Why Do People Fight for Freedom?

I recently applied to join an organisation which provides freelance writing services. Part of the application process was to produce a short essay answering a question about freedom. The question was this;

Throughout history, men have been willing to fight and die for freedom. Why?

It got me thinking. Really thinking. I’m not going to reproduce that essay word for word here. Yet I thought it might be worth exploring the ideas. There are a number of ways to define freedom. However, it is most crucially considered as one’s right to think, act and speak as one wishes to. Social structures and societal norms dictate the limits of freedom, and within these, an individual’s choices take shape. The course of life then enables or constrains these choices.

A Bias in the Question

That forming of the question has a gender bias in that it asks only about men. In the essay, I wrote that women are equally prepared to put their lives on the line. They often do this to further the cause of a life free from enslavement or oppression.

As far back as the dawn of the first millennium, a female warrior by the name of Boadicea led British tribes against the might of the Roman Empire. The archaeological record is unclear on the specifics of her demise, although it is almost certain that she gave her life to the cause. Much later in time, Mary Pankhurst, the British suffragette and sister of Emmeline Pankhurst, died as a result of injuries sustained at the hands of the police in a London protest in 1910.

There are links between these two women’s lives. Strong links despite the separation of centuries. Mainly, a sense of injustice and outrage, that their social groups were subjugated. In ancient times, Roman rule had disrupted the gender equality balance established by the Celtic tribes. In Victorian Britain, the suffragettes knew that women needed the Vote. The Vote was essential to improve not only their working conditions but their social standing and quality of life.

Considering the Motivation for Freedom

What is it that drives us to right social wrongs around us? What innate or somehow acquired force compels us to take great risks for the notion of freedom?

Somewhere in the subconscious realms of the mind there is a light which never goes out no matter how dark our situation. There is a timeless and persistent spark of energy. Creativity and hope burn brightly in the face of adversity. Certain thinkers might cast this as divine in nature. Yet it is not necessarily anything to do with a great or benevolent higher power.

As human beings we have developed a powerful sense of justice. This has gradually grown over time. It has morphed from the initial and immediate need to protect one’s family. Now our community and social connections to strangers drive us to greater things.

Wrapping up the Essay

Both of the women mentioned above used that spark to fire themselves up. They met the needs of their calling and improved the living conditions of other people for the better. I wrapped up the essay by reiterating that it is not just men who are willing to fight and die for freedom. Men and women do so and they do so to bring about an improved world for their peers, and for those who come after them.

What drives this is a certain force of humanity, recognisable across time and culture. It most likely evolved in tandem with our learned survival as social animals. Tapping into such a sense of justice is a powerful and lasting motivator for creating change.