My Freedom Day

CNN is currently hosting a movement called “My Freedom Day” aiming to see different perspectives of what is freedom. For many including myself, freedom is the ability to express who I am and to speak of what I think is right. It is all about the fight to have a better life. But on the other hands, there are people who are fighting for food, who are abused, who had to do inhumane activities to take one more breath, to survive; and they also called this, “a fight of freedom.”

Should these fights be under the same title, “freedom”?

Should these be valued as the same fight?

Poem:

For me, freedom is the ability to speak my perspective of what is right

To involve in a societal decision

But for others, freedom is the ability to survive

To have enough food to eat, to have shelter, or to take one more breath

 

Freedom.

These are two different fighters under the same title

 

But they should not be the same fight

As one is to seek for a better condition, and another is for survival

I’m not trying to take anyone on a guilt trip

But on this FreedomDay, let takes a moment if to not help but you acknowledge there are people who are being abused and taken advantage of, who had to do inhumane activities to take one more breath, to survive.

To acknowledge that on the same mean, there are people who are fighting a more severe battle.

 

Short Story:

Combat Against the Issue of Feeding the Global Citizens

 

Background:

Over the last two decades, organic waste had increased by over 20%. With 40 tons of food waste are thrown into the landfill last year, it comes to Specis Government for International Goal, a Specie government agency for promoting global improvement, that this issue of food management should be actioned individually by each nation.

 

New Applications and Regulations:

The Species agency had voted for new regulation, increasing importing and exporting tax of organic/edible products/yields by 50%. Which it would disclaim that there will be a sudden change in prices of food in the next few months.  

 

Laws and Regulations:

Demands all restaurants/food stalls donate edible food to a local Home-Shelter by the end of each day (24:00);

 

Requires all restaurants and individuals who produce over five kg of organic waste per day, to bring this waste to a local Compost-Center daily;

          Decides that for all individuals that produce less than five kg of organic waster per day to bring this organic waste to a local Compose-Center weekly;

 

Requires all grocery stores and markets to donate any cans and any stored food to a nearby Home-Shelter a week prior to its expiration date.

 

Please visit www.specis.gov/foodsecurity/goal for extra information.

 

In my opinion, these new regulations were rather ridiculous.

What does the government expect? That we double the price of our food?

With this new importing tax, the price of vegetables and meat had been rising up to 50%. Now restaurants are struggling to run without raising the price of their dishes. A business is meant to make a profit.

 

Sure enough, Specis is one of the richest countries in the world, with no poverty, we are the lead of every politic/economic development.

Of course, no one would die of hunger, even with this absurdly expensive food. But why do we have to take this action into our own hand? What about other nations that are also a part of the Government for Internation Goal? Especially, what are Non-Government for Internation Goal Nations do? They are the counties that suffer significantly from this issue.

 

Fortunately, I was not the only one that opposed these stupid laws. A group of people, in fact around a thousand, was now protesting against these new laws. Seriously, no one cares about making compost. And for the name of god, what does the government do with it anyway? As a country that thrives by the advancement of technology, we imported over 75% of our food; there is no point of making compost. And even so, most of the food here was from hydroponic and aquaponics! This is stupid and that is final. We don’t export food! We only import them. This law is to give more money to other nations! Stupid!

 

It was my rights and my freedom to express what is right. So here I am, standing in the blazing sun at the Government of Foreign Affairs, to tell them why they are wrong. I looked around, everyone around me, actually including myself, was covered in sweat. This is one of the biggest protests. We are one of the most peaceful countries, everyone is so happy with what the government is doing, until now. I looked at everyone individually, the determination in their eyes gave me the strength to fight from the oppression of these ridiculous laws. With that note, I pulled my long obsidian lock and twisting it into a bun on top of my head.

 

“What do you think of these new regulations?” I screamed into the microphone.

Absurd.

Ridiculous.

F-ing Stupid.

 

“Do you think that these are solutions to the issue of feeding the global citizens?,” screamed someone from somewhere, I couldn’t really tell. But, we all answered no.

There was a bit of yelling, but no violence. We don’t do violence. The most aggressive thing that happened today was probably when someone dropped the f-word.

 

I was exhausted by the end of the day, wanting nothing else except going to bed and sleep. But while we were protesting, the government had announced that all GIG nations had set new regulations to combat this issue. So ignoring my weariness, I turned on the TV.

 

The government of Singha and Miban had increased their importing tax by 40%.

 

The government of Ciya had set regulation to fine every individual for creating food waste based on the amount of food waste. There will be a monitor at each public waste-bin, to calculate how much a person would pay. And every garbage truck will have a system to calculate the waste also.   

 

There is no information regarding Kidlen’s decision toward this issue.

 

It is final. All members of GIG, except Kidlen, are going insane. Which nation creates regulations that harm their own citizens in orders to help citizens of other nations?! Kidlen is like the sanest one right now. God, I hope they don’t drop at “law bomb” any time soon. Ciya has some issue, like for the name of GIG, everyone is going to create food waste. This is like increasing tax but in the name of saving the world.

 

Over the next to weeks, I have a set schedule: wake up, protest, TV, and then sleep. And a lot of eating in between each activity.  

 

Nothing had happened. It seemed as though the government had no intention to resolve this conflicted-perspective between protestors and the government; maybe except for the fail reassurance that they are “working” on making every citizen satisfied.

However, our group now had grown up to around two thousand members. Officially the biggest protest within the last century. I guess the increase of import-tax was what set people off. Instead of the government of other nations demand for a rise of tax; Specis, plus Singha and Miban, is willing to give away money.

Take more of my money, I am rich. Help your citizens. What’s a saint!

 

After making a raucous today, I came home to TV. And Kidlen finally announces its position for this issue. Another increase in importing tax. 60%.

Stupid.

Utterly Stupid.

I was about to turn off the TV when a documentary came up.

I was captured by the chocolate emotionless eyes; it was like staring into a void, a vacuum with no emotion. It is inhumane, he is so young to not laugh or smile or….. hope. The hallows of his cheekbones. I watched as his bony fingers wrapped around the pole for support, as he stared blankly at the cameraman, into the camera. Unlike what I had learned and saw through documentaries, this kid didn’t ask the cameraman for help. It was like he understands that there is no help. That the world is full of indifference, and that all his freedom is, to survive and take the next breath.

 

I went to bed that day, knowing my freedom and understand the full extent of it.

 

Waking up the next day, I walked to the front of the Government of Foreign Affair with the right decision.

I looked at the people around me. Those who were here not because they are selfish, but because they don’t see a better solution.

I raised the microphone to my lips and took a long breath before I used my freedom to show the reality of this issue.

“I am here to compromise,”

“I want to help solve this problem but in a different way,”

People around me shushed down, they know me by now. I was the loudest one in this protest, probably due to this microphone.

“I want the law to increase the stupid tax to be gone,”

I got a cheer from the majority of the protestors.

“I want us, Specis, to directly donate food to the group of people who needed it,”

I got no response.

 

“Isn’t this what we want? To help others? The increase in tax is in the right direction. But I demand that we manage the extra tax portion; use it to help those who are suffering from wars and natural disasters.”

“I want to clarify that we are protesting not because we are unethical and ignorance but we have noticed that there is no guarantee that the people will benefit from this law.”

“The corruption within Non-GIGs’ government is something we all can’t deny. Just like the dying children, who see his/her future as when will he/she gets the next meal.”

“We will help people learn how to live rather survive!”

“It is time to set the world to the right track of this issue.”

 

The adrenaline hit me hard in my stomach. I was numb by the end of the speech, but I knew that the government had heard. The cheers and the encouragements were just background noise because the government had heard the words and that was all that matter.

We will help people learn how to live rather survive.

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