Everyday Canvas

What is Independence?

Prompt: What does independence mean to you?

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The meaning of independence depends on the angle you are looking at it as it may mean a variety of things.

Personally, it points to the fact of living one’s life without being helped or influenced by others, but isn’t this something too tough? We are all influenced first by our families and backgrounds, then by society, religion, and our degree or width of education, and still by politics and the media. Talking for myself, I was even influenced by my children!

Then, take old age. How much can senior citizens be independent with their ailing bodies and minds and not many ways to pay for help?

Independence also means the ability of a nation or state to exercise self-government, usually over a certain territory. This, too, may be tough to do as we live on this small planet which seems too big to us with its many nations and their ways of being. If we are going to get along with everybody in our wide, wide world, some of our self-government may need a few sacrifices, and this is talking about the richest, safest, and most independent countries.

Consider the smaller or third-world countries. Since they depend on others to survive, no matter how much they govern themselves, can we consider them truly independent, especially when the big guys fight and want them to take sides?

According to statistics, “Two events are said to be independent if one event's occurrence does not influence the probability that the other event will or will not occur.” Whether one can make heads and tails out of this statement or not, the study of Statistics divides people into cells and their probabilities, and lo and behold, statistics are not usually 100% correct.

Thus, I have to say there is no such thing as total independence, but we can all attain a quantity or a quality of independence, be it as a person or as a nation.