The Big Gift
Universal
It is a good that every man possesses but neglects.
A good that he wears, lives inside him and never leaves him.
Of course he uses it on a daily basis but only in its most trivial form.
It's useless to run to the other end of the Earth to hope to find a specimen
which would escape the rule, the principle is universal.
This good around which every human is built
even he doesn't pay attention for it,
this good for which man would rebel
if he suddenly felt deprived of,
it is... freedom.
It has nothing to do with the licence to do whatever we like
without worrying about the rest of the world.
No, it's about this incredible faculty that our animal brothers envy us :
man is profiled to decode and understand everything around him.
Wouldn't there be, discreetly nestled in each of us,
matter to escape the creature condition
and to contain the world to which we belong ?
Beyond free will, a breath of freedom runs through man.
Sine qua non
Imagine that you are undertaking an ambitious project
which however requires the exploitation of manpower.
To put the odds on your favor,
choose your staff among the most gentle of men.
Pressure, harassment, intimidation is your method
and you can be proud of yourself because your business is flourishing...
but for a time only.
One morning indeed, when you least expect it,
in disregard of your reason,
these less than nothing, those ungrateful people that you abuse on a daily basis
will suddenly get out of your control.
The phenomenon is well known.
Dominate a man, stomp on him, trample its dignity but make this all very gradually.
As the man is flexible, he will slip slowly and without blinking into passivity.
But one day, everything collapses ! Freedom will recall him to the reason.
So do not trust even the most servile of men,
freedom is what spring up most spontaneously from the human box.
The animals, who have seen human emerge,
would tell us if they deigned to speak to us :
"It is not that freedom is tied to every man,
but that the foundation of every man is freedom."
So if one day you risk to enslave a man,
even the most vulnerable that is,
don't be surprised that one morning, freedom,
his freedom will be up in your face.
Every day
Superfluous, buried, useless ?
Why this freedom is so missing from our daily lives?
The world that man has established for himself is full of constraints and uncertainties.
Coping with his difficulties is not an easy task,
so that when you manage to overcome them,
you tell yourself that the job is done and you aspire above all to rest.
We speak really indeed of the own world of men, designed by them and for them,
this tailor-made environment where no one is sure to find a worthy place,
that perfect frame that enslave people when they do not bury them.
In this "reality", no matter of the faculties of each individual.
Man is not asked to make full use if his freedom.
Will this gloomy game go on forever ?
For the sake of all, civilization teaches everyone to cope with the small frustrations of their person.
As long as the game is worth the effort, the situation will continue.
But if one day, getting one's daily bread requires too much effort
and turns out to be subjeted only to bullying and torments,
we can doubt about it.
I even pledge that the "young hyperactive executive" who reach his full potential
in the heart of so many said to be important things, may be caught up.
It will run out of fuel in the image of the world he has still supported.
Lost and confused, stranger to his usual frantic agitation, he will stop all of a sudden.
He might then perceive for the first time the peaceful murmur
of his little voice of freedom whisper to him :
"Well, there you are ! Tell me, have you not the feeling of being enslaved ?"
Disorganization
But freedom is not so easy to understand.
The organization of men should therefore make every effort
to allow everyone to seize it.
- The first principle is that everyone should be branded by dignity.
Of course as human being is not a magician, everything that is pulled out of his hat has to be produced by labour.
However every man without exception should have sufficient resources
so that his life is not akin to survival.
The core is to favor the access of every individual to the freedom that it wears.
- As second principle, organization should put itself in a position of maximum search for freedom.
No individual should be abandoned to his straightjacket.
On the contrary, it is necessary to provide for a continuous awakening of the person,
ensure ongoing access to education, self-awareness and decryption of what surrounds us.
And let's not forget that man is a whole.
We have therefore to multiply the situations of exchange and confrontation with our fellow beings.
Work, service or assistance are the best vectors.
Moreover, they offer to each of us to exercise a responsibility
and thus take part in the globality of man.
The Big Gift
When one observes the man, one is entitled to wonder
if the GIFT of freedom would not be too BIG for him ?
Indeed, man seems more concerned with the daily life of his existence
than with his very existence.
He uses his freedom only to enact new regulations and inflict new turpitudes upon himself.
Is the human beast really as intelligent as it claims?