and tranquil feelings of love and
trust abound. It may not be realistic
but it is probable. Most religions
believe in a perfect state of harmony where lamb and lion lay side by
side. I’ve always wondered what goes
through their respective minds when the lion is licking his lips in hunger and the
lamp is petrified with freight but that is the goal for those who profess that
perfect peace with the hope that the mind set of both the lamb and the lion is sufficiently
altered to allow for that peaceful coexistence.
Communes and collectives have tried to create harmonious
societies were everyone shares, free love abounds and no one knows who’s kids
are who’s, but it has been tried and with some success. Any failures are usually attributed toward
the few selfish among them or outside influences that filter in and rust the
true nature of the living peace.
If you had to choose would you choose peace over freedom or
would you prefer freedom over peace knowing you could only have one which one
would you choose? This exercise in
theory may bring some interesting results when we realize that one cannot survive
nor flourish without the other and both must be fought for and battled over,
sustained through hard work and vigilance.
Neither comes without sacrifice and it is in the sacrifice that each is ultimately
appreciated and obtained.
Unless all of humanity can agree that peace is the answer
and everyone is willing and able to forgo any selfish desires, “thou shalt not
covet…”, then there will always be the issue of defending what is ours. As long as there are those who wish to retain
ownership then the desire for power over another will continue and with it the
need for defense of our free will. Desire toward ownership is not evil nor bad
but in relation to establishing total human peace there can be no desire to
have over another in want.
Freedom is so much more than the anarchistic and animalistic
ventures of men without rules. True
freedom requires rules and adherence to those basic principles that bring the
society of man together inharmonic synthesis.
Gravity is a good example of a
law that brings more freedom not less. Kindness
and charity are other universal laws that actually expand our rights and privileges
rather than curtail those freedoms.
The balance between peace and freedom is the ultimate goal
but as we continue to struggle for peace we will assuredly have to continue to
fight for the freedoms that allow us to live a peaceful and productive
life. If we chose not to fight both our
freedom and our peace will be taken from us.
Think again, what would you chose, peace or freedom?
