Freedom as a philosophical concept may refer to:
- Free will, the ability to choose one's own destiny, that one's actions are not pre-determined
- Liberty, the ideological concept of having the right and ability to do as one chooses
They tell us to find freedom. Or to be free. They say that hope is what drives the pursuit of happiness. And freedom is the key to open that happy door. Without freedom we are bound with shackles and held down. Without freedom we are trapped in our own minds bearing the thoughts of, “Whats it like to be free?” And free would be a commercial followed by credit report dot com, and it would be us pleading for release.
Freedom Freedom Freedom
But what do you do when freedom only brings pain. What is done when freedom equals war, freedom equals death, freedom equals blood and not peace. And they wonder why we fight. They wonder why our eyes are cold and our glance shows no fear. It is because we are the youth. With keen memories of a past of oppression and pain.
Freedom Freedom Freedom
They took me and my son to a camp. They had their swords and bayonets, and said it was for our own good. They said they were…. freeing us. But that night we heard the cries of our neighbors. We heard the soft steps of someone running followed by a loud bang and silence. We heard the silence broken with a family screaming and crying only to be silenced with another round of shots… How am I to know that we aren’t next. And if we survive what do I tell my son?
Freedom Freedom Freedom
At 7 months. I went out alone out night. To get a small meal. Something to stop either them from kicking or my stomach to from growling. And I knew I shouldn’t have been out there but I was. So when the patrol stopped me I was terrified. I began to cry as they said, “Come here”. “Come here.” When I got close enough they began to beat me. They began to kick me in my stomach, and the pain hurt more than my hunger. And after what seemed forever they stopped and spit on me. As they walked away they yelled, “It was a free abortion to stop us from creating soldiers for them to kill”…..Only one of my twins survived.
Freedom Freedom Freedom
I was there. Looking though the blinds out to the street where my brother stood. My brother was walking back from a football game at the park. He was still holding the trophy of a leather skin ball and torn jeans. My big brother was stopped by one of you and out of his fear for the things you’ve done he ran. He made the biggest mistake of his life and he ran. He did something his ancestors have done for centuries in the sight of fear or trouble and he ran. He ran to his only sanctuary and the only place he thought he would be safe. He ran home.
But by the time he got here the one cop turned into what seemed thousands with helicopters and blinding lights. All bearing two handed guns.
He saw me. I know he did…looked right into my eyes.
He turned around to face his enemy, still holding his leather trophy to his chest. But by now he was sweating and crying so when they screamed, “Hands up” he hesitated.
I stared at Big brother out the blinds, wondering what he’s done. Or if he will come back inside and turn off those blinding lights.
It wasn’t until the second chant….He raised his hands and trophy in the air. But they thought his trophy was something else and they yelled “Gun”, they sprayed him with a rain of pain, and after what seemed an eternity of ear blistering noise everything settled to a thick cloud of gunpowder.
And I…..saw it all. I watched as he fell to the ground and momentarily interrupted the silence with a thump. His final breaths…….were blood and smoke.
Freedom Freedom Freedom
They hurt us to make us fear them. They tell us we will be freed from our pains. They come around handing out their freedom freedom freedom in these pretty bow packages and we flock to them to attain a piece of what we think to be perfection. We run to get a piece of the dream and as Gil Scott-Heron said we aren’t running to get freedom we are running to get the rapist known as Free-Doom. And as the elders either fell or became scarred us youth learned, and as we grew and matured and our keen memories bore the pain and hurt as we aged. Because he told his son what happened, and she told her daughter why she doesn’t have a sister and he remembers what his brother looked like. And they wonder why we stare at them with rage and anger. Because his ears still remember the cries and gun shots. Her body still bears the pain of a premature beating. His eyes are flamed and the color of his brothers blood. And now when they come by with that freedom freedom freedom we stand cold with hatred in our hearts saying fuck your free and you can take some of our doom. Because we have heard, felt and seen what your freedom freedom freedom brings and we will give you a little of our own and we call it a piece, and its bullets are just as big as yours and as you fall to the ground and become free you will pray you kept your damn freedom to yourselves.
-Moises Seraphin
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