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25 4 Rantings Of A Raving Pen: The Land Vs Freedom Game on’t suppose this game is only played in undemocratic societies... It is so wrong to assume that. It is the land versus freedom game that I am talking of! It’s always an apology, a favourite story, a heartfelt confession...I would have to start that way. Even in a society where there are “three legs of the iron-pot”, if any one of the legs of the iron pot is longer than the other two: It would have powers to make redundant the other two legs, powers to control the other two legs, powers to build a Napoleon behind that shimmering label of democracy... Maybe, that’s why my grandmother, and those before her, decided to have clay pots that didn’t have legs; to balance things, somehow? To balance things the way a rainbow seem to balance colours on the horizons. Yet sometimes, the beautiful colours of the rainbow myth are a pointer telling us to look beyond their, poetic-sung-about, beauty. Ultimately, their hollowed haunting colours; of the rainbow, usually results in one colour playing the god-insect function. Not even a single one of these players, in this game, had the right to claim legitimate authorship to the start of that anarchic situation. No, no, no... It’s so stupid and naïve to think that a powerless individual could do that. No! It must have started somewhere..., where a single individual – single purpose person – is vested with all the powers that begat power; randomly distribute tools of anarchy... Such as weaponry, total disregard of governing rules, open and conceited manipulation of all the mirrors of a society and naked provocation for violence by a small group controlled by that single individual. What follows is total anathema. It is this trend..., maybe a pattern; I said a pattern... patterns to aid to my augment! I have to start here. Single purpose individuals: single purpose ideology, is usually the trait of the lunatic..., or is it the fanatic? Then, things will D 26 start to take shape? When we try to look at the patterns, when we try to study the patterns, when we try to unlock their frozen meanings, things begin to take shape. Single purpose individuals plan for every of their moves; every word, every nod, every silence..., everything becomes, (disguised) planned, and patterned events. And, there is another pattern? He knows that if he sits on his laurels and waits for things to follow their undisturbed course, he will become history. We are talking of single purpose individuals. That he will vanish into the gossamer’s web of time, and so, he has to refuse to step aside..., and how? There are some things we will never really control; no matter how good we are at controlling things, even when we are nonparalleled at that. We can only harness them. We can only channel them. We have to avoid blocking them..., freedom? Freedom gives some people the right to rule over others and it is only a few of us who are totally alien to this sweet call. The quest of which, can never really be controlled, but maybe; can be harnessed towards a truly altruistic goal. No one can overcome the need to constantly change and re-invent one’s self. My apologies to change for calling it a necessity here but barriers against change can gobble up continents, alienate the whole population, swallow ideas and limit future expressionisms. But what else would people need? He knew they wanted to be free, but he offered them something else..., not in exchange, of course not! He told them it was the only way towards prosperity, towards freedom. It was a delaying or diverting tactic for him. He instilled into the minds of these people the importance of this need, at the sad demise of the other need (freedom). He emotionalised the offer (putting all the spices that he could think of). Indians, my Grandma once told me that they are so good at doing that. Putting spices into food..., umm, it smells great..., putting spices into things too. What would people need most? Not freedom, no, not this one on its own, no! Yes, they still want freedom, but it is an untouchable thing. People need a state of happiness and happiness results from a sense of security. In order to be secure, we need to have something that we...

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