Peace Or Freedom?

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?