An opinion regarding the “freedom” we lost
We lost our freedom, but then why do we keep creating a system where it is alright for one man to rid of other’s rights?
Liberty and freedom, catchphrases that is uttered by so many mouths and typed by handful of fingers around the world. We yearn for it so much, as nowadays so many government around the world has bind us with its rules. They and their own selfish interest, forcing their will, and speaking loudly without minding the consequence of their own act. Or so we thought.
Have we not, so far, has been abusing our privilege far too much in a country where freedom is the rights of men? We are so willingly concerned towards our well being, speaking highly without minding others who felt the impact of our own action. We speak as if we are the ones who got ill due to injustices, while doing injustices ourselves. Yet due to what is embedded on some — if not all — existing constitution, we start to get overconfident. Hubris has overtaken the best in ourselves, we ride to our doom.
Lavish and abundance, debauchery murder our senses. The red seep on blacks, brought upon unparalleled grotesque show of misaligned hierarchy of needs. Maslow made it a pyramid, yet our old immoral animalistic tendencies took the rein of our humanity, pummel it down to a bloody pond of muddy foul sins. We took the gift of civilization for granted, egocentrism birthed from modest anthropocentric views on life’s philosophy.
Making a fool of ourselves
How are we so adept at making excuses for our own gullible foolishness? That is often ask as when things goes awry. When things went into the fray in consequences of our mindless decision, bereft of any conscience. By then many of the blind followers of doomed bandwagon had often nag for explanations. They were told the answer, and yet dissatisfied they do as it points out towards their own ineptitude towards the issue they’ve faced.
Adamantly mindless, that’s the word often best to describe people that — unfortunately — dominates the numbers in our society these days. They follow the trends, told by the machine they hold in their hands, telling them what to do or whatnot. They seek no better judgement but gather around popular figure and worship them without any clear reason.
People have feelings, it is often the case that they use that part of themselves as human who has the desire for whatever might led them. Yet it is logic they most often forget, believing that their heart led them to a better judgement even with a proof as clear as glass. Following desire and their wishes as opposed to whatever means they actually needs. The sun was scorching, and yet such a pity that the joy of flight has led Icarus to his own doom.
Probably, we get too much
Overcrowding and the feeling of power, our society has been muddled with polluted thoughts that strayed far from the wise council of logic and conscience. Like the mouse in utopia that had sunk far, morally degrading into a creature that mind their own business and left others behind. Just like them, barely anything left of our homo socius, ravaging the order and established systems. Just like that, the behavioral collapse theorized by John B. Calhoun, the seeds that applied to mouses in his experiment has been faintly seen in our society.
Multiple infinite amenities and resources gave them mouses utopia, in which they got too focused on their rights and what they can have. Out of control, they forgot to do what they must; even basic biological needs like food, procreation, and caring for their young . Some argue his work should not be interpreted as an impact of overcrowding but as a result of excessive social interactions. Though truly humans are not mice and comparing both could led to fallacious conclusion, the wisdom in it could not be taken lightly.
Right now, human as a species is located on a strange peak like never before. One even may argue that this is a form of golden age where quality of life were at its historical’s best. Would it go any higher would depends entirely on how we proceed to decide what’s best for humanity. Yet it seems the act of the many is hardly for the benefit of all. The way we choose to disobey what is best like blindly follow doubt without proof and reason, doing this “edgy” things while uttering “skepticism” like an educated man should, yet without all of their knowledge, education, and careful measure.
Either it is that that would bring our eventual demise, or malthusian sorrow as an alternative future, we are all doomed unless we do anything about the issue at hand. Food runs scarce, the land kept getting swallowed by the oceans, fresh water disappears, and not to mention the progress of climate change. The mathematic fate and economic theorem that resources would be limited does not lie. We keep using what it is for our own temporary benefit and kept forgetting the penance that our descendant have to pay with suffering.
Tyranny vs Anarchism
“The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.”
- Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator
Is democracy ever exists, or is it shadow oligarchy that is a council of tyrants in disguise? People asked and created conspiracy theories, crazy as they were they do hold some sign of creativity if not a grudge trying to find its justification. Like the thing where many americans thought as stated by Eric Zuesse that democracy is a sham, because elites were the ones controlling the news and media which feed the people’s mind.
But isn’t it a black and white fallacy to just simply says that the government is a lie-spouting machine. True that they are mostly politicians who tried to seek benefit for no one but themselves, enriching their own lineage. Yet, does that gave one the right to just abandon the covenant that has bind us thus far, the rule of law that is agreed by most if not all. Is it rightful to just take what we want like a barbarian would, aren’t we all civilized human being under the blue sky and black vast space above?
True, public trust would be the greatest factor at maintaining public orders. But, isn’t it the right of men to be kept by their fellow brothers and sisters as to prevent any further miseries to be inflicted down the road? If it is not for the benefit of one party, do it for the benefit of the whole humanity.
Thus far, we had been rid of any meaningful sustainable development in the essence of cultural evolution. Technology has been developed so fast, yet our humanity developed in rather a constant pace. We have but one job, making sure that it is not regression instead as it will be a catastrophic danger if humanity today drown itself deep into the shape of a leviathan.
Quoting what Major Winters in the band of brothers said “We salute the rank, not the man”. Though it is hard to respect the men, respect the system that were kept to maintain the fairness of all, for people will grow old and die. If we gave way for the newer generation and ourselves to the gate of progress, then it is not impossible for us to grow further down into the future, collecting years of human’s life.
Sources
Calhoun, John B. 1973. “Death Squared: The Explosive Growth and Demise of a Mouse Population”. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, 66(1 Pt 2), 80–88.
Fessenden, Marissa. 2015. “How 1960s Mouse Utopias Led to Grim Predictions for Future of Humanity”. Smithsonian Magazine. Accessed from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-mouse-utopias-1960s-led-grim-predictions-humans-180954423/.
Malthus, Thomas Robert. 1978. An Essay on the Principle of Population. Oxfordshire, England: Oxford World’s Classics.
Maslow, A. H. 1943. “A theory of human motivation”. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370–396. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054346
Winters, Jeffrey A. 2021. “Reflection of Oligarchy, Democracy, and The Rule of Law in Indonesia”. A Lecture Presented at the Open Senate Meeting on the Occasion of the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Gadjah Mada University School of Law. Accessed from https://law.ugm.ac.id/wp-content/uploads/sites/1043/2021/02/Winters-UGM-FH-Dies-Natalis-2021-_REFLECTIONS-ON-OLIGARCHY-DEMOCRACY-AND-THE-RULE-OF-LAW-IN-INDONESIA.pdf
Zuesse, Eric. 2014. “The Contradictions of the American Electorate”. Counterpunch. Accessed from https://www.counterpunch.org/2014/04/15/the-contradictions-of-the-american-electorate/
