Generally whenever anyone poses a typical "What does independence mean to you?" question, I have a set of responses ready to rattle out. You know the type, the freedom of speech and freedom of thought and expression stuff.Last year while watching CNN IBN, Paras Tomar posed a question which has had me thinking ever since. He asked "What does independence mean to someone who has always lived in a free country?"
The question hit me hard. I realize that I don't know what it is like to be not free. To not have these privileges. So what do I really mean when I give these answers? Seeing that I have nothing to compare against. All my life I have had the freedom to say and do what I want. Because the country allows it and also because my family does. Would I be appreciating freedom more if it was briefly taken away from me? Maybe.
Notice that even when I am posing a rhetoric question, I use the word briefly. That's how scary it is.
What is freedom really? What is independence?
