The Free Radical

Why is freedom important? Is it?

Freedom is only important to those who believe that a human being is capable of personal growth. Only if it’s possible to learn from our mistakes, is it then imperative that we are allowed to freely choose our own mistakes.

Perhaps this is obvious, but I think that too often it is forgotten. Parents wish to prevent their children from “making the same mistakes that we did.” Our society seeks to prevent various “tragedies” from happening, and consequently limits our choices accordingly. But at a very basic level we are being denied fundamental growth experiences by “allowing” others to make decisions on our behalf.

“Mistakes” only become “tragedies” when we fail to learn from them. More than anything I am aware of, it is our errors which prompt the swiftest and most enduring changes in our lives and ourselves. The process of learning– especially through the recognition of our own errors– results in the opportunity for growth.

Throughout life we are granted limitless warnings and pre-emptive admonitions of all the things we shouldn’t do. And yet quite often we find ourselves– or at least I do– engaging in those very behaviours we were warned against. We need to find out for ourselves.

“Don’t touch the stove; you’ll get burned!” But it’s such a pretty shade of red. “Don’t lick a lamppost in the middle of winter; you’ll get stuck!” I think it was my brother who told me that one. I didn’t believe him (brothers are notorious liars). The day after I’d put it to the test I could still see part of my lower lip frozen to the lamppost. Learning the lesson about cold metal and wet lips was only part of the lesson. I also learned that sometimes my brother actually tells me the truth. Now if only I could figure out when those times were…

Those are the relatively easy lessons from our formative years. But as we get older, the situation becomes increasingly more complex. Hot stoves burn pretty much everyone who touches them. But when we look at things like medical interventions or the illegality of certain foods and medicines, then we’re heading into territory where individual variations and personal choice are complex but extremely important issues.

Do parents have the final say as to the type of medical treatment their child receives? Should doctors have the final say? Should the State? How about the child… and at what age? These are not easy questions– to ask or answer. Recently I read an article in the Natural News in which a child’s fate was being decided in the courts after parents and oncologists disagreed on the course of further treatment. Personally, I find the idea that a doctor can override the parents’ and the patient’s wishes horribly repugnant.

Yes, there is a certain standard of care which is based upon statistical analysis. The doctor says “This is your best chance for survival”… according to his statistics. This means “You still might not make it. Some don’t.” So when a court of law upholds the doctor’s decision, they have decided to treat this particular human patient as a statistic. They are rolling the dice because they feel good about the odds.

A doctor has every right and even a professional obligation to try to persuade or convince his patients that a particular course of treatment is warranted and ultimately desirable. But the patient (or his parents in the case of a minor) as an individual with a unique constitution and a unique life experience must retain the right to choose for himself what course to follow… and live (or die) with the consequences.

In a world that’s pathologically obsessed with ownership and possession, we must ask the basic question: Do our lives belong to us? As long as I don’t encroach upon the rights of others, can I do what I wish with my own life? And that would necessarily include the right to inadvertently harm myself if I make a “mistake.” I should choose the lessons I wish to pursue in this lifetime. Governments, priests and medical interventionists are free to offer me their favoured choices, but I demand the right to reject them on whatever personal grounds make sense to me. The tyrannical alternative denies me a measure of personal growth opportunity, and the very expression of my unique soul.

There I said it. I believe in souls… spirit, higher self, guide, subconscious… whatever. I am convinced that there is some greater awareness, some organizing intelligence, that knows more than my own personal ego. I am in a constant relationship with that higher source. I try to make decisions that teach me about my relationship with that higher source. Who has the right to undermine that sacred relationship? Who may rightly decide for me which parts of my own soul are off limits? My government? My doctor? The police as they handcuff me for smoking marijuana, or for daring to consume unpasteurized milk? It’s absurd… and evil.

All my life I have struggled to define evil and to understand its motivation. Perhaps it is just this: evil is the curtailment of another’s right to choose for himself what lessons he’d learn. And evil finds expression through mere arrogance: “You are somewhat stupid and naive, and therefore I must protect you from yourself. I know better.” How can anyone know better than me what lessons would feed and nurture the growth of my relationship with my own soul? How could it even be remotely possible? Even if I’m a total moron in this life, the “mistakes” I make are exactly appropriate for my own personal growth opportunities. When others make vital choices on my behalf, they are actively denying me the very reason for my existence. Freedom is everything!

And it’s about the only thing really worth dying for.