I remember the experience I had in my former office as an employee with my colleagues in the office. The MD was so kind to us that he gave everyone the liberty to use some of the office materials. I was the administrative assistant then, and it was my duty to replace all finished items in the office, including refilling the diesel.
I do buy enough beverages for office use and some toiletries. So imagine giving humans the freedom to use something that does not belong to them—something they didn't spend their money on. Of course, many people will abuse the opportunity, while some won't. In this case, some of our staff will take tea in the morning, in the afternoon,and even at the close of work hours, with such an excessive amount of usage. something they wouldn't do if it was bought with their hard-earned money. Some even take it home to use. This beverage was just something to assist the staff in kickstarting their early morning job, but because of the freedom they had, it was a total abuse. Same to diesel usage. Sometimes, even when the office has been shut down for the day, they will still turn on the big generator and burn diesel for their personal use. Going home has become a forgotten issue because they have the freedom to use office resources. This is just a typical example and a tip of what will happen if we live in a world with too much freedom.
As each month passes, the MD discovers that bills are really increasing in the office. I now request money too often to replace beverages and refill the diesel. He quickly did a review and revoked the whole freedom given to the staff. Everyone took care of their breakfast from that day until I left the company. The generator must not be functional once office hours are over! You see, when there are level restrictions, people tend to behave better knowing that there are possible consequences to their actions; being conscious of their deeds becomes possible.
From my point of view, too much freedom sounds like people should be living without rules. That is to say, there are no restrictions on whatever actions people take. Remember, freedom itself means that people are free or at liberty to do anything without any hindrances. When there is too much freedom, abuse will become inevitable for many people. This is because people know that they can do anything they wish and get away with it. You wouldn't hear of someone being jailed for a particular act. People will be taking other people's property forcefully without any consequences. There will be no boundaries to what humans can do, and that will cause chaos in our world.
Freedom is better when given with restrictions; the effects of too much freedom will look like what I mentioned above and much more negative. Take my kids and I as an example, just as I replied to merit ahama:
There was a holiday. I thought that my kids had worked hard all through the term. I remember depriving them of TV for weeks and playing outside the compound. Holiday came, and I told them that they are free to play as they like and watch TV as they want. Hmmmm, I didn't know what I was thinking before making such a statement 😳😳, You needed to watch the drama unfold through a CCTV camera. They turned my house upside down in the name of play. They disturbed the neighbors with so much noise. Then at night, they would remain glued to the TV til midnight..hmmmmm, I came back to my senses asap and made my home rule stand again. The moment they realized that there was once again a functional rule, they behaved well.
Too much of everything is bad. Too much freedom can always result in so much negativity for many people. There should be some level of restriction. If not, abuse will be on the increase and will be difficult to control in our society.
This post is in response to the #hivelearners contest on the topic titled Too much freedom
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