Freedom means different things to different people.
For me, it’s not about politics, passports, or rights written on paper. It’s about the internal prison we keep ourselves trapped in. That place where manipulation, programming, and fear run our lives without us even noticing.
The opposite of freedom is control. Look around—the world is full of it. Most people don’t want to believe they’re being manipulated, but they are. They want to believe their thoughts and desires are original, when in reality, society has been planting them since birth.
What you eat, how you dress, how you speak, what you watch, what you think success looks like, how you believe a “good person” should behave—it’s all shaped by external forces. Add media into that mix—phones, computers, endless streams of content—and it’s constant. Most people don’t even realise how much it’s running them.
I grew up in the 80s and 90s. I was raised with TV, movies, video rentals—I know exactly what it’s like to be shaped by it. I still watch things now, but with discernment. The difference is, I ask myself: does this empower me, or does it take something from me?
Discernment is everything.
Does what I’m consuming remind me of my own strength, my own wholeness? Or does it convince me I need something outside of myself to be happy, worthy, or complete?
This is where religion comes in.
I was raised Christian. I know what it’s like to fear not being good enough for heaven. I spent years trying to be a “godly” person because I thought that’s what made me valuable. But the further I went on my path, the less sense it made.
If God is love, why does it demand fear and obedience? Why would we be born broken and sinful, needing saving? Why would we have to hand over our soul just to be considered worthy, safe or saved when we die? That isn’t love. That’s control.
And like I said—the opposite of freedom is control.
Religion, for me, is a disempowering system built on fear. It tells people they’re not enough on their own and teaches them to outsource their power to something outside themselves. That never sat right with me.
When I was 21, I was having panic attacks and turned to churches for help. A minister told me if I believed in Jesus, I didn’t need to worry because my sins would be forgiven every day. I asked her: so someone can harm others and it’s all fine if they pray to Jesus? She didn’t like that. Never heard from her again. But that moment showed me how easy it is to bypass accountability under the cover of religion.
We are responsible for what we do.
We should do the right thing because it’s the right thing—not because we’re scared of hell, not because we want to get into heaven, not because we want approval from others.
People know what’s right. Deep down, everyone knows. But we’ve been trained to ignore that inner knowing and look outside ourselves instead.
Religion, media, society—all of it pushes people to fit in and conform. But the truth is, freedom starts when we stop trying to fit in. When we stop handing over our power. When we start trusting ourselves again, and take responsibility for our own actions.
That’s the freedom I care about. Not the fake kind built on fear and control.
With love,
Rose
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