Choice

Choice is an integral part of the free world. It is the practical application of freedom: A framework that allows one to live out the life they please, on every level, as long as it doesn’t harm their fellow man. The issue I have with the ideal of choice I just mentioned is that the reality of it is rarely this pure. Throughout my life I have seen enough examples of one’s choice being subtly thwarted by another to believe that just living in a world where choice is available really means anything.

The issue of choice has returned to my head because of the burka ban recently coming into effect in France and the talk of a hijab ban as well. Basically, under the premise that the burka (and other Muslim veils) are oppressing women, they have been banned in public in France. The response has been that these women have a choice. They choose to dress in this way and the government should not be telling them how to dress in a ‘free’ society. I don’t think it’s all this simple.

The reactions described above serve to remind me of one thing: the fact that so many people filter the world through their own naiveté. They seem to lack the ability to realise that for some people, things aren’t so clear-cut. Do people really believe that just because someone lives in a free country means they enjoy the complete legal freedom that that country offers? A society based on freedom has no way of guaranteeing freedom for its inhabitants and it’s obvious why: because most people live out of their lives in sub-societies, where the beliefs and laws of the sub-society became the most important. These laws have no requirement to be based on freedom and not everyone has the strength to oppose them. There is a very big difference between having choice and feeling strong enough to exercise it.

This is also an obvious point to convey: it has to do with what is at stake. A decision to go against the status quo can have humungous repercussions for some people. I know it can be hard for some people to imagine (because I too think it is a basic human right) but not everyone exists in a situation where their individuality and opinions are seen as positive creations. I’m not too familiar with the practices of Muslims so I’m going to mainly use a Christian example here, but the principles are the same.

Let’s take me for example. I’m an atheist. I have not lost anything in my life by making this decision because my home life was not religious based. Neither of my parents seem religious and they don’t seem annoyed that I’m not either. I’m a baptised Catholic but only to please my grandparents, who have actually never asked if I’m religious or not. The sub-society of my home life was generally based on freedom. As long as I put the effort my parents expected into my schoolwork, I was within reason allowed to do whatever I wanted in my free time. I was expected to do tertiary education, but I was allowed to choose whatever I wanted. I was never told to think a certain way.

Now let’s explore the theoretical counter-example. His name is John. John is 21 years old, the same age as me. John was born into a Catholic family and from a young age was told to identify as a Catholic. He was taken to church every weekend and was sent to a Catholic school with other Catholic children. He met all of his friends through the church or through his Catholic education. He is now studying at the Australian Catholic University to be a teacher. He identifies himself as primarily a Catholic. He doesn’t believe in evolutionary theory. He believes the world is 10,000 years old. He has no urge to have sex before he gets married. He still goes to church every weekend and he has just started dating a girl, Jane, that he met through church.

Now let’s fast-forward a decade. John is now 31. 7 years ago he married Jane in their church and they now have 2 beautiful Catholic children. John teaches Maths and Science at a Catholic high school, Jane teaches English at the same school. Lately, John has been having his doubts about religion. Jane’s parents were just killed in a horrific car accident; he wonders how God could’ve let this happen to two kind Catholic people. He keeps his doubts to himself though; his whole life is based on his faith and he can’t imagine a life without it.

Now, after reading all that theorising, who is willing to put their hand up and say that in that situation they’d be willing to choose a life without religion? John’s whole life is part of the Catholic sub-society, where he is expected to believe in Catholicism. He has invested 31 years of his life into a Catholic existence. He is employed at a Catholic school. His wife is Catholic. His children are Catholic. His siblings are Catholic. His parents are catholic. His friends are Catholic. If John gives up his faith he potentially loses all that. 31 Years. I wouldn’t blame John for just burying his doubts and continuing with his life as it is. John doesn’t exist in a sub-society where choice is championed and without even realising it, he’s made the stakes so high that he’s virtually stuck in it.

I have no doubt that for some Muslim women, it all feels similar to John’s life. Raised in a household where your mother and your grandmother wore the burka or hijab, where you father’s wife and his grandmother wore the burka or the hijab. Where your friend’s mothers wear the burka or the hijab. Where your mother’s friends wear the burka or the hijab. Where further down the track your husband will expect you to wear the burka or the hijab. When you exist in a sub-society where every woman wears it, do you really have a choice to not do the same? Are you strong enough to face the opposition?

In most situations choice is not as clear-cut as we’d like it to be. A proper understanding of the ramifications (or even just the perceived ramifications) involved is important before any judgment can be made as to how ‘free’ some people really are.