Freedom! This word brings to my memory a beautiful song of the same name sung by Richie Havens, an Afro-American. This was first performance at the first Woodstock festival in 1969/70-- three days of music, music and music. If you watch the video of the Woodstock one thing is very clear -- the sense of freedom among the over two million youngsters who had attended the festival. No police, no keepers of the law around. Weed, marijuana, liquor flowed as free as the wind and for three days, non-stop, the sleepy town of Woodstock rocked to music day and night. The people in town ran out of food, the shops could not cope up with this deluge of youngsters, so everyone chipped in, every resident opened their doors to the needs of these children/youngsters- all between the age of 16-23 and older too. Even nuns attended this music Heaven. They rolled in the muck after the storm followed by rain. The likes of The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, the big wigs of the blues were all there. Not one single crime was reported from the fields of Woodstock. So much so, after the festival, the kids cleaned the field and the surrounding areas. If this is not freedom, then what is!
On a larger scale, every inhabitant of the planet Earth, is endowed with a sense of freedom. What does it actually mean? For me, freedom is best enjoyed when it is practiced with caution and does not infringe on the freedom of other humans as well as other creatures that inhabit this planet Earth. What about you? Does freedom permit one to treat the alongside the city pavement as a canvas for painting in urine? Does it allow one to spit/throw waste on the roads or in public places? I have experienced instances when, despite a dustbin in the vicinity, a person just throws/discards wrappers, carry bags at the very place that one occupied minutes earlier. Height of laziness? or Height of irresponsibility or Height of ignoring others right to a clean and healthy environment? These actions of a insane human being may be considered trite by many, but taking humanity as a whole, this counters the very issue of pollution, a deep concern of today.
And what is to be remembered is that 'charity begins at home'..... On a larger scale, every inhabitant of the planet Earth, is endowed with a sense of freedom. What does it actually mean? For me, freedom is best enjoyed when it is practiced with caution and does not infringe on the freedom of other humans as well as other creatures that inhabit this planet Earth. What about you? Does freedom permit one to treat the alongside the city pavement as a canvas for painting in urine? Does it allow one to spit/throw waste on the roads or in public places? I have experienced instances when, despite a dustbin in the vicinity, a person just throws/discards wrappers, carry bags at the very place that one occupied minutes earlier. Height of laziness? or Height of irresponsibility or Height of ignoring others right to a clean and healthy environment? These actions of a insane human being may be considered trite by many, but taking humanity as a whole, this counters the very issue of pollution, a deep concern of today.
I love this. Freedom!
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