What does it mean to be free? Freedom can be seen as many different things from different perspectives. However, it is generally agreed that freedom has a lot to do with a person’s choice and their ability to choose. Without the freedom of choice, which is the most fundamental type of freedom, there would not be the freedom to do anything else. This is because, before one does anything (speak, write, move), one must choose what one wishes to do.

And from there, freedom can perhaps be split into three main categories, namely: sexual freedom, freedom of expression and freedom of religion.

Sexual freedom is basically the freedom to be whatever one wishes to be, be it homosexual, bisexual or heterosexual. It is a huge taboo in many countries all over the world and particularly so in Asia to be anything but heterosexual because Asia has always been a largely conservative continent. Many homosexual or bisexual people have remained hidden from society. They are a secret facet in our world today, and it has only been recently that the world has begun accepting such people. Some examples would be gay marriages being allowed in Amsterdam and Canada, the consecration of the first gay bishop in June of last year, and the Massachusetts High Court paving the way for the legalisation of gay marriages in the future. Also, in Taiwan, President Chen is looking into legalising gay marriages.

Reverend Robinson was ordained on the seventh of June, and although the bishops followed through with the ceremony, many of them protested afterwards as they claimed his lifestyle was ‘incompatible with Scripture and the teaching of this church’. Some also said that his consecration was ‘dividing the whole Anglican Communion and posed a ‘dramatic contradiction to the historic faith and discipline of the church’. However, while he did have detractors, Robinson also had his supporters. Many lesbians and gays turned up at his consecration. His lover as well as students from the University of New Hampshire was also present. And although many have alleged that his consecration goes against the teachings of the Scripture, some others also claim that the Bible contains teachings on homosexuality through several relationships in the Bible such as David and Jonathan. And the fact remains that when the House of Bishops voted, he received sixty two out of the one hundred and seven votes, thus meaning that a majority of the bishops present support him.

In Canada, Vermont has allowed gay marriages, with many inns proclaiming themselves gay-friendly. Although Massachusetts did not legalise it in the end, it is a start that they have discussed it. Likewise, in Taiwan, President Chen promised that he would also look into legalising gay marriages. If it is done, it would ‘make Taiwan the most open society in Asia’ as gay rights activist Hsu You-sheng said in an interview.

Although many people are against homosexuality and bisexuality, and there have been calls for people who are not heterosexual to go for counselling; so far, no cure has been found for it, nor have any genes been linked to causing homosexuality or bisexuality. It is also not considered a mental disorder in America, as the American Psychiatric Association removed it from their list of mental disorders in 1973 declaring that homosexuality was just as healthy as heterosexuality.

And the acceptance of homosexuals and bisexuals did not only just start. As early as 1974, the National Education Association in America added ‘sexual orientation’ to its list of non-discriminatory personnel policies and many organisations (such as the Gay Airline Pilots Association) were formed for homosexual people to join to feel accepted.

Of course, in spite of all this opening up, many people are still against homosexuality and bisexuality. I feel that this is a probably because of their mindsets and the way they were brought up. Personally, I feel that an effort should be made to stop the discrimination of such people. As social activist Rita Mae Brown put it, ‘No government has the right to tell its citizens when or whom to love. The only queer people are those who don’t love anybody.’ And thus, whether one is homosexual, bisexual or heterosexual, everyone should have the freedom to decide for themselves, because no sexual orientation should be labelled as ‘wrong’.

Aside from that, there is freedom of expression. This can be further split into freedom of speech and freedom of the arts.

Freedom of speech is considered one of the most basic and fundamental tenets of democracy. Thus in most countries, freedom of speech is allowed and even encouraged as it is a chance for the government to find out what it’s people truly think of them. This freedom is a fundamental right listed in documents such as the Bill of Rights in the United States, the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. It is thus recognised in so many areas because it is extremely important. Freedom of speech is needed if a high-level decision has to be made so that the views of everyone are heard and an impartial decision is made. Also, when freedom of speech is allowed, no one will be afraid to voice their opinions and the government will be able to respond to them immediately, rather than have these views passed around as rumours which could affect the government. And if free speech is not encouraged, the people’s creativity will also be affected as they will be unsure about what they can and cannot do because of their cultivated inability to question their higher authorities.

Another branch of free speech is the freedom of thought. This also links to freedom of choice, especially during elections. If democracy is not practised and the people are not allowed to vote, then in a way, this is also the stifling of their expressions as they will not be allowed to choose whom they want as their leader.

However, total free speech cannot be allowed as if the speaker is not tactful in his speech, he may unintentionally provoke the government, and this may lead to adverse effects to the country. One such example would be Dr. Chee Soon Juan, who insulted the PAP government and had a defamation suit filed against him. Thus, although free speech is a good thing, it must be balanced with certain rules and regulations. On the other hand however, one should not go to the other extreme and stifle the views and creativity of the people either.

The expression of one’s thoughts through the arts is unique in its own way. There are online graffiti artists such as one who goes by the name ‘Banksy’, and bands such as ‘System of a Down’ and the now-disbanded ‘Rage Against the Machine’.

The graffiti artist Banksy uses stencils of images to send political messages to the masses. For example, once he tried to paint a bridge with posters of the revolutionary army leader Ernesto Che Guevara (whose image is now printed on many t-shirts) to show to the world what could happen when an image was overused. He also stencils phrases and the like onto pavements and any tangible material. One of my favourites is ‘people who enjoy waving flags don’t deserve to have one’. This was stencilled onto the driveway of what looked like an institute with a huge American flag on its wall.

The bands ‘System of a Down’ and ‘Rage Against the Machine’ are heavy metal bands but they have songs that contain extremely meaningful lyrics. One such example is the song ‘Boom; by System of a Down. They speak of the futility of war and the state the world is in today. One such line from their song is’ The bottom line is money. Nobody gives a ****. Four hundred hungry children leave us per hour from starvation. While billions are spent on bombs creating death showers.’ They talk about inequality in the world and convey their thoughts through lyrics and music. Rage Against the Machine was an extremely volatile band. Once, to make a statement, they held an impromptu live concert outside Wall Street and shut it down for a day. This form of expression is not very good as it can sometimes turn violent, like the case of Rage Against the Machine.

Then there is also the freedom of religion. This is an extremely sensitive issue now in the light of the recent terrorist attacks in Turkey and Saudi Arabia. An extremely jittery America does not help the situation very much either, as they have incurred the wrath of some of the Muslim states by claiming that Islam is the core of the problem and labelling countries such as Iran as being part of the ‘Axis of Evil’.

Other than Islam however, there are also three other main religions in the world. They are Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism.

Religion has been a much talked about topic in some countries now, particularly those with a large number of Muslim citizens. Some countries have even been split because of certain decisions made by their governments regarding Muslim dress and the tudung or headdress in particular. One of those countries is France. Recently, President Chirac decided to ban Muslim women from wearing the headscarf in schools, universities and public places. Although this may seem like a good move as it does not single anyone out, it has already angered some associations such as Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood Movement. They are accusing France of ‘double standards’ and they also claim it is part of the ‘Western campaign targeting Islam’.

However, on the other side of the coin, in most places, people of different religions have been living together peacefully for many years now. One such place is Singapore, where racial and religious harmony is practised, and the government is careful not to anger any one sect of religion with the words that they use.

It is important to have religious freedom because our religious tenets are what guide us in life today. All the religions of the world preach that we as human beings be good people. The Christians have the Ten Commandments, the Muslims have the Five Pillars of Islam, the Hindus have the Hindutva and the Buddhists have the Eight Fold Path. All of them contain some principle or another within their separate teachings that preach about being a good person. It is because of religion that we are what we are today. What we believe in defines our character, and thus, it is important to have religious freedom so that the people have the right to believe in whichever religion they deem suitable for themselves.

In the case of Islam, some people think that Muslims are all terrorists because most of the suicide bombers and terrorists are Muslim. However, this is not true, and we should not be bias towards Muslims. There is a difference between a terrorist and a hero. A terrorist sacrifices everyone for himself, and a hero sacrifices himself for the good of everyone. What is more, Islam is a fundamentally peaceful religion and although there is such a term as jihad, it has been greatly misused by others. Jihad means to do one’s utmost to realise a goal, however, it is not the equivalent of war. Jihad has a wider connotation that embraces every kind of striving in God’s cause.

There have also been other cases of religious unrest concerning religions other than Islam. In Ireland, the Protestants and Catholics have been fighting for centuries because of differences in their religions.

However, in the case of Islam, it is the extremists who are causing unrest in the world, and not true Muslims, and thus, the above point on the importance of religious freedom still holds true. It is only people who twist the principles that their religions preach who cause strife; there is no need for any one country to discriminate against any religious group because religion is needed to define one’s way of living. Without religion governing our lives, what are left are our animalistic instincts, and those would not be good for society.

And thus, religious freedom is needed because each one of us believes in different things and there are varying viewpoints from various people around the world, therefore the different religions are needed and they must be allowed to practise their rites.

In conclusion, I feel that being free means to have social, political and personal rights, as well as to have the ability to choose. Each person should be allowed to choose whatever path he wishes to tread in life, and to do whatever he wishes to do, so long as it is not done in extremes and is not detrimental to society. I feel that that is true freedom.

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