True Freedom Denied

The only freedom which deserves the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. Each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental and spiritual. Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest.
- John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) "On Liberty"

I will keep this post brief but in the Philippine context, it is pretty obvious that my country has failed to live up to Mr. Mill's definition of what true Freedom means.

As a people, we have been denied for so long the right to pursue a life of happiness and good on our own terms. We have always been denied the right to decide what would be positive or negative for us individually. Certain sectors within our society such as the Catholic Church and its lackeys in government, along with the oligarchs, have taken it upon themselves to decide what would be good or bad for all of us.

The examples are all around us and come in various forms: press and movie censorship; the absence of a divorce law; the absence of a comprehensive reproductive health bill; a "cheap labor" economy; systemic graft and corruption; the absence of strong anti-discrimination and anti-sexual harassment laws in the workplace; dirty and violent elections; and the unfair and unequal administration of justice. These are but to name a few.

The absence of true freedom has set our country back. In my humble opinion, denying the people the chance to decide what makes them happy and what is good for their own well-being tends to demoralize them and kill individual initiative.

The country has so many structural problems that require immediate attention and meaningful solutions. I've often wondered if we will ever see the day when these problems will finally get resolved. Millions of our countrymen have already lost all hope that they're now leaving the country in droves to fulfill their dreams elsewhere. People will always go where they feel their skills are needed and where they know they will be fairly compensated for their contributions.

We will never be able to fix our nation's problems for as long as we fail to conduct intelligent and open-minded discussions in an environment that's free from fear and intolerance. It is only through open, honest and thoughtful discussion of issues will many brilliant ideas see the light of day. But until then, our nation's problems will remain simply because certain powerful sectors of our society have decided that what's good for them ought to be good for the rest of us.