The true meaning of independence and freedom

Many among us don’t know the difference between independence, freedom, rights, and liberty. We just assume that they are all the same. They really aren’t.

Independence is Kasarinlan in Tagalog and Kaugalingnan in Cebu-Visayan language. Freedom is Kalayaan in Tagalog and Kagawasan in Cebu-Visayan. Rights is Karapatan in Tagalog and Katungod in Cebu-Visayan. Liberty is often interchanged with both freedom and rights. Based on my research, the term independence is a political law concept. It means being free from external interference in the context of nations and states. The elements of a true independent state are; people, territory, government, and sovereignty. And since, we have all four elements, the Philippines can say that it’s politically independent. I hasten to add that our political independence is precarious because we have no economic freedom.

Based on the above, it is thus possible that you are living in a politically-independent country without economic freedom. And you are not even independent as an individual because you depend on your parents for support. You may have freedom of expression but you are not truly free to speak out because those who are listening are the ones giving you the financial means to survive. You may have a liberty of abode but you can be ejected from your rented dwelling if you have been remiss in the payment of your rent. You have the liberty or the freedom to travel the world but if you have no money, you have no way to go somewhere. The cost of travel stifles your freedom of movement. If you are hungry and have no money to buy food, you cannot eat your freedom for breakfast.

I wish to enrich the reservoir of knowledge about these concepts by sharing with my readers some nuggets I gathered from research. In the US Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among them are life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “Freedom is not the right to live as we please, but the opportunity to find how we ought to live in order to fulfill our potentials as human persons, and to enhance the lives of others.” Ezra Pound advised: “A slave is one who relies and waits for others to free himself.”

Ricardo Magon said: “We are free, truly free when we do not have to put a chain around the neck of another in order to free our hand to put a bread into our mouth.” Emerson replied: “If you put a chain around the neck of a slave, the other end of the same chain fastens itself around your own hand.” Johan Wolfgang Goethe wrote: “None is more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe that they are absolutely free.” Rajeesh also counseled: “Desire is our prison bar. The one who wants nothing, who is contented with himself is the one who is truly free from all forms of bondage. He has attained the ultimate freedom, which is nirvana, and that is the ultimate goal of life.”

Freedom, true freedom is a state of the mind. It isn’t dependent on external factors. That is easy to say. But let me ask you. When a prisoner escapes from detention, then walks out into wilderness, and feels hungry and cold and then fears for his life against wild beasts, is he free? Which then is more important, food or freedom? A man unjustly convicted is finally freed then goes out into the city begging. Which then takes precedence, justice to free him from jail or money to free him from starvation?