Nigerian Youths. Freedom and responsibility One of my greatest fears about the youth of our country is that they are either not being taught or do not remember what true heroism is all about. Some of our youths appear not to know what it takes to be a true hero. Even our culture seems to be losing sight of authentic heroism. Athletes and actors have become the heroes of the day in the way and manner their talents are appreciated and celebrated. Consequently, those who are barely old enough to vote are counting millions of naira while our civil servants, like school teachers, find it difficult to meet their needs. Thousands fill the stadiums to watch a team play some kind of sport while many a times our military men and women return home from special duties without any form of applaud. This year, we celebrate the Centenary of our country as one nation. To protect this God-given gift, millions of men and women have shed their blood for the freedom we enjoy in this great country. Are those who died so that we can live not the true heroes? To what extent do we care about protecting our interests in the world to the neglect of standing up to tyranny, evil and hates to upholding what is right and good. Our fallen men and women understood that it was about the common good much more than just me. It is about all men, women and children everywhere, they wished the best and so, they worked for the best of all. This is what makes our nation the greatest and most populous in Africa. We should not be comfortable with just our own freedom since the thing about freedom is that when you find it, you can’t just enjoy it; you have to share it with others. Yes, freedom comes with a huge responsibility. Our freedom was purchased at such a high price that we must honour the memory of those who paid for it by sharing it with everyone as much as we can. We are losing our sense of responsibility to the point that we are growing tired of fighting who and where we should. Otherwise, it would mean that we do not value the price that was paid for us by our past heroes. The danger in this shift is that if we don’t turn it around, we will breed a generation that will be so numb to tyranny that at the end, we will land on our shoreline that can make us captive without a struggle. We must ensure that this does not happen, by starting now to teach our citizens, especially the youths, what freedom is all about. That is the greatest way we can show respect and honour to the real heroes of our land. Freedom and responsibility should be a kind of political programme, which consists of an outline political-economic philosophy, and a set of suggested policies that reflect that philosophy. This should stand as a reference point for those who agree in spite of affiliation and food for thought and stimulus for debate for those who disagree, since human beings prosper through cooperation, people should be free to cooperate. It is not optional not to accept the consequences of our choices, and to respect and protect each others’ freedom since my own freedom naturally should end where the other’s begins. Obviously, it is not everyone who will respect that responsibility voluntarily and so, it is the role of our law makers to ensure and enforce rules and responsibilities that will maximize freedom and cooperation. In an organised society, refusal to take part in political actions is being indifferent and an abandonment of responsibility. This is a time when those who would keep our nation free and also responsibly ordered must raise their voices and take a stand in the process which makes our liberty possible. We have to be devoted in defending and preserving the freedom of people; given such freedom, the people should devote themselves to the common good which is responsible freedom. Human beings should at least agree on the main points, mainly that responsible freedom should be safeguarded while, at the same time, immoderation that harm this freedom should be checked. They have to agree that freedom of expression does not grant freedom to harm others and break laws. Solutions lie in having a proper setup, more important is to have authentic practitioners regulating their work through an association, or a society that will inform the public of their limits and duty to publish objective, balanced news, and accept various opposing views in a law-abiding manner. The height of freedom is to recognize that your freedom is tied up with the freedom of others. Freedom may be a personal matter, but it is not a private matter, it is a gift and a privilege, it is a path to a fuller life. If there are areas of your life where you aren’t fully claiming your freedom, seek to understand why not and move to claim it amicably. If you feel overwhelmed by the weight of responsibility that comes with freedom, then remember that you are collaborating with others in service of a spirit that has more creative power than you or any one of us could ever imagine. We are not liberated until we liberate others; man is a being to others. Freedom is a specifically human mode of existence and only that which is the realisation of freedom can be good in the human sense, one cannot live in society and be free of society. With this understanding, freedom denotes the breaking of all human and social ties with the world and thus implies only an abstract symbol. Such freedom, indicate either a withdrawal from life or a complete opposing of oneself to social standards on the principle. However, there is no action that does not in some way affect another person; there are no completely isolated human beings. The person who alienates himself from the community does harm to that community. The individual is not free always to act as he sees fit. He must coordinate his actions with those of the people around him. It is his/her responsibility to correlate his/her behaviour with their interests and activities. He/she is compelled to suppress some of his/her feelings and impulses and channel them in different directions from what he/she may have wished. These channels are determined by historically formed social standards, which in relation to the individual have objective reality. Freedom doesn’t exist just for its own pleasure and it is the basis for responsibility. Freedom without responsibility is often lethargic, and responsibility without freedom is often mindless obligation. Freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of irresponsibleness, our lives cannot mean anything if we don’t take responsibility for our actions. Only one determined individual can actually make a difference and a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. What I mean here is that every one has a responsibility in contributing positively to the building of the nation in one way or the other. Remember, it is said that when the eyes are lifted up, the nose is also lifted. When speaking of freedom, one should not think of it as doing anything one likes.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 12:18:35 +0000
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