by Blxck Cherry

What is freedom as a human experience? Is the desire for freedom something inherent in human nature? Is it an identical experience regardless of what kind of culture a person lives in? Why is it then for many a cherished goal and for others a threat?

Freedom is so personal to our sense of self, that it is also the most controversial to define. Humanity and culture have developed from societies with centralized powers and little individual freedom into growing decentralized ways of governance and distribution of information. For much of human history, people thought of freedom not as protecting individual rights but as ensuring self-rule and the just treatment of all. The rise of modernity brought about the triumph of a new idea of liberty. Today most people think of freedom as a matter of individual liberties and, in particular, of protection from the intrusions of big government and the state.

This quest has become so deeply rooted in the human experience that many symbols, Gods and stories have been devoted to convey it.

The civilization that built the pyramids, that created astronomy and medicine, did not even have a word for freedom. Everything was under the power of the pharaoh, who was God on earth. However, the idea of equality was very present. Ancient Egyptians saw men and women, as well as people from all social classes but slaves, as basically equal under the law, and even the poorest peasant was allowed to request the vizier and his court for redress.