According to the online philosophy club, Freedom
starts with a principle of self-control, also known as self-ownership. In a
free society, each and every person has legal control (or
"ownership") of their own body and mind.
But Freedom to me is a state of mind an
individual can do whatever he or she likes with some restrictions. Without self
control you are not really free. One must remember that in life what goes
around comes around and everyone is responsible for his or her actions.
For instance in our society, not just Africa,
premarital sex is seen as a means of exercising one’s freedom but we forget
that this world is not a “free” world this is a world governed by unwritten
rules like sowing and reaping, sunrise and sunset, rights and wrongs. The result
could be illegitimate children, forced marriages and worse case scenarios, STDs
or all of the above.
Aside from the known effects of premarital
sex, there is also the issue of stigmatization. Most people don’t know this,
but if you have been tagged as a gigolo, slut, player, Casanova, nymphomaniac
etc, the result of such “freedom” could be devastating on you in the not so
distant future. In Africa, such acts will lead to pressure from our society
because among all things we value “marriage”. If one spends his/her life,
skipping from one sex partner to another, you are leaving a trail of evidence
behind you in the form of nude pictures, videos and most of all you will become
a local legend which is not helpful when you are looking for someone who you
can spend the rest of your life with. You will be lucky if you can find someone
who can overlook your wrongs and start a life with you. Even with that, when a
fight starts, the spouse will call you out on your past which will be a serious
blow to your person. This happens because we have bought into the illusion of
total freedom.
Let’s take a look at one Hollywood actor Edward
Furlong. You may know him as John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. He was
one of the most promising actors of the 20th century. He had money,
fame and all the “American Dream” represents. Right now, nobody knows who he is
and the last movie I saw him take a lead role was The Crow: Wicked Prayer. This
is because he gave in to unrestricted freedom. He spent his money
extravagantly, and got involved with drugs. Today he is broke.
Another scenario I want to bring up is a case
where someone who has all the opportunities to increase his/her skill set or upgrades
his/her present skill set. But refuses to take any advice, go to seminars or if
he/she cannot afford to attend one, refuses to go online for books and videos
on the subject matter. As I said earlier, we are free to do what we want but if
you cannot take the pains to sit down and study to improve yourself, you will
not go anywhere.
In conclusion, I want to say that, you have
to respect the laws of balance; the bible also says that what a man sows that
what he going to reap. Please take the time to sit down and think about each
and every action you take and the consequences. Do you think the risk of
premarital sex is worth it or do you think you can excel in life without hard
work and reading, think again pal. If you are on the right track in life, you
will definitely get the right results despite the hurdles you will have to
cross. If you take the wrong way just because you have the freedom to do what
you want, you will end up feeling sorry for yourself. Please remember, when you
are doing the wrong things, you will be hailed as a hero but when it all goes
south, you will not be able to stand in front of a mirror ever again why,
because you will be disgusted by your image.
Remember we live in a world of rules where
every action has its own consequence. Live wisely. Think before you act.
In other words live a life of balance.
Nice piece
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