The above quotation comes to us by Euripides the great tragedian of classical Athens. Though Euripides lived some two and a half thousand years ago, his wisdom is as timely today as it was back then. It seems that most of the time when we think of slavery, we picture such as the physical control and thereby the suppression of the body by the other, and not so much that those who control what we say and attempt to control what we think, are effectively also making slaves of the sovereignty of our mind. We live in a day and age in which humankind has innovated to the stage in which individuals are subject to relentless social pressure, social norms, propaganda, social monitoring, and social controls of all sorts so that many of us are being manipulated into behaving and therefore thinking in a way and manner that conforms to those that desire that groupthink be impressed upon certain members of society, as contrasted to having to deal with the cacophony of individual sovereignty.
We are, as individuals, entitled with the unalienable right to think the thoughts that we wish to think, and further to the point, to freely express those thoughts, and when those in authority make it their point to suppress such, then we have lost the most important freedom that we have, for a human being that does not have agency of their mind, is no longer truly human. So too, the nature of freedom is such that because we are created with free will and free thought, it signifies that all that we think, say, and do, is not going to be necessarily in conformance to that which orthodox society desires, or of that which the governance demands and wishes. That though is the nature of living in a society in which we are entitled to express ourselves through our free thinking, and for all those who wish to live in a construct that does not infringe upon our free-thinking, then that construct must be constructed in a way and manner, that foremost protects and defends our right to think our own thoughts.
Indeed, just because we are created to be a free-thinking individual, does not necessarily mean that we can’t have a harmonious society, for the truth of the matter is, that those who believe it cannot occur, are the very same who utilize suppression, coercion, and force in their attempt to control the minds of the people, which because of this structure, necessitates therefore the sacrifice of freedom for conformity. Rather, a far better way, along with this way being in conformance with our unalienable rights is to provide the avenue that permits people to voluntarily come together for the betterment of not only those people but for society, at large, which because this alliance is freely given, supports not only physical freedom but the freedom of the mind. It is vital, therefore, that any time that we see that our ability and our natural right to speak our own thoughts are being suppressed, that this should be seen for what it is – an assault on our sovereignty, and an infringement upon our unalienable rights, and all those that support these actions, are those that believe that dominance should trump free expression and free thinking.