"Liberation?" Amazing, the extent to which criminal instincts persist in human nature. I use the word "criminal" deliberately. Freedom and crime are linked as indivisibly as....well, as the motion of the aero and its speed: when its speed equals zero, it does not move; when man's freedom equals zero, he commits no crimes. That is clear. The only means of ridding man of crime is ridding him of freedom.
I started reading the book We by Yevgeny Zamyatin and this quote is the topic that I am going to write about today.
No one likes crime. Part of the reason why we elect to become a member of society is for protection. Without an orderly society to keep us safe, we would be left to the animals of the world, both human and beast alike.
Crime is one of those things that we are obligated to mitigated as possible. But how much would be too much? Where do we draw the line?
The reason why this quote spoke to me so much is that there are conceivably very simple measures we can take to reduce crime dramatically.
- Ban all guns and weapons so he/she isn't tempted to kill
- Give him/her limited to no contact with other humans
- Give him/her food for free
- Give him/her a cell
- Give him/her access to recreational drugs so he/she can stay happy
There. Crime would instantly go away when a man treated a like a house pet. No freedom to move or act dishonestly.
Just like in the quote, when man's freedom equals zero, he commits no crimes. I would like to add that there are other things that occurs when a man's freedom equals zero. His freedom in this case, must be all encompassing. He must not be given the freedom to feel. Just as how he wouldn't be capable of crime, he also would not be capable of committing heroic acts. He also cannot love, he cannot hate, he cannot feel passion, he cannot feel any emotions.
Do we want to live in a world like that? Of course not. We are humans not robots.
There is a price to be paid for everything. There is a price to be paid for safety and there is a price to be paid for freedom. And coincidently, the price is each other.
Personally, I would choose freedom over safety. I have lived a relatively simple and safe life. Needless to say, I felt bored and lifeless. Like many others, I find some enjoyment indulging in various forms of entertainment. But those small doses of artificial dopamine, from living in virtual realities can only take me so far. I felt like I was coping with my inability to experience a sense of excitement, and danger in the real world. So I read books, play video games, watch TV etc. But something just didn't feel right.
Nowadays, I want something authentic, something that is longer lasting. I want the ability to feel scared, to feel happy and excited.
To move on from video fighting game to something like actual boxing
To move on from adventure books to an actual adventure
To move on from TV suspense to actual suspense
If that means that I may get hurt or killed then it's a small price to pay. A safe world doesn't mean it's a good one.
Thanks for reading!