Tag: freedom
Two thoughts on freedom
by Josh K-sky on Feb.18, 2010, under Uncategorized
Thomas Mann, via The New Inquiry:
And his favorite word, his ultimate emotional eloquence, the great bell with which he summoned others to the loftiest feasts of the soul—it lured many people…Freedom…He truly understood more and less by freedom than they did when cheering. Freedom—what did that mean? Certainly not a touch of civic dignity in front of princes and thrones. Do you people even dream just what a mind dares to mean with that word? Freedom from what? Ultimately from what else? Perhaps even from happiness, from human happiness, that silken fetter, that soft sweet bond…
Daniel Davies of dsquareddigest:
In the film Braveheart, the Mel Gibson character hardly ever stops talking about “freedom” and, of course, iconically inspires his brave clansmen to charge into battle screaming “FREEDOM!” at the top of their lungs. But in the context of the film, he’s clearly being totally hypocritical. He doesn’t actually propose anything of the sort – the system of government he’s in favour of is another autocratic monarchy, just with him in charge.
Isn’t it interesting a) that nobody seems to spot this (just as in A Few Good Men, surprisingly few critics noticed that despite the contention of the Jack Nicholson character in his big speech, it’s very obviously that you do not “save lives” or “guard people while they sleep” by beating your own recruits to death for minor disciplinary infractions). And b), that as proved by the film’s ticket sales and continuing popularity, the concept of “freedom” embodied in this film (ie, xenophobic authoritarian power-worship) seemed to resonate so deeply across the English-speaking world, which when thinking with its brain rather than its blood, is quite clear that “freedom” means something very different indeed.