Sorry I never learned how to do an LJ Cut.
Bullshit paper on canvas #3
Throughout history, freedom has been a concept which has fascinated humans. Whole nations have been founded on the idea that everyone should enjoy certain basic freedoms and wars have been fought for that same goal. Despite its impact on the world, however, there is no truly satisfactory definition for the word. In the Randomhouse dictionary, there are no less than seventeen entries for the word, ranging from “The state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or physical restraint” to “the absence of or release from ties, obligations, etc.” The reason that so many definitions exist for one word, however, is simple. It is because freedom is a subjective concept- what one man considers a free society, another may find extremely limiting.
Regardless of the type of freedom being expressed, from freedom of speech to the freedom to pursue happiness, in our culture, limits are always imposed. This is because in complete freedom exists an enormous capacity for evil, which society is constantly trying to check. You cannot yell fire in a crowded theater, nor block a roadway with a protest, nor shout curse words in front of little children. You cannot take what you want without paying for it, nor kill your neighbor because he annoys you so much you cannot speak. You cannot do these things because society has set up a series of effective guards against absolute freedom, because those enjoying absolute freedom have a tendency to express the darker side of their nature.
Saul, in Richard Wright’s “The Man Who Killed a Shadow” is an example of a man who comes to understand the law, and the terrifying nature of true freedom. As a black man, he is put in the worst possible situation he could be in when he is trapped in a room with a white woman who starts screaming and attempting to force herself upon him for no apparent reason. He sees what is happening, however, in a very symbolic way- sees the woman as an embodiment of the racism he has been fighting against for his entire life. He does not try to kill a woman, nor does he even try to kill the shadow of his past, because he is not thinking in terms of murder. He is thinking in terms of silence and freedom; of being free from persecution and racism and being able to live life without this shadow looming over him. After the deed is done, however, Saul embraces imprisonment to escape his own freedom, and the terrible paradox of having a responsibility to express his freedom yet also having to check his actions and words for the benefit of others who are not truly free Wright brings up an interesting question by throwing Saul into this situation: is it possible to embrace true freedom while others around you are not experiencing the same thing? In Saul’s case, representative of modern American society, the answer is a clear and resounding “No.”
Freedom does not inherently hold a karmic charge. It is a concept which has been used and abused for both great good and great evil. It is more of a tool than a moral or social construct in today’s society, enabling countries to go to war and cultures to force themselves on one another. But it is also a tool that was used in the founding of America, in the change from monarchy to representative government, and in the emancipation of slaves. Ironically enough, however, while freedom itself is neither good nor evil, acting on the freedom inherent in humanity is always a Faustian bargain. The type of freedom in all humans is true freedom: the freedom of choice and from that stems all the other freedoms. Acting on this freedom without limits invariably results in at least some degree of evil occurring. When lighter skinned people chose to enslave those with darker skin, for example, a great evil occurred. When one group of people chose to assassinate the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and thus sparked the start of the First World War, another great evil occurred. Any time a person or group of people chooses to exercise true freedom, freedom of choice, without regard for the laws and rules imposed on the rest of society, they indeed partake in a Faustian Bargain on a very concrete level. It is said that Faust went outside of the rules established by society by selling his soul to the devil, and because of this was able to play the violin prodigiously. People who operate outside the restrictions of society and exercise the true freedom inherent in humans, ironically enough, gain great power while separating themselves from the very thing which makes them human in the first place. Even brutes and pack-animals have the capacity for choice. Only humans have both the ability and responsibility to curtail that freedom for the benefit of others.
Perhaps the best example of this principle can be seen in the Joseph Conrad Novella Heart of Darkness. In it, a sailor named Marlow explains his own experiences with imperialism and true freedom in the African jungle. One of the most important parts of the story is a character named Kurtz, who has embraced his freedom fully, but in doing so, lost that which has made him human. Carried about on a chair like a god, he is described as “a skeleton” and Marlow tells the reader that it appears as if Kurtz is “made of ivory”. He still reports to the company, and indeed, is the leading producer of ivory, but he operates outside of all the rules. He exercises his own complete freedom by ruling with absolute power through fear; he decorates his fence with the “skulls of rebels” and refuses to let anyone treat him as anything less than a god
Throughout history, freedom has been a concept which has fascinated humans. Whole nations have been founded on the idea that everyone should enjoy certain basic freedoms and wars have been fought for that same goal. Despite its impact on the world, however, there is no truly satisfactory definition for the word. In the Randomhouse dictionary, there are no less than seventeen entries for the word, ranging from “The state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or physical restraint” to “the absence of or release from ties, obligations, etc.” The reason that so many definitions exist for one word, however, is simple. It is because freedom is a subjective concept- what one man considers a free society, another may find extremely limiting.
Regardless of the type of freedom being expressed, from freedom of speech to the freedom to pursue happiness, in our culture, limits are always imposed. This is because in complete freedom exists an enormous capacity for evil, which society is constantly trying to check. You cannot yell fire in a crowded theater, nor block a roadway with a protest, nor shout curse words in front of little children. You cannot take what you want without paying for it, nor kill your neighbor because he annoys you so much you cannot speak. You cannot do these things because society has set up a series of effective guards against absolute freedom, because those enjoying absolute freedom have a tendency to express the darker side of their nature.
Saul, in Richard Wright’s “The Man Who Killed a Shadow” is an example of a man who comes to understand the law, and the terrifying nature of true freedom. As a black man, he is put in the worst possible situation he could be in when he is trapped in a room with a white woman who starts screaming and attempting to force herself upon him for no apparent reason. He sees what is happening, however, in a very symbolic way- sees the woman as an embodiment of the racism he has been fighting against for his entire life. He does not try to kill a woman, nor does he even try to kill the shadow of his past, because he is not thinking in terms of murder. He is thinking in terms of silence and freedom; of being free from persecution and racism and being able to live life without this shadow looming over him. After the deed is done, however, Saul embraces imprisonment to escape his own freedom, and the terrible paradox of having a responsibility to express his freedom yet also having to check his actions and words for the benefit of others who are not truly free Wright brings up an interesting question by throwing Saul into this situation: is it possible to embrace true freedom while others around you are not experiencing the same thing? In Saul’s case, representative of modern American society, the answer is a clear and resounding “No.”
Freedom does not inherently hold a karmic charge. It is a concept which has been used and abused for both great good and great evil. It is more of a tool than a moral or social construct in today’s society, enabling countries to go to war and cultures to force themselves on one another. But it is also a tool that was used in the founding of America, in the change from monarchy to representative government, and in the emancipation of slaves. Ironically enough, however, while freedom itself is neither good nor evil, acting on the freedom inherent in humanity is always a Faustian bargain. The type of freedom in all humans is true freedom: the freedom of choice and from that stems all the other freedoms. Acting on this freedom without limits invariably results in at least some degree of evil occurring. When lighter skinned people chose to enslave those with darker skin, for example, a great evil occurred. When one group of people chose to assassinate the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and thus sparked the start of the First World War, another great evil occurred. Any time a person or group of people chooses to exercise true freedom, freedom of choice, without regard for the laws and rules imposed on the rest of society, they indeed partake in a Faustian Bargain on a very concrete level. It is said that Faust went outside of the rules established by society by selling his soul to the devil, and because of this was able to play the violin prodigiously. People who operate outside the restrictions of society and exercise the true freedom inherent in humans, ironically enough, gain great power while separating themselves from the very thing which makes them human in the first place. Even brutes and pack-animals have the capacity for choice. Only humans have both the ability and responsibility to curtail that freedom for the benefit of others.
Perhaps the best example of this principle can be seen in the Joseph Conrad Novella Heart of Darkness. In it, a sailor named Marlow explains his own experiences with imperialism and true freedom in the African jungle. One of the most important parts of the story is a character named Kurtz, who has embraced his freedom fully, but in doing so, lost that which has made him human. Carried about on a chair like a god, he is described as “a skeleton” and Marlow tells the reader that it appears as if Kurtz is “made of ivory”. He still reports to the company, and indeed, is the leading producer of ivory, but he operates outside of all the rules. He exercises his own complete freedom by ruling with absolute power through fear; he decorates his fence with the “skulls of rebels” and refuses to let anyone treat him as anything less than a god