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3387;
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Quietly Loud Nigeria
Creative Writer | History Student | Learning People and Processes @ Lagos State University
In People and Society 3 min read
FREEDOM IS THE PRETTIEST WORD FOR BONDAGE
<p>They say we are free.</p><p><br/></p><p>Free to speak.  </p><p>Free to move.  </p><p>Free to live.  </p><p>But are we really?</p><p><br/></p><p>We throw the word "freedom" around like confetti on Independence Day.  </p><p>We say it with our chests like we own it.  </p><p>But if you look close really look  </p><p>You'll realize freedom is a beautifully packaged illusion.</p><p><br/></p><p>If we were truly free, there wouldn’t be rules.  </p><p>No constitutions. No commandments. No consequences.  </p><p>Because freedom – real freedom – would mean doing whatever, whenever, however.  </p><p>But that’s not the world we live in.</p><p><br/></p><p>We’re bound by systems.  </p><p>By beliefs.  </p><p>By laws.  </p><p>By expectations that were crafted before we even took our first breath.</p><p><br/></p><p>Tell me, are we free when a man is caged for speaking too loudly?  </p><p>Are we free when a woman’s choice over her own body is debated by strangers?  </p><p>Are we free when we're told who to worship, how to love, what to think?</p><p><br/></p><p>Christians? Muslims? Buddhists?  </p><p>We are guided, no, instructed to live by holy texts.  </p><p>Do this, avoid that, say this prayer, follow that path.  </p><p>Obedience in exchange for salvation.</p><p><br/></p><p>Is that freedom... or a sacred form of control?</p><p><br/></p><p>If freedom truly existed, there would be no prisons.  </p><p>No death sentences. No need for justice because nothing would be unjust.  </p><p>The rapist would walk free.  </p><p>The murderer wouldn’t need to hide.  </p><p>Because freedom in its rawest form knows no boundary. No punishment. No moral code.</p><p><br/></p><p>But you see, we need boundaries.  </p><p>Because without them, the world would burn.  </p><p>So we build fences and call them laws.  </p><p>We draw lines and call them order.  </p><p>We control people and call it leadership.</p><p><br/></p><p>Even in democracy the "government of the people" the people are still ruled.  </p><p>Ruled by the powerful.  </p><p>Ruled by documents.  </p><p>Ruled by the illusion that their voice alone is enough.</p><p><br/></p><p>We’re not as free as we think.</p><p><br/></p><p>Even life itself doesn’t give you freedom.  </p><p>You can’t choose when to be born, or how.  </p><p>You can’t command death to stay away.  </p><p>You’re not free from pain, from loss, from time.  </p><p>You’re not free from the body you’re in.  </p><p>You’re not free from needing to survive.</p><p><br/></p><p>Freedom... is a shadow.  </p><p>It moves like it’s real.  </p><p>It whispers like truth.  </p><p>But it disappears the moment you try to hold it.</p><p><br/></p><p>Freedom is the shadow of freedom.  </p><p>Freedom is the cousin of control.  </p><p>Freedom is the prettiest word for bondage.</p>
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FREEDOM IS THE PRETTIEST WORD FOR BONDAGE
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