Yesterday as I was watching a documentary on the second world war, a prisoner of war made a statement that redefined my understanding of the word Independence.
The Dutch soldier, now perhaps in his late 80s but still poignant with past memories, was caught in the midst of Japanese occupation of west Thailand. Thrust into insentient slavery including the construction of the infamous bridge over River Kwai, he was eventually rescued by an American submarine when the Japanese surrendered.
Among the multifarious feelings that he experienced on being freed, limited by those his eyes and words could now express, he mentioned a striking ordeal. He said, "I could now say No when I disliked anything".
The Power to say No... could that be the definition of Independence? Could the state of feeedom or the power to act / speak / think without externally imposed restraints be manifest through this simple condition? And if so, is this a necessary or sufficient condition for independence?
The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that the answer to these questions was - yes. And that realization was gripping.
Think about how many times we say Yes when we actually want to and urge to say No. And is that disconnect between our thought and actions rooted in the fact that we dont feel independent?
Organisations have too realised this innate inability of humans to say No. Management thinkers suggest appointment of an Abominable No Man - a tall, furry, mean looking man on Board who will never answer "yes" to a question. All impervious and unworkable, but potentially rebellious if rejected, suggestions are then redirected to this person who promptly rejects them. And over time the Abominable No Man gains such notoriety that even the mention of his elysian self gives enough indications of the future of the budding idea to nip it right there.
The realisation of this power of No is gripping. Gripping because as we analyse the social and political state of our world, we realize that we are not yet truly independent. We still do not have the right to say No to the things we do not like. For instance, we do not have the right to reject a candidate in elections. We can vote for another candidate in the ring but thats still different, and a very poor alternative, to being able to say No to a candidate. If we cant say No, can we really call ourselves an independent polity or at a more personal level an independent people?
No?
