The Freedom to Exist

“There are none so enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free.” -Goethe


These beautiful artworks created by a cross section of Deviant Arts finest capture a snapshot of the freedom that the majority of us in the Western world take for granted. Everyday we are faced with an important truth about freedoms in society: they are all bought at the expense of other freedoms. The question we need to ask ourselves is "do we really possess authentic freedom or is our perceived freedom a cheap imitation?". How would you define freedom?






The Other Face of Freedom


"When all government, domestic and foreign, in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the center of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another and will become as venal and oppressive as the government from which we separated."-- Thomas Jefferson.

Our World is not free. When we think about the meaning of freedom, it’s usually in the context of analyzing the relationship between us and the governments under which we live. Whilst government corruption, wars, repression, bigotry, violence, hate, racism, media corruption and religious discrimination exist we will never know freedom. The international war on terror has turned into an ongoing war on freedom and democracy which is now setting new norms - where accountability, scrutiny and human rights protections are luxuries to be curtailed or discarded in defence of democracy. War is the total loss of freedom. War confines, war dictates, war destroys. War demands that one controls another – and yet no one is in control.

What we do know and what we are being spoon-fed is fear and propaganda. Across the world we watch in "fear" as countries war with each other, as human beings in every corner of the globe are repressed, tortured for their beliefs and their religious ideologies. Freedom is inversely proportional to this fear; fear measures the extent to which our freedoms are limited.People crave liberation from poverty, and they hunger for the dignity of free will. As a society, if we have to die to preserve our freedom, then surely something is very wrong. Any freedom that is less than absolute is a freedom that can be denied us, and that is the nature of fear.

History has shown us that political tyranny comes in both horrific forms and benign forms. But tyranny is tyranny, and no form of tyranny, not even the benign type, is freedom. Therefore the question arises: assuming that the existence of government is critical to ensure freedom, how do we ensure that those who are elected to office do not wield dictatorial powers?

“The party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness; only power, pure power… The object of power is power … The world that we are preparing is a world of victory after victory, triumph after triumph: an endless pressing, pressing, pressing upon the
nerve of power.” George Orwell – Nineteen Eighty Four.







Only Through Choice do we have Freedom

Freedom looks at each individual, not as an enemy because he thinks differently and not to give us the right to tell him he is wrong. Freedom understands the value of each individual difference – being RIGHT for himself – and Freedom honours those differences because each individual holds himself to his own standards. Freedom allows room for differences and celebrates diversity – for without differences or diversity how would we ever grow stronger in our humanity? How would we ever remain free?

Restrictions on basic human freedoms and liberties are occurring in every corner of the world. Look around, read the news, explore, research, document. Use your voice and your art to highlight such atrocities. Below are just a tiny list of recent news stories you should be aware of in this ongoing erosion of our freedom and civil liberties.

This article is a thinking point - stop, look and listen. Healthy debate on all sides of the issue is encouraged. My thanks and respect to all the artists featured here - please visit their pages - many of these creatives put themselves in the middle of conflict to bring us such important images. We can all make a difference; we can all ask the questions.


The Video Surveillance Market Is About to Explode!
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Chicago Tribune: There Is No Such Thing As A War For Free
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New Proposals To Fight Global Warming Would End Civilization, Kill Billions
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USA Today: Tibetans expect little help from world
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China Sends Thousands of Troops Into Tibet
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Al Jazeera: Sudan 'targeted Darfur civilians'
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Al Jazeera: Kurds killed in Turkey protests
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Al Jazeera: Many die in Pakistan missile strike
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Food Riots in Egypt
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Blogger Charged in Russia
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Daily Mail: Children To Be Put In Database and Tracked For Life
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Soon U.S. Citizens Must Ask for Government Permission to Fly or Travel
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Epoch Times: Will Chinese Regime Silence Media's Coverage of Tibetan Protests?
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BBC: Heathrow fingerprint plan probed
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