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Parenting

Is Freedom What We Think It Is? Think About This–It Has a Good Lesson

by | Feb 19, 2004

Of the following list, who is the most enslaved person and
who is the most free?

  1. “Three years ago I was taken by the KGB and put in a
    labor camp in
    Siberia, I am told when to get up, when to go to bed and
    everything
    between.”

  2. “I was ship-wrecked on a desert island. I can do
    anything I want,
    but
    there’s nothing to do here.”

  3. “I’m a heavy heroine addict. I live my days just to
    get the next
    high.
    Luckily I inherited a large fortune that allows me to
    support my habit.”

  4. “I worked hard all my life to become rich. At the
    height, I was
    worth
    around $25 million. Then came the crash. The bank took
    everything – my
    business, my house, even my car. I now work 9-to-5 in a
    sweatshop,
    struggling to make ends meet. When I had money, I used to
    take exotic
    vacations and dine in the finest restaurants. Life was
    fun. Now I’m
    lucky
    if I
    can afford takeout.”

  5. “In the country I live in, cigarettes are banned. I
    used to smoke
    two
    packs a day. Now I can’t get them and I’m very
    depressed.”

  6. “I used to be a top college athlete and was headed for
    a pro career.

    Then last year I dove into a pool that was too shallow and
    broke my
    neck.
    I’m now completely paralyzed from my chin down. All I
    think about all
    day
    long is what I used to be able to do.”

  7. “Last year I tried to commit suicide but a policeman
    caught me just
    before
    I jumped. I was institutionalized. There’s no possibility
    here for me
    to do
    what I really want to do – kill myself.”