By Todd Hayen, PhD, RP
shrewviews.com

Remember the song, “Born free, as free as the wind blows. As free as the grass grows. Born free to follow your heart.”? ¹ Andy Williams sang it and made it famous. John Barry wrote the music, Don Black, the lyrics. It was written for the movie of the same name (“Born Free”) in 1966.

Pretty powerful, eh? And so very true. The movie is about a lion taken into captivity, and then ultimately released again into the wild, because it was “born free.” And must stay free. The movie could have just as well been about human beings. We, too, are born free, and are supposed to “stay free,” but many times throughout human history, we have not been free.

We have, in our memory, the more common bouts with abject slavery in the United States before 1864. But, there has been slavery everywhere in the world throughout time. And it is common knowledge that there are currently more slaves in the world than there were at the height of the intercontinental slave trade of the 18^th and 19^th centuries.²

There are other forms of stripping freedom from humans, in addition to the common perception of slavery, where human beings are owned by other human beings. They are often chained up so they do not escape, are treated horribly, including regular physical beatings, separating families through slave buying and selling, and an assortment of other atrocities. These other forms include serfdom, a practice seen in a variety of countries where the peasantry is “taken care of” by the gentry in return for hard labor primarily through agriculture. Imperial Russia had such a system, which was not removed until Alexander II’s “Edict of Emancipation” in 1861—preceding US President Abraham Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation” in 1863.

Of course, the history of serfdom, indentured servitude, goes back a very long way in some shape or form. These obvious systems remove individual rights and freedoms. What about more subtle systems? Communism? Socialism? Cults and cult-like religious groups? Dictatorships and Fascist systems? Sure, these are forms of governmental servitude. Can we really call what we are experiencing in Canada, the US, the UK, most of Europe, Australia, and New Zealand (among others), a new form of serfdom? I sure think we can. Maybe not yet to the degree Russian peasants experienced in the 18^th century, but it is getting close.

“Oh, please,” I can hear some of you say. “We are freer than people have been for centuries!” In some ways, true. That is why there is such a frenzy now when those “simple freedoms” are being threatened. It is the same reason why so many people think the oppression we are facing in the form of censorship of free speech, the loss of bodily autonomy, the rape of privacy, the militarization of law enforcement, and the litany of changes to rules and regulations, are just the “price we have to pay for a uniform and decent society.” It simply is nothing to be concerned about. That is what we are tricked into believing—we are told we need these restrictions to stay civilized. Free people seldom conform and comply. That is one of the beauties of a free society—diversity is allowed to flourish. No one wants it the same way, so we are forced to be tolerant of differences.

When we are restricted, we rebel. We become defiant. “Vive le France!” was the war cry during the French Revolution. Long live freedom—we were born to be free, and free we will be!

Freedom is indeed an inalienable right. These are rights that no one can take away. Born to be free implies living as God intended us to live. Free.

So where does “the joy of defiance” come in? Freedom is joyful. I think of my dogs when I think of joy. Much to my wife’s chagrin, my two Golden Retrievers are often not very disciplined. When they are out in the back yard running around like crazy dogs, they are incredibly joyful. You can see it in their body and in their eyes. When I call them to come in, and they are in the midst of having fun, they often do not listen. They stop, stand still, and look at me, “Nope, we’re not doing it! We are free dogs! And you can’t make us!” No, I cannot make them—unless I take away their freedom. If I get a leash and manage to get it attached to their collar, I can reel them in. But they have then lost their freedom. The defiance they show me before I catch them—while they are standing there looking at me with the smirk on their faces—is joyous and beautiful. They know I will not hurt them, so they just say, “F— you, master! We ain’t moving.” I have to laugh. I love them for this. I get my way most of the time (after all, they are dogs) but once in a while, I honour their autonomy. I know in the long run, that diminishes their obedience (my wife says), but I don’t care.

Can humans be like my dogs when they are under the firm grip of totalitarianism? Up to a point, they can, indeed, find joy in defiance. I know I do; once I shake off the fear, I find great joy in doing what I am not supposed to do—like writing these articles or not wearing a mask. It is like acting in alignment with truth. When you align with truth, even if your actions defy the “rules,” you are joyful. I believe this is a natural human condition—to be passionate about preserving freedom. I think the sheep-types have lost this; they have succumbed to the “master”—they have become the indentured servant, but more accurately, the serf, or even the slave.

We have all been under the tyranny of the social system for quite some time. I do believe it was not as bad as it was a few hundred years ago. It is worse now. The system itself is tyrannical. “Do this, do that, give up this, give up that, all for the benefit of your fellow man, your neighbour, your neighbour’s neighbour—or simply to be safe yourself.” Yes, all cultural systems require a bit of that, but in order to retain your freedom this sort of “give for the betterment of the community” must always be voluntary.

Follow your bliss, follow your joy in your defiance of the powers that wish to make you a slave—be free, as free as the wind blows, follow your heart.

1. musixmatch.com/lyrics/Matt-Monro/Born-Free

2. a.co/d/bxUb3Ys

Todd Hayen is a registered psychotherapist practicing in Toronto. He holds a PhD in depth psychotherapy and an MA in Consciousness Studies. You can find Todd’s writings at shrewviews.com