Thinking about Freedom at ACL
Reposted from https://abhi.dobhal.com/thinking-about-freedom-at-acl-dae75b8788df
This weekend, I attended Austin City Limits (ACL) for the second time. It’s my way of celebrating the city of Austin, Zilker park, and music from the past few decades. If you haven’t attended ACL yet, I highly recommend it.
Music festivals celebrate humanity by bringing people from all walks of lives together with one common purpose — to enjoy music. Music, in my opinion, is one of the top five legacies we can pass on to our future generations in addition to technology, art, dance and literature (in no particular order). Music celebrates Freedom — both freedom of speech and expression.
In spite of the perfect festival weather, it was evident that the recent Las Vegas shooting was on the minds of both the attendees and the artists. Ice Cube, in particular, was vocal in his unique way.
“Nobody can stop Freedom (followed by explicit phrases).”
The crowd cheered.
Allison Wonderland, on the other hand, struggled with finding the right words and resorted to just flipping the bird and then trying to explain what it represented. Sigh, but that’s a different story.
Anyways, I pondered about how many people stop to think about what Freedom means to them?
Freedom comes in so many forms, which ones do we cherish more than others? In what order? How do you perceive political, economic and religious liberties individually? Which one would you be willing to give up first?
The admissions committee at Acton, an MBA in Entrepreneurship program, had posed this as an admissions essay question six years ago. I love this question — there is no right or wrong answer but makes you think hard about what you stand for.
My thoughts on freedom haven’t changed much since I first jotted them down. If anything, the past few years pursuing my entrepreneurial journey have affirmed my beliefs about freedom.
Here is where I stand.
Even though I am not particularly religious, Religious liberty is the most personal of all freedoms, and therefore the last one I would give up.
Without religious liberty, individuals and communities would have no freedom to forge unique identities or challenge current beliefs. Restricting a person’s moral dialogue and search for meaning will inhibit intellectual, spiritual, and social growth. I believe that confining the thoughts and ideas of an individual would ultimately rot a society’s moral fabric.
Religious liberty is closely followed by political liberty. By allowing individual equality and autonomy, I view political freedom as a fundamental platform for forging, recognizing and amending commonly held laws and morals without fear. The United States, one of the most diverse nations, has allowed each ethnic group to contribute to its society over the past two hundred years. The resulting stream of fresh thoughts has allowed American society to evolve continuously and become a fertile land for innovation, both socially and economically.
Derived in part from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, I would give up economic liberty first. Religious liberty allows fulfillment of psychological needs, political liberty ensures safety and belonging, and economic liberty supports an individual’s self-esteem and self-actualization.
While some may argue that economic drivers can determine the political will, I believe these rewards are short-lived. The uncertainty caused by a lack of civil liberties can hamper innovation and prevent society from achieving its full potential.
As a seasoned traveler and aspiring entrepreneur, I have found that the most religiously and politically liberal countries tend to be the most innovative. For example, the UAE’s liberal approach relative to its Middle Eastern neighbors has allowed Dubai to become the region’s primary commercial hub. Even in the UAE, it is clear that with a lack of political and religious freedom, the benefits of economic liberty are limited.
What’s your stand on freedom? Thoughts?
