Famous quote by Amiri Baraka

Mobile Desktop
A man is either free or he is not. There cannot be any apprenticeship for freedom
Like

"A man is either free or he is not. There cannot be any apprenticeship for freedom"

- Amiri Baraka

About this Quote

Amiri Baraka's quote, "A man is either totally free or he is not. There can not be any apprenticeship for flexibility," encapsulates a profound reflection on the nature of freedom and the human condition. At its core, this statement challenges the idea that freedom is a gradual procedure or something one can discover or make over time, like an ability or occupation. Rather, Baraka asserts that flexibility is an outright state of being-- binary in its essence. One is either totally free, or one is not, leaving no space for intermediate stages or progressive progression.

This perspective can be translated in numerous methods. Metaphorically, Baraka may be highlighting the intrinsic inalienability of freedom as a basic human right. One can not partly experience liberty, simply as one can not be partially alive. In a social context, this perspective can work as a critique of systems that claim to offer incremental rights or flexibilities over time. Baraka recommends that such gradualism is flawed since it fails to acknowledge the natural and instant entitlement to liberty that every specific has.

Additionally, by dismissing the principle of an "apprenticeship for freedom," Baraka might be slamming efforts to domesticate or regulate freedom through institutional systems that claim to train individuals for liberty. Such systems, he might argue, are basically coercive and eventually enhance the extremely structures of control they claim to take apart.

The declaration also invites reflection on personal freedom and self-determination. It suggests that freedom is not something external that can be achieved through social authorization or gradual education however is a fundamental individual stance. One need to recognize and assert their flexibility rather of waiting to be approved it.

In amount, Baraka's quote is an effective assertion of the immediacy and universality of freedom. It challenges standard paradigms that portray flexibility as a steady achievement rather than an intrinsic right, encouraging individuals and societies to acknowledge and recognize flexibility as an absolute state of being.

About the Author

USA Flag This quote is written / told by Amiri Baraka somewhere between October 7, 1934 and today. He/she was a famous Poet from USA. The author also have 7 other quotes.

Go to author profile

Similar Quotes

Small: As soon as laws are necessary for men, they are no longer fit for freedom - Pythagoras
Pythagoras
"As soon as laws are necessary for men, they are no longer fit for freedom"
Pythagoras, Mathematician
Small: Software is like sex: its better when its free - Linus Torvalds
Linus Torvalds
"Software is like sex: it's better when it's free"
Linus Torvalds, Businessman
Small: It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires o
Samuel Adams
"It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men"
Samuel Adams, Revolutionary
Small: We are all different. Yet we are all Gods children. We are all united behind this country and the common cause
"We are all different. Yet we are all God's children. We are all united behind this country and the common cause of freedom, justice, fairness, and equality. That is what unites us"
Barbara Boxer, Politician
Small: The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of cr
John Locke
"The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings capable of law, where there is no law, there is no freedom"
John Locke, Philosopher
Small: The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class-it is the cause of human kind, t
"The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class-it is the cause of human kind, the very birthright of humanity"
Anna Julia Cooper, Educator
Small: Nothing has been purchased more dearly than the little bit of reason and sense of freedom which now constitute
Friedrich Nietzsche
"Nothing has been purchased more dearly than the little bit of reason and sense of freedom which now constitutes our pride"
Friedrich Nietzsche, Philosopher
Small: Some books leave us free and some books make us free - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Some books leave us free and some books make us free"
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Philosopher
Small: Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower - H. C. Andersen
H. C. Andersen
"Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower"
H. C. Andersen, Writer
Small: A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself - Jim Morrison
"A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself"
Jim Morrison, Musician