The Man and the Slave

“A man chooses, a slave obeys.”

Bioshock, one of my favorite video games to this day, introduced me to that quote. Andrew Ryan, one of the major characters of the game’s story, makes a lengthy speech about the difference between a man and a slave. He speaks as a slave to be something less than a man, one who does not make his own choices in life, but is merely subjected to the will of his master. 

So I ask you: Are you a man, or a slave? In it’s widely recognized definition, many would say no. They see that they are not chained to a factory press or working forcefully on a plantation, so they cast it off and imagine their own perspectives on slavery. But i’m asking you to think more: Is slavery just forced labor? Is it just being shackled to an instrument of work and gathering for a master?

A slave obeys. It’s not “a slave works”. A slave complies with a command, without any hope of making his own choice in the matter. A slave submits to the “authority” of his master without question. That’s more than just farming crops or building monuments.

What slavery is, in a way, is murder. When one has enslaved another, he has committed murder. This may sound overly dramatic or exaggerating, but is it? Murder is defined to be the killing of another human, to end the life that another possesses. Is a slave rightfully in a state of “life”? He cannot choose, he cannot self-govern his life. He cannot live the way he wishes or thinks, and therefore cannot truly live at all. When a man enslaves another, he kills the free man that once lived, and replaces it with a mindless shell that only walks to fulfill his needs. 

Yes, this is all rather negative and pessimistic, but it all moves to a certain point. Though the murder portion of it may not be necessary, it shows just how severe slavery can become. As stated before, i’m not talking about work slavery, i’m talking about real thing: The slavery that dictates the lives of all of us, that many are not fully conscious of If that’s the case, who are we slaves to?

Everything.

Slavers are everywhere.
They are the one’s seeking to take advantage of others.
They are the one’s using others for their own needs.
They are the one’s who take and take, and give nothing back, not even gratitude or friendship.
They are our possessions.
They are our cares in life.
They are our addictions.
And most of all, they are the things and people who tell us we have a choice.

Choice can be a very convincing illusion. We tell ourselves that we’re making the choice for an action, that we are the masters of our own fate. More important, we say that our addictions, our true masters in life, are for the better. If something is restricting your own thought, your own choices, your own future, is that bettering yourself?

I guess all this in a more simple form add to this: Slavers, the master of your life, do not need to be human, nor do you need to be aware of your chains to be bound by them. More often, they are not human, and that’s usually worse. It makes it more convincing that you have choice.

Furthermore, slavery makes the eyesight blind to the advocates of our lives, the ones who want to help and support us. These are teachers, leaders, close friends who have seen the chains and want to break them. Though, the overseers of the mind has cast them off as the true slavers, rejecting any chance of freedom in hopes to keep you restrained. Just as they’re a difference between a man and a slave, there’s a difference between an advocate and a master.

An advocate supports.
A master commands.

We are all slaves, to something. An observation that can be made is that “technology is what drives our society today”. That sounds like a rather accurate term, doesn’t it? There’s a particular word that stands out in that sentence:

Drives.

It’s what drives our society. In other words, it’s what operates and controls the direction of our living community. It’s what controls our fates. It’s what controls our choices, so that we may not make our own. It’s what makes us slaves.

Going back a few steps, slavery is not restricted to technology, though it is a common chain for us all. Different people have their restraints. Different people have their own masters.

Now let’s get some things straight:

Am I accusing you of being something less than human, one who is a dead?
No.

Am I saying you’re a bad person?
No.

Am I saying you’re ignorant?
No.

Am I saying to you that you are anything negative?
No. 

Am I saying i’m better?
No. Not by any means.

What I am saying, is that there are things in all our lives that have made our choices. There are ones who have subconsciously deceived others. There are possessions that have taken ownership of their owners. There are addictions that have given some a false sense of choice.

Now only a few more questions remain: Is there a chance of freedom? Can one be freed from their slavery?

Yes. I like to think so.

Some slaveries are worse than others, but yet some have become a part of our lives that we welcome. In some cases, what may be a choice to one may be a slavery to another. Only an individuals mind can truly see their own binds, but again, choice is a very powerful illusion.

Don’t let my negative words discern you though. You are the master of your own life, your own fate. Don’t let the addictions, possessions, false leaders, deceivers, and liars tell you otherwise. Just look inside, and remember:

“A man chooses, a slave obeys.”

Ask yourself: “Am I doing this because I want to, or because I need to?”

“Am I doing this because i’m choosing to, or because i’m obeying a command?”

“Am I a man, or a slave?”