The Lion and the Snake

On the 3rd of March, Lion and Snake were simultaneously released from their respective control-unit maximum security prisons. They were accused of terrorism, sedition and a very long list of offences against the state, plus the murder of a high rank police officer and a civilian… they pleaded with silence.

I knew I’d find you here.
The 6:00am sunrise was slowly colouring the city, and Lion was sitting on the marble rail of a bridge that crossed a busy highway.
Did you also know I’m out of cigarettes?
Here
Lion lights his, and passes the fire to Snake
You look, awful.
Same, what did they do to you?
Lion lowers his gaze towards the pavement. I rather not say. And you?
Snake looks towards the rising disc...
They grew interested in me. They run, experiments on me. All kinds of things. My poison. My eyes. My blood.
Did it hurt?

Silence.

A gush of wind lifts an array of autum leafs, Lion catches one and observes its yellow and brown veins.
Did they learn what they were looking for?
Am I my nature?
Snake looks at Lion’s paw, its partly maimed.
What about you; do you hold a grudge?
Does the Sun get offended when the moon eclipses him?
I don’t know, does he?

I’m not giving up my dream.
I, Know.

I’ll see you around, Snake.
I’ll see you around, Lion.

They part ways
———————————
The price of liberty

Did Eve and Adam understand that by becoming free, they would lose God’s protection? Is walking along a fine rope, across two skyscrappers, the same feat if you are secured by a second rope or if there’s a safety net a few meters below, in case you fall?
If you desire true freedom, you must first remove the net. You must cut the rope that ties you to your guaranteed safety. And walk unto the thin line, alone. If you get to the other end, you truly, did it on your own. It was you all the way. If you fall, you reach the other side of the coin of your truly free will: no one’s there to save you.

What if you fall
And some unknown hand catches you.
Would you thank him/her?

Was God there, still caring after you, even if you made it clear, you wanted out of his reign? Did he demean your choice?
Did he patronize you even when you asked him not to? How many times does Peter need to deny Jesus, to make his point clear? How many times does Pontius Pilate need nail the Father to the cross, when his words: I want no punishment, are heard with superior ears, by someone who knows better, and cares for him. Again: there is no freedom around fatherly figures, be them your literal father or anyone choosing things for you “for your own good” or because “they know better”. This includes, of course, the current collective fatherly figures: the state, and organized religion itself.
At this point, it seems that the story about Adam and Eve eating from the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, and gaining free will and being cast out of Eden, in order to confront an existence on their own... away from God’s protection, but also away from his mandates, from things that were given for granted and from fears of punishments for disobeying God and everything that kept them in their role as son and daughter, rather than man and woman… It doesn’t seem to be something that is way past us: On the contrary, it seems to be a story which portrays a still lingering and un-fulfilled collective (or individual?) desire: To be truly free, regardless of the cost. To lose our innocence and to take our destiny by our own two hands: To finally, grow up. It is this desire that’s still just a fantasy of the psyche and finds partial catharsis (mixed with our very fears of the likely consequences of liberty) in stories like the bible and other myths, and are renewed constantly through art, through our history too, never finding a true solution. Never truly expressing itself.

Now of course, your version of growing up might include “accepting reality”, accepting things are not so black and white, aknowledging for example, that we need laws to govern society, that judges have a necessary role, that policemen are not the bad guys; they are people like you and me, trying to go by earning a living to feed their families. They’re just obeying orders, no on’es perfect, it’s life.
People left to their own would misbehave; It’s acceptable to have limits drawn to you by others; we keep each other in check. You’re a part of society, and that’s human nature.
We might even get philosophical and discuss if free will is even a thing, and examine our brains with microscopes, debate about it over a cup of tea, and go back to our day to day lives… Because liberty is just that, an ideal, it’s not something real or practical. Definitely not pragmatical, we can’t all be free. It would be chaos. It would be, anarchy.

Plus, if any: If you don’t like society, just go away. Go to the mountain. Alone. No one forces you to be a part of this. No one’s really putting a gun to your head and making you play along and compromise, to adapt to our culture. If you think we collectively suck… Just leave.

So this seems to be our choice when it comes to our role in the world that past generations slowly weaved for ourselves: We are free to adapt to society as it is (Just grow up! Let go of your childlish ilusions and dreams and your egoistical, unrealistic conception of what liberty is). Or, you are free to leave if you don’t like it (Go to the woods (?) and be self-sufficient somewhere else were you don’t have to follow rules).

There’s others, but they’re in a bit of a grey area...
Want to change things around here? Create a political party. Join an NGO and do some activism. Or spread your ideas and try to gather followers.
You are free to stay if you follow the rules, which include some, albeit restrictive, laws that could allow you to change the rules themselves, you know free speech and such, or you could reach power by running for elections and winning democratically (within the established system), and you may slowly change things towards your vision (always staying within the legal frame of the constitution, doh!).
A fourth possibility, as Lion and Snake learnt, is met with the full power of the law enforcement. And they’re better armed for war.

Wait there must be more...
Ah yes, you’re free, I guess, to just kill yourself.
Just don’t take anyone with you cause we’ll try catch you alive for your due punishment before you escape our grasp. Just end your life, silently. That’s legally OK. Can’t really punish you for killing yourself, you’d be dead.

If you try killing yourself, but don’t succeed, you’ll probably go to a mental facility and be restricted of your freedom until we make sure you’re not a threat to yourself. We don’t really support things like euthanasia, or facilitate ways for people wanting to just quit.

We’re all in this together, guys! You like it, or not.

Did I mention that if you don’t like all of this, but somehow you still want to keep your petty life, you can just… leave? Go to a fucking uncharted island that belongs to no government. Because if you go to nature within our territory, you can’t really build a house there on your own, that’s not your land, you need permission, you need pay taxes and so.
Maybe you can go to Antartica. Can you? I mean its really cold there. I think it’ll also be illegal, international laws, you know. Oh wait, you can maybe live on a boat as a pirate, that’s fun eh! There’s fish on the sea. And you can collect rain for drinking water. Isn’t that cool? Wait… *checks a pile of papers and eyes his fellow officer with a large grin. Ah yeah.. there’s the international ‘Law of the Sea’. Sorry, can’t really help you mate.

Oh my you’re in a pickle aren’t you? Just don’t go the anarchist way. We kinda not like that. I mean you’re free to chat about anarchism with your friends on some squatt, and buy Noam Chomsky’s book. We’ll raid that squatt eventually. Noam pays his taxes, he’s ideas are useful. Just, don’t, actually, do something wild with them, hmkay?

Good good.
You’re free to go.

—————
Pets?

Remember Dove and Bunny?
Yes...

I’m sorry it didn’t work. Lion sheds a tear
Snake too

I don’t think anyone wanted to listen, anyway.
But it was more than that

Yes it was. Thanks for trying to teach me, manners and such
Thanks for letting me, feel

Did you?
Of course!!
Sorry.

Don’t. Want to try it again?
Yes, just for us

Lion and Snake turn into Bunny and Dove
They hug each other in one last everlasting hug

Hey! get a room
Some random peep breaks the moment

Right… a room
Whats that?

Dove turns into a peackock, or a green parrot
Bunny into an jaguar, or a bengala cat

Truce be told, right now, they only thing left, was each other