What is Freedom?

I've been pondering on this a while now. What is it really like to be completely free? None of us are.

There are always restrictions. Some say it is about equal opportunity. But to truly say there is equal opportunity you have to say that both of them have the equal capability to take it. Do any two people have that?

Others say it is about freedom of choice. Nobody ever has full freedom to choose. I cannot leave college if I wanted to, the repurcussions on my family will be too severe. Or is it that I chose to care about what happened to my family and which have influenced my decisions. Certainly there have been several points in my life where I've been tempted to chuck it all (and by all I mean all), what has held me back each time?

Society will always have rules and restrictions. Does this mean to be completely free one has to be outside the society? It seems to be so, then all of us hungry for freedom should simply leave society. Certainly this has been tried many times, but how many have succeeded. Where are the San Francisco hippies of the 60s, they're living sedate little suburban family lives or running a corporation or whatever. They are back in the society.

So what does this mean. I think it means that we never truly want complete freedom because the struggle for it brings the biggest fear there is - fear of the unknown. We don't know what we would get if we get what we wish for. So we rebel a bit and then join the mainstream, or our rebellion becomes the mainstream and then changes face completely. Restrictions are our security blanket and we're all Linuses who are scared to get rid of it. But he did it in the end, maybe the rest of us will take the cue someday, then again, maybe it's not such a good idea.

I was thinking of all this yesterday night when this song of Beatles (who else) started playing. I think it explains the struggle for freedom better than I ever could.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.

Blackbird fly Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird fly Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.