Nothing but the hand of perception can give freedom. Its real challenge is to be accepted by all beliefs close and far from it. To see freedom, is to be free, no matter how much common sense may contribute. It is freedom that supplies the choice whether or not to accept restrictions of life. And of course, when a simple perception is not enough, there is the inevitable question of that asks, are we free? In the pages of a dictionary, free is defined as having the legal and political rights of a citizen. Is that free? Is liberty the unrestricted, limitless saturation of decisions with any desired approach just as freedom is? Whether fact befriends determinism, soft determinism or randomness, freedom is as simple as a perception. And, dependent upon self-will, a perception, your perception, of freedom cannot be change by what is said to be true or false, fact or opinion.
If determinism-the belief that every action has been and is predetermined-were to exist as fact rather than opinion, responsibility would be tossed away into the abyss of myth. Conflict would serve its purpose, if it even existed at all, as amusement; the likable thought that drama exists in a perfect world, a perfect society. No matter what its ‘moral content’ may be, every action dispersed from every and any being would be intentional by the expectation of the omnipotent, predetermined outcome that cannot be distorted, altered or changed in even the tiniest way. Because it was all meant to be. Murder would be excused, thievery would be justified, and immorality would be no more than a lost figment, an Eldorado of its own. Every excuse and justification would put its weight upon the back of determinism. Since everything was meant to be, determined to happen, inevitably to come, there would be no reason to counterattack such a move of any sort or fashion. Murdering and stealing would merely be placing a piece down onto the incomplete puzzle. There would be no questions, for the puzzle is already complete, even with missing pieces. Total faith would be placed upon every action and despite what it may seem to be, determinism would ‘prove’ otherwise. Nothing would pass as unintentional, and everything would be said to have its flawless purpose in the jigsaw. Though, even with such a disagreeing hand on determinism’s shoulder, freedom within its natural restrictions-given that there was only one choice to make in the beginning-is still set aloft by a person’s perception. Even with the influence telling one that they held no control in any of their decisions, if such a person was to believe they were free, there would be no argument to offend. If freedom is perceived to exist behind iron bars of limitation, then freedom must, and cannot be disputed to, exist.
There is a gray middle-ground for those who wish not to take responsibility, but still desire to have the freedom to make choices good or bad. They stand upon the gray earth of soft- determinism…Such a belief begs, but it is still picky. It is an excuse for soft-determinism believers to fall back on when their actions brought to them what wasn’t necessarily wanted. But, of course, when a plan acquires the intended outcome, it is presumed to be free. Soft-determinism can, and should, share the same definition as indecision and irresponsibility. Freedom is morphed, unwillingly, into a pick and choose leisure. When freedom is convenient, it is warranted, but when freedom also means responsibility, there is suddenly no choice of decision making. To fit what is convenient, those under soft-determinism have the faith to choose whether or not they are free-and in such a loose context, freedom can come and depart in the life of a minute. The reason for such indecisive perception of freedom is not because soft-determinists are confused or lost in freedom’s profound meaning, but because they dwell on the ability to decided what actions of their own they are responsible for, and those they are not. So, when the opportunity comes for a promotion, soft-determinists are completely free to take it, but when life sentence is approaching for the murder they have committed, it is made clear that there is no responsibility taken for the action. It just wasn’t convenient enough… And unlike its older, more stringent, brother, soft-determinism does not view freedom as a perspective, but rather a subject to take advantage of. The only perception to be made present, is the idea that there is control in their hands to disregard responsibility whenever it is needy of a claimer.
Randomness isn’t random at all, but the reliant, responsible, appropriate idea that one’s actions are their actions to own, whether the influence behind them or the reason for. Excuses fail to pass when choices are made freely. Randomness is a void, waiting for the filling of decided choices, decision, actions, and every reverberation. This perception of freedom becomes the reason for vigilance and responsibility. It is only freedom that gives the choice to restrain oneself, or to let loose to limitless opportunities. With the understanding that you are free, and the freedom to establish your own responsibilities and boundaries, there is a commonly shared, widely spread conception of consequence, and because consequence exists, does not, in any splinter-of-a-way, limit one’s freedom. The choice is yours, free to make, free to give a decision, but because with the omnipotent freedom accepted, there are, and must be, boundaries that are chosen to be followed, or to be ignored and followed by consequence. Consequence not in the control of one’s freedom. Freedom cannot be given, but only accepted with the knowledge that it does not lay ground for ultimate power. It’s the fight for the fittest in the belief of randomness. With your own actions under your own free wing, responsibility must be given to understand that consequence and reaction is to follow. Even so, with the belief that your action is your own to chose, you are free to act, but may be tackled as a result. The extent of one’s freedom is solely dependent upon its acceptance and the perception that sees it always to be there, whether or not an outcome is as intended, the choice was still made freely.
The only way to truly, purely and organically have freedom, is to accept what is there for you to take, and to perceive that the liberty you are written under is free enough, if not purely free. When freedom is perceived to exist, there is nothing to say or see otherwise. Freedom is a definition different for every individual, and through each pair of eyes, it can exist behind the bars of a prison cell, or in the everlasting space of an unending prairie.