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Freedom

Winner of the Independence Day Essay Contest organized by the US Embassy in Sofia

Eric Kostadinov

Freedom, being a multi-dimensional subject, brings up thoughts in my mind, about how much of it I can actually present in a single writing piece. It is the most primary and yet primitive human need, which forces every single individual to look for it, one way or another. It is a concept, which everybody understands in his own way, the way that suits him the most. It doesn’t matter if one is looking for liberation from slavery or ways to set his own soul free – it is the single most powerful idea that can unite people under a single cause, give them strength to conquer, power to prevail over tyrants or just get over their own personal demons. On every level, freedom is something worth struggling for and worth every single sweat for its achievement.
            It is said, that freedom is not free. It’s paid for with sacrifices, those of people, who gave their life for the mutual peace. Fathers, brothers, even children threw themselves fearlessly into battles with the names of their loved ones as a battle scream. Without any inhibition and pushed by a single simple idea, they fought and won the world, which we can now call ours and put the wonderful epithet ‘free’ in front of it. If there is a lack of a higher goal, there would be nothing to push a man on the battlefield. That battlefield’s origin might vary though, from a real-time warzone to a more metaphorical meaning such as illustrating one’s life and the battles that have to be won, in order to feel the liberation of your soul from all the chains, that keep her bound to trivial emotions and everyday life matters.
            History is strewn with countless wars; some of them clear examples of how slavery can affect the human mind and give it strength to accomplish heroic victories. Dignity is also involved as a key factor, even if it’s stomped on during the enslavement, a piece of it stays inside, along with the hope and the will to fight. Every single person has a fighter within himself and the desire to be free is more than enough to bring that warrior to the surface. From that point on, nothing is more important, than being victorious and fighting your way to liberty. Having in thought the frailty of will and weakness of people’s minds, it’s extremely impressive how  a berserker is born in the middle of the war, whose one and only dream is to simply be free. Nobody feels joy being a slave and when freedom is at stake, death is no longer feared. Some even welcome it with open arms, because they would prefer oblivion than oppression. Battles are won, with passion, provoked from the need to secure those who are close to you. If there is a thing that is stronger than the own instinct of preservation and passion for freedom, that is the protection of family. A mother would gladly sacrifice her life, just to ensure her children’s safety, as well as a man would die with a smile on his face, as long as his beloved one is untouched by the poverty of war. For them, death is only a relief from life on earth, and the defense of their cause is what would set them free at the end.
            Freedom comes in many forms and war is only the first that comes to mind. In a country that is not under the mark of slavery, people might still feel chained, due to personal problems and discomfort, concerning their natural course of life. For example, the need for expression of your personal emotions, thoughts and beliefs is an illusion, created by the lack of attention by the surrounding people. That is indeed troubling for some and the feeling that they are not understood will act as a shackle, binding to the level of needs for belonging. Depending on your imagination, range of vision over life and necessity for developing, moral freedom will be visualized differently.
            Unconsciously, without actual realization, people will always be slaves. They are constantly in servitude of the norms of society and are unable to make a personal choice. They will do anything to apply to the communal opinion and they well lead their lives under a set of norms, already established. People are unable to make choices all by themselves and freedom takes away that ability. The human kind needs guidance, a shepherd that would lead them to somewhere, otherwise, no development would be present.  An establishment is needed for the weak followers and that without a doubt makes them captives of their own disability to go above triviality and escape the standard. ‘Freedom is slavery’. George Orwell expressed clearly that idea in his provocative views and maybe he was right.
            Freedom comes in many forms and is comprehended by everybody differently. Some fight for liberation whereas others struggle for personal emancipation. The one thing that unites all aspects is the fight we all put in order to get where we want. The power is within us, all we have to do is straighten our priorities and fight for them. Nobody else is going to do it instead of us – the battle is our own, as well as the ideas we support. When those ideals are confronted, the simplest thing we have to do is defend them.

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