Clemente Ferrer
Freedom is an inalienable human gift. Real freedom is that one which one lives out responsibly. By stating “you were called to freedom”, Pablo de Tarso shows us an example of the love for freedom, even under the influence of determinism.
Every human being must love and defend personal freedom. Without freedom one cannot love. Freedom is made to love and to serve; it is linked to truth.
Freedom is the foundation of human dignity. We defend freedom when we endeavor to be coherent with the truth, as well as when we fight against the enslavements that certain passions may spur. We also defend it when we do not accommodate to moral degradation or to gross human life violations.
The mass media can serve as an instrument at the service of freedom, however, this depends on how well it transmits the truth. The media acts in favor of freedom when it decisively executes its role of creator and disseminator of opinions. It represents the citizens’ voices in front of public administrators.
At the same time, the mass media serves as an incentive to stir human freedom’s potential. However, when the media does not disseminate the truth, but instead offers a reductive visual of human beings, consumerism and messy tendencies spread. This is so especially when the media bombards audience with scandalous news or anomalous behavior; these are forms of oppression.
We must all stand up against immorality, since it violates human dignity. We must also demand that the media executes its purpose: to inform, to entertain, and to stir opinions.
We love freedom, but we demand responsibility, since the media must be conscious of the big task that it is called to execute. It should be a disseminator of truth and a facilitator of freedom.
“Oh, liberty, delight of my existence! Without you work is torture and life is prolonged death”, stated Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French philosopher, politician, and revolutionary.
(Translated by Gianna A. Sanchez-Moretti)
Author and journalist Clemente Ferrer has led a distinguished career in Spain in the fields of publicity and press relations. He is currently President of the European Institute of Marketing.