Freedom in Guardrails

This is for a class I'm in the middle of; Three paragraphs on an issue of Freedom that I struggle to grasp, and was covered in week's lesson.

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Freedom is a notion that is hard to grasp, and even harder to carry out. Every day duty and life tugs at us from all sides. Mother wants this, Father that, school the other, then bosses, government, spouses and children tug at our time and lives day in, day out. As much as we want to be free, we also want food, a home, and adventure. But how? How with life tugging at our day to day are we even to approach freedom with such millstones hanging about our necks? We could live on the backs of others, and some have, but that only removes their freedom; with it, harmonious life in the cosmos.

But man must have freedom? Yes! One, in a way, must be free. First, however, one must be disciplined. This is a concept set forward by Kant, which I'd like to elaborate upon. Kant stood upon the idea that rules were more like guardrails protecting us from ourselves. It seems counter-intuitive, but if you sit back and think about it, this notion is very true.

At first, we don't have any rules, but also, we don't have any freedom. As a baby grows and matures, more and more freedoms are given to the child. With these freedoms; rules. When we are small, there are a lot of rules. But there are a lot of things that can hurt us. It's easier to be given a rule to follow, than a reason to obey. These rules are like guardrails allowing the child to explore their small world in great detail without the dangers of the whole world crashing in upon them. As they grow, and learn, reasons are given, adding signs to their adventure of life. As it is with rules and free for life, so it is on a larger scale with driving and rules.

Driving and life have rules. To protect our freedom, and broaden our reach, and the reach of others to achieve their dreams and goals. If you follow the rules, and everyone else does too, we can have many adventures and greater freedom in this life for all of our days. There are still things that can get into our path, but it prevents us from driving off the edge of the cliff into unknown dangers and threats. If our roads didn't have guardrails, we'd consider the builders careless. And if your life lacks rules, then not only are you risking your freedom but the freedom of everyone around you.

VK out.