I Want to Break Free

The Power of Free Will

By Will Wu

I only liked two bands/artists from the UK. One is Ellie Goulding because she has a great voice, and the other is Queen. I grew up listening to "We Will Rock You," but recently, I found more connection to their song "I Want to Break Free" after I read the piece from Henry David Thoreau. Here's the link to the song if you're interested. It's a really good song (click on the photo to go to the song).

Here's how the song goes:

I Want to Break Free!
I Want to Break Free from your lies
You're so self satisfied I don't need you
I've got to break free
God knows, God knows I want to break free
(Deacon:2-6)

The song, surprisingly, reflects almost identical ideas from the Essay “Civil Disobedience” in the modern day setting. Henry David Thoreau, the author of “Civil Disobedience,” illustrates his ideas and visions of an ideal government in the essay. Thoreau emphasizes on the importance of a free government, and the power of which belongs to the people themselves. Contrary to what Thoreau believes, an increasing amount of modern governments have become restrictive to people’s free will and their rights. Thus, resonating with Thoreau’s essay, the Queen’s song reflect the strong will of people, to escape the chains of the restrictive government and to gain more freedom from the current political settings.

I grew up as a Chinese, and I still recognize myself as one. While believing in the greatness of my mother country, I kept my open mind and attended school in the US. My exposure to this brand new culture gave me new perspectives on China. As I was reading Thoreau's work, I instantly started to think about my mother country.

Thoreau believes that people’s conscience and free will should come first before the government. He writes: “Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator?” Thoreau believes that every government should be “expedient” in terms of helping its citizens to promote what is right for them.

I can't stop thinking about the current state of China. Media bans still exist; people are afraid to experss their free wills; and, the internet firewalls formed a giant prison to trap the Chineses inside. Oh heck, I can't even check my friends' instagram post when I get home! With my experience both in the US and in China, I started to feel that I am in shackles. The government, though being "expedient" in many ways, suffocates my free will.

Queen’s song, hence, reflects my will with its strong lyrics: “I want to break free!” The simple diction and the strong tone of the song accurately captures Thoreau’s passion to break from an “inexpedient” and restrictive government and to prioritize his conscience before justice.

Nevertheless, I still miss my home, and I still cherish my mother country. As people always says, the first step of solving a problem is to realize that there is one. I hope that more brave people can stand up and experss their thoughts, motivated by their conscience, and I trully believe that day will be here.