valerie's freedom of mind thing

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FREEDOM OF MIND

> This I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of t he mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight agai nst: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual.
> -- John Steinbeck

Over the history of human civilization, it can be seen that 'more freedom' is both goal and result of the work, tears, and blood of countless people. From the mass use of slaves for labor, to laws that regulate even the minimum pay for laborers; from the viewing of women and children as chattel, to the establishment of rights for both; from the assumption that foreigners and different races are less than human, to a more general acceptance that all deserve equality and respect-- humanity has made great progress towards freedom for all. Of course, the freedoms noted above are not completely respected or even tolerated in all countries on earth. Indeed, many of the beneficial changes in the coming years will depend on our ability to generalize principles of equality, respect, and acceptance for all. Yet the trends are clear, as many humans realize that others also deserve those fundamental freedoms which they themselves desire. All of these examples, however, are examples of physical freedom -- to move freely,to work freely, to not be singled out for punishment or promotion because of skin color, age, or gender. Freedom of mind though, is just as important for human progress and happiness as freedom of body. As we gradually eliminate many of the sources of physical inequality and injustice, it will become increasingly important to recognize that we must protect our cognitive and creative freedoms, and introduce them where their value has been lost or forgotten. This page is a starting point for thinking about what those freedoms are, and how we might enable and maintain them. To start with, we could assume as desirable: freedom from censorship - personal, political, societal freedom of mental states - no Thought Police,or Neurochemistry Police freedom from conformity - the right to be and express yourself privacy of one's mind and thought freedom of information - equal access to public information, and to education; access to the resources for expression in one's own culture or the world at large These freedoms of mind are directly related to, and overlap, our physical freedoms. A political despot may prevent you from voicing your views in the world, but the social climate may do an equally good job at preventing you from doing so - or your own internalized beliefs may prevent you from realizing such a thing is possible. A belief in conformity, for instance, may work at personal, social, and political levels to prevent people from exploring their own potential or their ability to express that potential; thus 'freedom of mind' must be addressed at all levels of the human system. Clearly, too, they are all related to more obvious freedoms from oppression or legal bias. Too often have legal systems and belief in appropriately conformist behavior been used as excuses for political oppression - the Soviet reliance on mental hospitals to house their dissidents is but one example. Many argue that the current War on Drugs, as espoused by the United States, is another such biased and oppressive strategy. Human Rights Watch has compiled a report detailing the racial biases which permeate the United States judicial systems. For instance despite rates of drug usage less than or equal to those of whites, black incarceration rates on drug charges are thirteen times greater than whites - 462 of 100,000 black males vs 36 of 100,000 white males. Perhaps as importantly, the so-called War on Drugs is a war on the ability to explore states of mind that have been a part of human success and creativity for thousands of years. Ancient cultures and spiritual traditions have used psychedelics and other promoters of mystical states of mind to connect with the world, enhance their spiritual paths, and reprogram their own egotistical and out-of-balance mental states to promote clarity and wisdom. In forbidding access to these tools of mental freedom and discouraging access to the information that would enable us to use them wisely, we only promote the less useful and more dangerous addictive substances proven to be harmful to our health. Freedom from censorship is currently being addressed round the world. It is a complex topic, encompassing many realms of human activity: political - tyrannical regimes preventing freedom of the press; economic - economic realities currently prevent all but the wealthy from expressing themselves in a mass media forum other than the web, for instance; social - what degree of opinion expression is acceptable, or even allowed, in a given culture? personal - what combinations of the above act to prevent us from expressing our opinions on our governmental or social progress? Through what internalized 'rules' do we self-censor? Making sense of these effects and their interactions will help determine the kind of world we are currently creating. It is certain that access to the information through which we both respond and help structure the world, is currently not an egalitarian thing. Education, access to media, and now access to the internet will all be key shapers of the human future. Such access is unequal across countries or genders, but even within first world countries many still have little access to good education, or even to the means to educate themselves (i.e. good libraries or reading skills). Yet in an increasingly technical and global world, it is on the basis of our education that we choose our path through society - or even know that we can do so. Not only does our education affect us individually, but it affects our actions and potential as communities and nations. At a fundamental level we will have to decide (or it will be decided for us!) whether only the wealthy and the lucky have the right to education and its power. And the changing world has brought us new concerns in the realm of computers, access to electronic information and electronic potential. Rather than being merely a problem for the poverty stricken, we will soon have to face the effects of possible restructuring of the current electronic web by corporate and governmental interests, quite possibly to the detriment of us as individuals and even societies. The good people at the Electronic Frontier Foundation have this to say about our future electronic freedom of expression: "EFF has observed an increase in the development of technical architectures designed to favor particular business or government interests that conflict with principles of free expression, privacy, and openness Failure to consider these issues will create a technical reality that locks out individuals, chills open, democratic dialogue, and interferes with future innovation; the very things that brought us where we are today." more It is clear from these brief examples that the freedom of the human mind is both endangered, and at the doorway to its greatest potential. We must be aware of the connections between issues as disparate as educational disparity, censorship, the War on Drugs, and religious freedoms, in order to understand and defend the rights at issue. Indeed, in many cases 'freedom of mind' is a prerequisite to engage in 'the pursuit of happiness' noted as an inalienable right by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. Rather than assuming that our current system fully establishes these rights, perhaps it is time for us to think deeply about what our freedoms are, or could be, in the future world we create through our actions today. Mankind is at its best when it is most free. This will be clear if we grasp the principle of liberty. We must recall that the basic principle of liberty is freedom of choice, which saying many have on their lips but few in their minds. -- Dante Alighieri LINKS The Politics of Consciousness "If the pursuit of happiness, enshrined in our nation's founding documents, means anything, it means the right to explore one's own mind using traditional substances and approaches. The Politics of Consciousness is long overdue and well done." -Terence McKenna Related stories: Lawsuits alleged 'conspiracy' to promote Ritalin sales - 09/16/00 by Amy Westfeldt, AP Clues to why so many children are being diagnosed as hyperactive, and implications as to the effects of corporations on our personal lives and health. .. " The makers of Ritalin and the American Psychiatric Association encouraged overdiagnosis of behavioral disorders in children and used misleading sales literature to boost sales of the drug, according to a pair of lawsuits filed this week." It's time to recoil from promiscuous drugging of children By George Will / Washington Post Writers Group (Preliminary draft © 2001 Valerie Gremillion ) This site will always be in progress! Please add your links, suggestions, and contributions in the form below; if you'd like to help organize this site or otherwise contribute, please email us at FoM@global-dialog.org