The halls of the Jackie Robinson museum showcase a life time’s worth of accomplishments of a man fighting for one thing. Freedom. For Jackie, his fight for freedom took many forms. Playing professional ball was the most obvious and for ten years he fought for equality on the field. However, he dedicated the majority of his life to education, economic, healthcare, and religious equality. As I walked through the museum, I simultaneously felt proud and ashamed. Proud of the person he was and the example he and many others set for future generations. Ashamed at where we are today.
Before you get the wrong idea, I’m not the “glass half empty” type of person. As I’ve written before, I believe the world as a whole has improved significantly over the course of human existence. Well, aside from environmentally but that’s a whole different topic altogether. But I am a realist who recognizes that system have and continue to be flawed. If you turn on the news, these flaws may seem dire, but that’s just because the networks are vying for your attention (and by your attention, I mean money). Although the news may offer a skewed perspective on reality, it has provided me with my own philosophy on freedom. As you’ll soon find out, true freedom is impossible to mass produce and takes a posture of selflessness in order to obtain it.
Before diving into specifics, I’d like to offer two definitions of freedom. The agreed upon definition of freedom is; the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. I find that this definition does an excellent job of articulating the components of freedom. As human beings we should be entitled to control our own actions, words, and thoughts. But as you are surely aware of, there are several outside forces that control our freedom. Governments, social pressures, parents, friends, partners, children, religious affiliations; each take a piece of our individual freedom. There is also another subtle force that controls our freedom better than all of those elements combined. The internet.
In the midst of the digital age, we are all influenced by our devices. Disguised as omnipotence, our phones and laptops have us believing we are free when under the surface, we are more enslaved than ever before. I constantly feel the burden of this gift. In my daily life, I rely on my phone to work, connect, navigate, and learn. I am of course grateful for this, however, I also constantly grapple with the power in my hands. Am I really using it to enhance my individual freedoms or am I enslaving myself.
This brings me to my definition of freedom. To me, freedom is self awareness and control. Going back to Jackie Robinson, although he too was living in a system designed to inhibit his expression of freedom, he had the wherewithal to see through the veil and act accordingly. Martin Luther King did this expertly at times, as did Malcolm X. So did Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Plato, Confucius, Muhammed, and many other titans of freedom. Within their times in history, through their forms of expression, they each became beacons of free expression. Of course each of them had their flaws but they used those faults to connect deeper with their cultures. Their messages of freedom inspired a world that, unlike the individuals themselves, could not be silenced, imprisoned, or killed.
But freedom doesn’t stop there. It goes beyond both our external and internal experiences. And there was one man who lived by this additional component of freedom. Forgive my bias but I believe there is no better model of true freedom than Jesus. Throughout his short life, his message of freedom was contrary to any other definition throughout the course of history. In his mind, true freedom was an expression of humble service of others.
We are all called to freedom. But do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
Galatians 5:13
This is the most powerful definition of freedom I have come across. Freedom to act, speak, and think, obtaining self awareness and control over those actions, these are all pieces of the puzzle. And yet Jesus argued that there was more to it. It’s not obtaining freedom that is the goal, rather it is how freedom is used. Your freedom as an individual is valuable to a point. What matters more is how you use that freedom to ensure others experience it the same way you are.
You can be unchained to the world and still lose your soul.
Over 1,900 years later, Jackie had times where he lived out a truly free existence. Yes he broke the color barrier in baseball for himself. But after that he served his community. Jackie used his abilities on the field to inspire people in the stands and outside the ballpark. Just as the great advocates of freedom did before him.
Walking through the building at the corner of Varick and Canal, I was reminded of what freedom is really about. It’s not about being the best athlete or whatever profession you’re in. It’s not about acting however you want, saying whatever you want, or thinking whatever you want. It’s not even about maintaining control over your mind, body, and soul. It’s taking capturing our freedom so we can help others do the same.