The human being is not born free but rather must earn his freedom. That is, to be free is more of a process than a destination, where every action or lack of action advances or retracts us from the goal of freedom. At birth, we are anything but free, as we are dominated and subjected by our physical drives. But as we grow, hopefully, so to does our moral consciousness and intellectually maturity, enabling us to transcend the physical perpetual pull and give way for the perennial spiritual push. Freedom is just as much of a burden as a pleasure, and to those who misuse it misuse and mitigate their very essence. As such, not everybody is ready to be free. I am very disconcerted that the Egyptians after fighting for freedom used their freedom to elect an Islamist parliamentary with a combined control of nearly 65 percent of the seats. More than that, 25% of those seats are estimated to go to the ultraconservative Islamists, called Salafis, many of whom see most popular entertainment as sinful and reject women’s participation in voting or public life. I’m not suggesting the Egyptians are not ready to be free, their own actions are.
2011