Freedom’s Just Another Word For Something or Other
You’ve seen the Matrix movies, right? The premise is that we are all stuck in a loop in a simulation and we can’t escape? The newest installment has the thinly veiled addition of the internet becoming our actual matrix, where we spend so much of our lives, being distracted because we are terrified of uncertainty and that if we could just shut off the noise for a few precious seconds that we might actually be free?
I have too. I have one question. But let me expand.
To screaming and the yelling in the political theater for the past decade or so is about freedom. America is obsessed with freedom, and freedom could not be a more amorphous, abstract concept. But we all want it, whatever it is. Libertarians think everyone should be able to do whatever, Democrats and Republicans want restrictions on different things, but both believe in the concept of freedom and that it is somehow guaranteed by the Constitution.
Technology has given us freedom in the form of free time for over a century. Cars, planes, microwaves, rice cookers, washing machines, robot vacuums, computers, smart phones, the internet itself and one thousand other things. All of them shed so much bullshit time out of our lives and frees it up to…to…you know…have freedom to do…stuff.
If those who scream about freedom aren’t using the term as a thinly-veiled ploy to not pay taxes or extend equal rights to others, then what the hell is all the freedom for? I guess it’s the freedom to buy the same truck as one hundred thousand other people. Freedom to repost memes that you find hilarious. The freedom to wear pajama pants in public.
There’s my question. Freedom to do what?
The one and only answer out there is ‘To do whatever you want.’ Well, what if you don’t want to do anything? What if all of the options available are superfluous, wasteful, repetitive, unhealthy, and dumb? Freedom to have fun. I think we have that covered. Freedom to be entertained, be distracted. Check. There’s also that time you could use for self-improvement. Sounds good. Does it seem to you that self-improvement is a popular option? Are we leaps and bounds closer to the Star Trek universe where motivations evolve past money and ego?
No. I’ve seen the ads for Joe Millionaire. We’re not doing much with our freedom.
The answer isn’t less freedom. I don’t want a restrictive culture, and most people outside of white nationalists don’t want that either. The answer isn’t freedom at all. I think it might be culture. Culture won’t blow up our capitalist system. It will fundamentally evolve it for everyone.
We know technology has surpassed our ability to deal with it. We know we have tons of free time compared to our ancestors. But we have not figured out anything decent to do with it. That’s where culture comes in. Creativity. Thinking. Ingenuity. Engineering. At least, that’s what’s supposed to happen right? What else is there? Sitting around waiting for the next season of your favorite show? I think we’ve spent enough money on iPhones and car payments. The key here is that all these things: creativity, thinking, ingenuity, engineering…they aren’t in a pursuit for money. They exist for us. For our minds and our hands. They exist outside of the system we are all locked into. Yes, these things can be monetized. But they do not have to be. You aren’t in it for the money, you are in it because of the freedom.
It’s cool to have free time. We’re lucky. But are we using it wisely? Instead of free time as a block of hours or days or weeks we could look at it as an action. I understand that not everyone can engage in the above pursuits. Some people aren’t built for it. But they have something they can try. If the concept is to use the free time, or freedom, to express or enrich, instead of making more money to get more free time to get more money, we might have something. If not, then we should just stop all the screaming. We have all the freedom we need. Or more accurately: All the freedom we deserve.