Freedom; what is it--and what is it not?
Please, watch this and listen:
It is a great word, "freedom", an incredible concept; but finally, what is it?
Can governments deliver on their proclamations and pronouncements of freedom? Can they offer anything more than a flag and a few ideas--even giveaways--as some sort of bait & switch? The answer is "no"; indeed, governments or the state operate by force alone, whether through militancy or the media, the controlling of the mind, the masses.
Freedom (or liberty) is not the supposed right to do what you want, but rather, to do what you should.
What should you do?
What is the right thing?
Please, do not depend on the state to set the basis of what is right, the right thing? Like any one of us alone, the state is prone to corruption but, with immense power, puts corruption into practice on a scale as no other.
The state nor any such institutions can deliver on freedom. Where then does freedom, to the extent of possibilities, come from?
Freedom to its fullest comes only through death, if at all, when the soul is set completely free from corruption.
A hero in the making is one who is learning to overcome fears; perhaps, he is realizing that fear(s) is/are or can be very real, but often are simply the absence of love (if you consider that love overcomes fears).
Mentioned in the last article as an example of a hero, a woman decides to try to have a child, to give birth. In the ages of history, it was not that long ago that childbearing was much more fatal ; and thus, all the more a hero she is--or was. Sometimes, perhaps more often than not, she did not decide on her own--or decide at all--but the decision was one of her husband and/family (at the same time, it was convention for women to bear children).
Aside from the health risks, child bearing is crucial to a society (any society showing a sustained, declining birthrate is dying). It is (or was) heroic to bear children but it is/was also heroic to raise them and, preferably, to do it well. For the ages, folks have formed families, tribes, clans and communities that constitute a society, civilization, and undoubtedly there have been many unsung heroes along with those who never qualify.
Mothers can be heroes in many ways, not the least of which is their love and care for their family; but even though they bear children, still, a mother may fail to love, to care and to offer herself a sacrifice (much of the same applies to men, fathers and family).
What then finally makes a parent a hero (principally to his children)?
It is an undying love.
I have a T-shirt from with a related slogan: "Not all heroes wear capes". This was a gift for giving blood. The prior time I got a blanket and now the T-shirt.
But giving blood is sometimes what heroes do; that is, they (him or her) make great sacrifices and sometime suffer much for the sake of others. They may not actually shed blood but the do sacrifice and perhaps would give their lives if the need arose.Heroes are not out for themselves.
Who is our hero(s)? What do you consider heroism, heroic?
It is said or believed that the hero (traits) are fundamentally truthfulness and unselfishness. However super the hero, they must carry these two qualities, behaviors and lifestyle. Yes, super-heroes dazzle us with their theater but it more than person behind the mask, armor and all than the appearance, perception.
In his book Dark Moon, author David Gemmell writes:
Heroes are people who face down their fears. It is that simple. A child afraid of the dark who one day blows out the candle; a women terrified of the pain of childbirth who says, "It is time..."
He continues,
There's no shame in fear. But understand this--the coward is ruled by fear, while the hero rides it like a wild stallion.
I guess then that a hero must master his fears.
