In recent months a great deal has been said about freedom - particularly in light of the emerging freedom of persons in Northern African countries such as Egypt, and most recently Libya.
However, this freedom is in danger of succumbing to a new form of tyranny. Tyrants are smart. They prey upon the desperate and the idealistic. Without the 'free' even knowing it they find their 'freedom' replaced with new forms of oppression and abuse.
Southern Africa has gone through this cycle more than once. Perhaps the most vivid example is to be found in the once 'freedom fighter' Robert Mugabe and the abuses that he has inflicted upon the people of Zimbabwe. I was born in the beautiful country. However, I have been a citizen of South Africa for some time now. Sadly, the liberators of this new home, many of whom received my vote, and my energy before and after the end of apartheid are turning out to be self obsessed tyrants in the making.
Perhaps we, you and I, need reminding that freedom is not the end. Rather it is just the beginning of what we desire (and need). Freedom is the moment where we pass from one kind of labour into another, from working for liberation to working for reconstruction and restoration.
The following quote from Victor Frankl was particularly inspiring in this regard:
"Freedom, however, is not the last word. Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth. Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibleness. In fact, freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness." (Victor Frankl).
[Photo from file - April 27, 1994 - a long line of people line up towards a polling station in the black township of Soweto outside of Johannesburg in the nation's first all-race elections.]
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Dr Dion Forster is an ordained Minister of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. He is a theologian and author. He was formerly the Dean of the Seminary of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, John Wesley College. He currently serves as a consultant and spiritual adviser / Chaplain to the Global Day of Prayer and Unashamedly Ethical movements and their founder, Graham Power. You can read Dion's blogs on www.dionforster.com.