Individual Freedoms

We Are Free Together

“I do my thing, and you do your thing.

I am not in this world to live up to your expectations,

And you are not in this world to live up to mine.

You are you and I am I.

And if by chance we find each other, it’s beautiful.

If not, it cannot be helped.”

                          Fritz Perls (A Gestalt Prayer)

         I came of age in the 1960’s.  Our country was fighting a war in Viet Nam with drafted soldiers.  Most of us had no idea why we were there except that our government said we needed to “stop the spread of communism” and “protect our national interests.”  There was great unrest among our ranks.  That unrest produced protest, insurrection and violence.  Out of the determination of a generation of young people, who didn’t want to die for causes they didn’t understand, came a decade of political and societal upheaval and change. 

Psychology, which had operated as a “pseudo-science,” came of age, too.  We had a surge of new ideas about individuality and personal expression; a movement away from the family as central, and toward the individual as central.  This gave rise to the “sexual revolution”, the feminist movement and, I would dare to say, the civil rights movement.  Since then, we have been pushing the boundaries of individual rights to include people who have disabilities and people who are gay or lesbian.  Right now we are watching the countries of the Middle East go through their own revolutions for greater individual freedoms, and others will no doubt follow.

I am a true believer in individual rights.  I have benefited greatly from the fruits of the various ‘rights-movements’.  I agree with Perls that first, we define and clarify self, and then we are capable of joining with another as a fully developed person.  But, I think that in the midst of all our individualism, we’ve lost track of just how inter-dependent we are, not only in our own culture, but in the world.  While true democracy depends on individual participation, at some point individuals must come together to provide for the greater good.  As strong and free people, we must now consider the collective needs of the world at large. Each of us plays a role in protecting the rights of the whole.  That may be the grand task of the twenty-first century.  What role will you play?

                          Shalom,

                          Jane