We all want to be free, but do we really know what freedom is and what it involves?

The herd of humankind has turned away from freedom, because it requires effort, thought, responsibility and courage. Above all it requires courage, and in many ways true courage is freedom of thought and freedom of ideas in action. Ultimately you can have as many good ideas or intentions as you wish but it is your actions that count.

Even when awakened to the true nature of the horror unfolding before our very eyes people still search for leaders, for people to tell them what to do and how to do it, but this is not freedom. You must choose your own path and your own ways. Yes work with other people, meet other people and form groups. Yes make use of their ideas and resources where possible, yes stand on the shoulders of giants, but for any real long term change to take place the majority must be aware, active, and free. Simply replacing one leader for another can never work - this is exactly the illusion of democracy we are under now, people vote for one of the many faces of the same beast as though this were an expression of freedom or free choice rather than the sick joke that it is.

When Robin Cook spoke out against the Iraq war and subsequently resigned he was reinforcing freedom, his own freedom, freedom of choice and freedom to choose the right thing. When Ghandi walked to the sea to collect salt he was demanding freedom, his own freedom and that of his fellow countrymen. When the Chinese guy stood in front of the tanks rolling in to kill the Tiananmen Square protest he was acting in freedom. When Michael Meecher spoke out about the phony war on terror, or Ron Paul demanding an audit of the Federal reserve, they were acting for freedom. When you write to your political representative, speak to your friends and neighbours about important issues, and campaign for real justice you are acting for freedom. When the jackbooted, black uniformed thugs come,remember it is you who is free and they who are the slaves.

It is costly when you stand up against tyranny, but not to do so will come at far greater cost. To delay in acting, to fail to speak out against false opinion and factual incorrectness it a crime against freedom and a crime against yourself. It is not an option to hide behind silence and anonymity and to keep alive the joy of your own humanity.

Remember, it takes a truly free mind to admit mistakes and to shake off old conceptions and false identities.