The basic concept of "Liberty"

How do you explain the concept of liberty to anyone? Do we need to explain this term in today's world where we believe that humans have progressed so much that we all understand and respect individual rights? If we look around, I am sure we will find many occasions where the term liberty or freedom is used to curb human rights rather than to protect them. It is also true that many societies, like the USA, have shown tremendous progress towards creating an atmosphere where individual rights are respected considerably, but the basic concept of liberty is still very hard for many to get a complete grasp of. I agree that it is a difficult concept to grasp, it sounds very easy, but the real meaning of liberty is not that easy to fathom, especially if you are not exposed to the real benefits of it. I value individual freedom more than anything else and that is why the concept of liberty is so dear to me.

Liberty is a basic tenet of any progressive society. Human minds and efforts flourish when they have the freedom to think and express their thoughts. I got attracted to the concept of liberty when I realized the importance of having the ability to express my thoughts and live life on my own terms. The feeling of having individual freedom brought a radical change in my life and thinking, and I try my best to practice that within my own family. I sincerely believe that if we all create an environment of liberty within our homes, our society will automatically have individual liberty. The problem is, that most of us believe that our ideas, values, belief systems, religion, or political ideology are the best and others should also follow it, and if they don't follow then at least they should not criticize it. Without the freedom to criticize there can't be freedom to express. Criticism is one of the essential processes through which every idea and concept should go to prove its mantle. 

Actually, the basic concept of liberty is very simple. If you care and value your own individual rights, then you should equally care and value other's individual rights also. Unless other's rights are not protected, there is no guarantee that your rights will remain protected. I and my wife are poles apart as far as our religious and social views are concerned, but her freedom to practice the religion of her choice is equally important in our home as much as my freedom not to practice or even criticize any religion. If you can't imagine these things living side by side in harmony then you will find it very difficult to understand the concept of liberty. This concept has nothing to do with tolerance, that is another, separate virtue where we tolerate something even though we don't agree, and we don't need to encourage or protect those views that we tolerate. For liberty, you not only tolerate, but go one step further we protect the rights of people with whom either you don't agree or even strongly disagree. As a person who values liberty, I stand for not only my own rights but also others whose ideas and views might hurt my feelings, challenge my views, or offend me. Other's right to express their ideas is as absolute and important as mine, no more, no less.

I wish that in this growing atmosphere of political polarization and racial and religious divide, people understand the importance of protecting individual rights. I would like to end the post with a very famous quote by Voltaire which is shared widely, but hardly practiced in real life, "I disapprove of what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it." If we all understand the real meaning of these words and try to practice them in real life, this world will be a more beautiful place for each one of us.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Immigration is not a human right, but a granted privilege

Immigration is becoming a very sensitive and controversial issue in many developed countries. It is a very important issue during this US presidential election. Many countries like the US, Australia, and many European countries are favorite destinations for many immigrants from Asian countries as well as from other parts of the world. Actually, many of these countries benefit from the presence of immigrants, many immigrants work really hard to become successful in whatever field they choose and in that process help the country in which they reside. But this is not a one-way process, in return immigrants also benefit immensely. They get better opportunities and fair treatment, and many of them escape the troublesome social and political environment of their birthplace to find a peaceful dwelling in their adopted country. This process works very well as long as it is beneficial for both the parties involved, it mainly happens when the economy is doing really well, there are enough job opportunities for everyone, and in general country is in very good shape. But, does this process of mutual benefit can go on endlessly without having any side effects? Based on the current scenario, it doesn't look like that.

I am an immigrant to the USA. Even in India, my family migrated from one part (Uttar Pradesh) to another (Maharastra). So, I have first-hand experience with the issues that migrants within the same country or immigrants who move to different countries face. There is no doubt that my family benefited immensely from the places where we lived. We got better opportunities, better education as well a better social and economic environment. In turn, I am sure places or cities where we lived also got benefitted from our presence as law-abiding, responsible, and hard-working residents. We learned local culture and language, adapted to our surroundings, and contributed to the diversity and rich cultural heritage of all places where we resided. This mutually beneficial and harmonic relationship is the main reason that I have so much culturally diverse thinking in my own family. Three generations of my family can claim to have three different languages as their primary language (often referred to as their mother tongue). Immigration is a beneficial activity for the immigrants as well as the country or city where people are immigrating. But, I feel appalled when I see this ugly fight over the issue of immigration. I don't understand how both sides can be so ignorant and adamant about their arguments?

Whether we like it or not, the truth is that in today's world immigration is a legal process, you have to follow a legal process to immigrate to any country. I agree that it is cumbersome, lengthy, often very frustrating, and expensive, but it is illegal to enter any country without any proper documentation. So, anyone who has respect for the law of that country should follow this process or be ready to face the consequences of their illegal actions. I also understand that many people immigrate due to various reasons, many times they don't follow these legal requirements, but even after all this it is an illegal act, and if there is no law that takes into account all these factors then all these people can be in big legal trouble. One thing should be very clear to everyone, to immigrants as well as to citizens of that country, immigration is not a human right but a privilege granted by the host country. For all who face some humanitarian crisis in their own country, asylum is an option. Immigration is a special privilege, not a favor, help, kind gesture, or charity. It is also the responsibility of the host country to keep their immigration and asylum policies clear and simple so that people who need can understand and follow the rules. Immigrants come with certain rights and responsibilities, they need to be law-abiding residents and contribute towards the betterment of that society otherwise this privilege can be taken away at any time. Once both sides understand this simple thing, then I don't think there can be any issue that cannot be resolved by mutual discussion. The law of the land needs to be respected, any act encouraging violation of the law can result in long-term social and political crises which can affect the entire country. I hope better sense prevails from both sides fighting over this issue and they come to some mutually acceptable solution because once you make any issue a political hot potato it is almost certain that it will never get resolved. Political parties can use it to emotionally polarize their vote banks election after election without making any sincere efforts to resolve it. People also get emotional about these types of issues and give that opportunity to politicians to make fools out of them.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]