I have never heard of Neil Oliver before today, but I am following He on social media After reading his Twitter timeline and watching an incredibly moving and prominent monologue about the nature of freedom, I can consider myself a true fan.
Oliver is an archaeologist and podcaster outside the UK. In fact, I am now subscribed to his podcast, A love letter to the British Isles, It covers my favorite topic…history. After listening to him, I thought I might listen to him reading the phone book (are they still doing those?).
But the most attractive thing is not his accent or his smooth, calm tone. Oliver’s recent weekly monologue on freedom and the nature of freedom is something everyone must watch, especially those who believe that freedom is a privilege, and it can only be achieved if it is guaranteed that nothing bad will happen.
Oliver’s monologue is quite Mike Rowe’s style and should be shared everywhere. Below are some transcripts and videos. Take five minutes to watch the whole thing. To be sure, you will be inspired.
For me, everything is about freedom. For me without freedom, nothing makes sense. So take away all the numbers, all the statistics, all the models and predictions, all the promises and threats; all-steel hands are under the coercion of velvet gloves. Take it all away. For me, it all boils down to simple things.
I declare that I am a free man.
I was born in a part of the world 54 years ago, only a relatively small part of the world, but I was taught that my freedom was won for me by men and women who fought and sacrificed to achieve this goal. I was born only 22 years after the Second World War. The world is still full of men and women who fight for my freedom and live to tell this story. What a wonderful story. It began with the sudden emergence of a force prone to tyranny. Of course, the sudden appearance is an illusion. In fact, before preparing to pull the trigger, this force has risen and a multi-year plan has been made. It is worth remembering that this force believes that it is ready to make the world a better place. A brilliant place. When that force began to move, nothing seemed to stop it. At the beginning of the struggle to prevent the victory of tyranny, there were only a few people—a few who were defeated by their compatriots and shouted out—who were afraid of making a deal with the tyranny and stood up and said no. British writer Mervyn Peak said: “Living is a miracle.” This is a very good line, I have quoted for many years, but now I see that just being alive is not enough, it is not enough. The bird in the cage is alive, but it does not have the freedom to fly in the infinite sky. It was first deprived of everything that made the bird. Living is not enough. The important thing is to live in freedom. Birds are such a fragile creature. This is really just about sports. Except for the movement of a bird, it is a handful of feathers and air.
There is no room for negotiation. You are either free or not. Freedom is not even safe. Those who are imprisoned are often afraid of freedom. All these choices are our personal responsibility. This is why former criminals often re-offend and return to prison to feel safer and more harmless. I have three children. The teenagers. Usually I think I want them to be by my side forever, where I can stop them from doing stupid things. Something dangerous. If I leave them at home, no strangers will hurt them, but it will be lifeless. Not suitable for them, not even for me. I will be their jailer, and they will be my caged bird. As it happens, in the past year and a half, let me see what happens when children stay at home safely. This is not good, not good at all. So if I didn’t know before, I now know that I must let them into a world full of all kinds of things, including danger.
The problem is, if your freedom means I might catch COVID from you, then so be it. If my freedom means you might catch COVID from me, then so be it. To be honest, I think so. For freedom…I am willing to risk COVID. That is an opportunity. I am one of many people who are ready to accept and happily accept. Life is not safe, and freedom is not safe. For the sake of freedom, your and my freedom, these two kinds of freedom have the same value, other than that, I will be willing to take risks.
I’ve been looking forward to it all week @thecoastguyMonologue. pic.twitter.com/9KSG0qg1gj
— Ezra Levant 🍁 (@ezralevant) July 31, 2021
