Finding Freedom, Leaving School
Freedom is the opportunity to live your life as you want to. It is a word that is anti-control-over-others and anti-authoritarian. Unfortunately, it is one of those words that, because it has such powerful and positive connotations, has been redefined by many people over the ages.
In Gorge Orwell’s book “1984” one of the mottos of the “Ministry of Truth” is “Freedom Is Slavery”. The reason behind the Ministry of Truth having this motto was to invoke negative associations with freedom and positive associations with the control enacted by the ministry. According to the ministry then, freedom is evil, and control over others is good. Today we continue to see this same message being promoted in our current political climate, that freedom brings evil and that only enforcement can bring about the good.
On Wednesday evening (13th of May) the New Zealand government passed a bill which greatly increased their powers of enforcement. Police officers and other members of the public charged with enforcement may now enter homes and businesses without a warrant and whether with violence or the threat of violence, enforce those declarations made by a few select people within the New Zealand government. The justification given for these threats of violence is that this has been done for the greater good of the public. We see that once again, control is associated with good and freedom is associated with the bad.
The reality is that a large majority of people (87% in the last available poll), particularly here in New Zealand, have been supportive of the enforcement actions of the government. They agree that freedom is the problem and that control is the solution. But how did we come by this mindset?
Over the years, I have begun to pursue freedom in my own life to a greater and greater extent. The most significant insight I have had regarding this is that freedom is not some far-off future state or some utopia. While I agree that I would have more freedom in my life if the violent and coercive actions of governments ended tomorrow, the reality is that multiple personal traps within our own lives are our most prominent barriers to freedom. There are things you and I can do today to greatly enhance our freedom, things that are there for the taking. I have been fortunate that I have been able to gain freedom in areas such as no longer being an employee, building and owning my own house, and getting to work on the things I love and enjoy.
One of the actions that most people in the world can take to enhance their freedom (although few do), is to be free of school. Free of the timetables, the homework, the boredom, as well as the bribes and punishments that come when one human tries to dictate what another person should learn and when they should learn it. Maybe there’s a reason why so many people who grew up in government schools enthusiastically endorse government control?
So a massive part of why I do educational consulting for those interested in Natural Learning, is that through voluntary interactions I seek to help adults and children alike to enhance the freedom they have in their lives. Switching from a schooled path of education to the path of Natural Learning is a very realistic and practical step that families can take to enhance their freedom. The biggest thing that often holds us back from taking this step to greater freedom is not the practical implications but rather the psychological ones.
Throughout my whole life, even from a very young age, the question that has kept my attention more than any other is the question of; “Why do we believe what we believe?” The pursuit of this question is what drove me to dive deep into the study of Christian apologetics and Christian theology. In more recent years this question has also driven me to leave Christianity and dive deeper into philosophy. It is also my current fascination as I watch people wrestle with the schooled mindset that has them needing to control what others think and do. Letting go of that is hard, and I see that same wrestling happening within myself as well. But at the end of the day, I believe that freedom is the good. Without freedom, we also can’t have virtue. An action can not be good and virtuous if it is done under coercion. Our actions must be free in order to be good.
So what can we do about the increase in government control? As terrible as it is, we need to remember that putting all our focus on what the government does or doesn’t do is putting our focus in the wrong place. You can’t control what the government does any more than I can. What you do control is yourself and the fact that there are undoubtedly many areas in your life where you do have the power to gain more freedom. Focus on maximising your freedom in these areas. If you have a family, this may include leaving behind the school system. If you want to talk more about this option, the invitation is open for you to have a conversation with me.
For many of the other areas in life where you can maximise your freedom, a great resource is a book I just recently finished reading called, “How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World” by Harry Browne. The central premise of this book is essentially what I am saying here; Even in an unfree world, there are still many ways within your reach to maximise your freedom.
It is not recognized in the full amplitude of the word that all freedom is essentially self-liberation — That I can have only as much freedom as I procure for myself by my ownness. — Max Stirner
