Afraid of freedom
Inside every liberal there is a conservative
What holy self-righteousness! Here we are again: The same debate about sexuality, exposure, liberation and provocations.
This isn't the real debate. Sexuality, religion, self-righteousness and prohibitions in general are scattered amongst one another and come from the same human, existential social dissonance: Support for freedom of expression vs. conservative elements in society.
Internal debate
Yes, we know that inside every liberal there is a small conservative, and inside every big conservative there is a not-so-small provocateur. This internal debate appears in just about every decision, act or statement, from the "liberal" father who worry's about his children and forbids them from doing things that violate his ideals, to the Orthodox mother who loves her homosexual son more than life itself.
Therefore, let us look at the real issue, and spell out the naked truth: No one really thinks nudity will corrupt our pure hearts or will kill someone. After all: "Life and death are in the hands of our tongues" – not bare breasts.
Frightening word
But "liberalism" is a word that has always frightened the conservative establishment. Freedoms of speech, religion and the arts, civil and minority rights still represent a real threat to dark regimes and outdated cruel theories.
Liberalism is scary because it says the freedom to be different is what makes us human, rather than a controlled herd of life. It is frightening because it believes in the power of the individual, in his intelligence and his ability to criticize and filter damaging messages.
It is frightening because it believes in the power of the individual to be concerned about creating a supportive and enriching environment, and mainly it believes in the power of the individual to punish.
This is true both for money-hungry politicians and industrial corporations that lack basic moral fibers.
Virtuousness and self-righteousness
At this point, conservatives will jump up and down and say: "Morals!" But this is exactly what we are talking about. The problem with those very same conservatives is that they can't seem to differentiate between virtuousness and self-righteousness.
Nietzsche said we must destroy morals in order to save life. He meant that morality had become self-righteousness.
And he was right! Because conservativism and self-righteousness are the sick friends of society. "Politically correct" is a deceitful switch.
It is nice to take comfort in conservatism and self-righteousness, but they are dangerous. They emasculate freedom to think and to create, the create apathy and replace human substance with politeness and false processes.
As opposed to what many people think, those who support free speech and who support the right to be different are the true opponents of the use of sexism and chauvinism. For history teaches that conservativism, dictatorships and chauvinism go hand-in-hand with feelings of control, a domineering nature and a false sense of superiority.
Proved right
It is enough to think about all the rotten eggs and tomatoes that were thrown as the feminist movement began to make waves. How tough it was for those women to convince people that men and women were truly equal.
To this day, dark, conservative dictatorships ignore the rights of women, minorities, artists and others. To this very day, conservatives fear that free men will challenge their authority and their counterfeit agendas.
They oppose nudity, even when presented in its proper context and proportionally, just like they oppose humor, satire, open or hinted critism, differing opinions and pluralism.
They object, because they know that supporters of freedom have one thing they don't: courage.
Ilan Zarmon is a marketing agent
