Tag: free will

On the Freedom of Expression as a Natural Right.

I always try to argue for the freedom of expression rather than the freedom of speech, and for two reasons. First, the freedom of expression is a broader term, in which the freedom of speech is included. Second, using the term freedom of expression, I’ve felt, is less likely to limit the argument to the first amendment — and here experience has appeared to have proven me dead wrong.

So why does this increasingly agitate me and deplete my sense of hope?

While the first amendment to the US Constitution is important, it is, after all, only a declaration that the government recognizes a right we already have, that we were born with, and does not constitute the act of “giving” us that right. If I argue for the freedom of expression online, for instance, there are sure to be people who will jump in and argue that Facebook or Twitter don’t fall under the first amendment, that they have a right to limit what can be displayed on their platforms, and so on — they argue law, societal game rules, in other words, not rights, and so few fail to see the distinction.

Laws are superficial. Rights go deeper. And let me be clear: I am arguing rights.

If there were no first amendment in the US Bill of Rights, would such individuals feel the same way about the freedom of speech in general as they evidently do with respect to it in the context of social media platforms — in other words, would they seem to have no value in it at all, and argue that its not a right because its not law?

It disturbs me to think this might be the case.

Nobody’s Fault but Mine.

It is utterly irrational to blame your parents for who you are.

If you do blame your parents for all your suffering, all your trials and tribulations, all you have to do is extend your logic to its ultimate conclusion to see its inherent absurdity. After all, if they are to blame for who you are, then they were just as predestined to be who they are because of your grandparents, and your great-grandparents are to blame for who your grandparents became — and so on and so forth, all the way back to the first form of life, or even the circumstances that brought life to be, or all the way back to the Big Bang, or the quantum fluctuations that made nothing belch up something to begin with.

Alternately, we’re all ultimately responsible for who we are. We may not be able to control what happens to us, we may always have influences of varying intensities, but we always have a choice in how we respond and what we make of ourselves — and please understand that this is coming from someone who has made a cascade of shitty choices.

Even so, I believe in free choice. In free will and personal responsibility.

As far as I can see, for each and every one of us every moment presents a vast spectrum of potential choices ranging from the path of greatest resistance to the path of least resistence, and I think most of us lean toward the path of least resistance on default, chronically overestimating the amount of free will we put forth.

Not everyone starts out from the same point of departure, however, which is precisely why those who echo that whole “just pull yourself up by your bootstraps” bullshit instantly inspire me to punch them in the dick.

Or give them a cunt-punt. I mean, I’m not trying to be sexist here.

We may not be able to manifest the perfect external circumstances, but in the end, its up to us to manage our damage and pursue our passions, refine our talents, find or plow our own paths, or at the very least fashion our perceptions and alter our attitudes.

I still have that child in me that angrily points the finger here or there — anywhere but the self. He arises during intense emotional states, rears his angry little head in dreams. He is a poison in my veins.

He needs to learn. The inner child deserves a better outer adult.

Intellectually, I know the truth, and I need to start taking advantage of it. I need to take responsibility for who I am and invest more of my will in my external life.

Ultimately, I am free. In the end, I am responsible.