Wednesday 26 September 2012

What does freedom mean to you


Australians don't talk much about freedom; they simply live it.

Time 4:51 PM, F8, 1/8000, ISO=500, CWA, 90mm (but heavily cropped)
Crazy, crazy settings ... robbing Peter to pay Paul ...


9 comments:

Vicki said...

"Australians don't talk much about freedom; they simply live it."

So true, Julie. Well said.

Joe said...

Fabulous image Julie. Thanks for sharing the settings. What does Freedom mean to me? The ability to walk down streets without fear, the right to voice my opinion as I see fit and the luxury of sharing my life with whom I choose.

diane b said...

We are lucky compared to some other countries. Freedom of speech is a big one for me. Nice shot.

VP said...

A simple and wise statement!

Joan Elizabeth said...

Interesting series of shots here Julie, like any shoot really, some good, some bad and some made better with a crop.

My hubbie talks a lot about freedom these days, claims that our freedoms are being eroded by political ideology translated into legislation, and is currently writing a manuscript for a book on it.

Julie said...

There is an entire conversation to be had about freedoms, and the levels of freedom, and the responsibility that goes with any assumed right to freedom.

One simple example: there is a legislated curb to freedom with regard to child seat restraints in cars. I hear the argument frequently, that this is the 'nanny state' in operation. That no parent would consciuously do something that would put an infant child at risk.

Another example: my son wants to buy a car. I ask him whether he is ready to drive within the restraints imposed upon him by society (legitimately imposed in my view), and he shrugs his shoulders. He wants the freedom to park where he wants when he wants. To travel the speed he wants at the time and place of his choosing.

And yes, there are more holistic restrainst upon our freedoms: police and ASIO keeping records of our movements without our knowledge; the regulation of the press and media that is currently under discussion.

So there are levels of freedom. Some freedoms border upon licence ...

Julie said...

Joe ... there are many people (ordinary people) in Australia who do not have the three freedoms you cherish, eg

Jill Meagher could not walk down a street without fear.

Internet trolls voice their opinions without fear, but is this a right or a licence?

Same sex couples do not have the right to share their life with whomsoever they choose - not to the same extent as hetero couples.

Kay L. Davies said...

Freedoms are at risk of being eroded in Canada, too, where the present federal government threatens to impose its religious views on women's rights, same-sex right, etc., and yet the same members of parliament say the gun registry is a lack of freedom.
A very strange world we find ourselves in, Julie, where very few are "equally free".
K
K

Julie said...

When freedom is regulated, are we no longer free? Are do we simply say WE are free to do the thing os which we approve, but YOU are not free to do the things that of which we do not approve. And each side maintains the same standard.

We then have anarchy ...