Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Thoughts for sale! - Is anything free anymore?

"But this is slavery, not to speak one’s thought."
-- Euripides
(480-406 B.C.)


What is slavery to you? I firmly agree with the above quote. This is a form of slavery when you are not able to express yourself freely. Most of the time, we are our own slaver masters.

Would you be willing to pay for your thoughts to be heard like the good ole
southern boys were willing to pay to have their 'property' returned to them.

How valuable are your thoughts and ideas?

Whether you wanna beleive it or not, slavery still exist today. Unless you live in the land of Oz, all over the world people live in bondage, in fear of their lives, basic rights being stripped from them. Women and Children are physically and mentally tortured. Men are fighting wars that are not theirs, losing their lives in the process. Poverty in itself is a form of slavery. I've been there on more than one occasion.

I'm not sure why I woke up at 4:00 a.m thinking about freedom of speech, slavery, and torture in today's society, but I think its safe to say, I had a pretty disturbing dream. I think I need a sun sandwich.

"You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police. Yet in their hearts there is unspoken – unspeakable! – fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts! Words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home, all the more powerful because they are forbidden. These terrify them. A little mouse – a little tiny mouse! – of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic."--

Sir Winston Churchill(1874-1965) Prime Minister of England

Now, say something'! I dare ya!








17 comments:

Anonymous said...

the sun sandwich that i borrowed and ate half of yesterday, i'm returning it to you to day!

Unknown said...

Apparently Aristotle said:"Freedom is a necessary need of a human being" and went on to elaborate... "Slavery is a preceved lack of freedom".

Whatever dude! you didn't have to commute to work for 4 hours- than work for another 10 hours -- all you did all day is sit on a rock in a sheet with leaves sticking out of your head... what could you possibly know about slavery or freedom.

ok, so I guess Euripides is saying that if i can VOICE my discontent regarding my "slavery" than that releases me?? well, not exactly... i'll still have to commute-- go to work etc- etc-

but than again that's why these ancient greeks were so sleek- you can interpret their saying in completely opposing way yet still keeping in line with what they said.

Buffalo said...

Janis had it wrong. Freedom is a whole lot more than nothin' left to lose.

Our freedom has been gradually being eroded since the early part of the last century. Now the snowball of tyrany in the making is approaching the bottom of the mountain - and it is huge.

Sadly, we are responsible for the loss of our freedom and our rights. Everytime we cede authority to the government in exchange for protection freedom is eroded a little further.

In the fear and hysteria of post 9-11 we handed the government a huge portion of what freedom was left.

What did Franklin say about safety and freedom?

Gaye said...

Freedom is a concept; not a reality. The human race is too screwed up to get this one right. I really like the sound of the word freedom though--very empowering.

..Sue...Zette... said...

I really wanted to thank you for stopping by my blog!!

I also agree with what you said, but I came to the conclusion along time ago that the oppressor is a liar.

Icylyrics said...

Girl you aint neva lied!

piu piu said...

scary stuff. sometimes u do just wake up and realise things are out of control in the world...and the the word 'control' hits u and your mind just EXPLODES. ow.

Icylyrics said...

Yes, P, this is so true, I often wake up with huge doses of realtiy making me wish I could just go back to sleep. Yet I know, I have to keep pushing, keep making freedom a part of my rality, not my dream.

Ray-Ray you make a good point, its not how free others allow me to be, yet as Buffalo said earlier, each day we seem to lose so much of our freedom for the sake of a false security. This is where it takes a collective voice instead of just an individual one to implement real change.

Gaye I beleive the concept can be more of a reality if we force feed it to the politicians and lobbyist. Not only freedom of speech, but other rights that have slowly slipped away from this country, making it what it is.

Buffalo, Ben Franklin said a lot of things about freedom and safety, but the quote that comes to mind is....

'Man will ultimately be governed by God or by tyrants.'

but I imagine this is the one you are talking about.

'Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety'

This quote sorta hits like a smack across the ass.

Jim said...

i luv ya !

now wat u gott to say to dat ?

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

Oh maaaan, you guys got to come live in the 3rd world. Puts things in perspective.

You soon learn to appreciate all you have, the little you have.

Send a 3rd world person overseas and
he/she thrives! Ain't no toilet to dirty to scrub, ain't no dishes too many to wash...we'll work our fingers to the bone to make a living over there, to send back money and clothes and food for families here.

Hey. Alfred E. Newman.

That's right, "What? Me worry?"

MsPerdie said...

Thanks for stopping by... I'll comment on this topic a little later.. just wanted to show you some love...

Buffalo said...

The quote I was thinking of, (to paraphrase) A person who will trade freedom for safety deserve neither. I think the one you cited is most appropriate.

I am in disagreement with some of the comments left but will remain mute.

Icylyrics said...

No Bufallo, don't remain mute. I wanna hear your thoughts on this subject.

DCveR said...

There is call I make whenever I am about to open my mouth: is it worth it?
There was a time when I really thought I could take on all battles, yes I was younger then...
Now I demand the right to express myself, I will express myself no matter what if I deem it worthy, but sometimes I will shut up instead of fighting an hopeless war that will have to positive outcome. Am I free? I don't know, but I don't feel any leash...

Mike said...

Someday...

Hayden said...

ooohh, folks are quoting the ancient greeks! I do love that! Keep in mind that Aristotle, Euridepes et al. would think all of us slaves. Work is necessity, and to be tied to necessity is to be a slave. Freedom meant you HAD slaves to do the work while you sat around in the agora chatting with your (exclusively male) friends. Slaves - who were the result of war, and not born into slavery - in their mind had a slavish temperment, or they wouldn't be in their current predicament. According to this theory, when you were losing the war you still had the freedom to kill yourself to prevent becoming "a slave to necessity." Wasn't really a very pretty world, although lots of the words, taken by themselves, are. Marx's idea of 'wage slavery' really goes back to this - the idea of being a 'slave to necessity.'

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

I see work as liberating. I love work, I kid you not.

Here, so many are begging for work to do, there's so little of it going around. And then you have others who sit and do nothing...and cry from sheer frustration.