Toni MorrisonFreeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another.
About This Quote
Every person has a right to be free, but claiming ownership of that freed self was another thing entirely. It is not the responsibility of the government to decide who gets to be free and who does not. All we can decide is whether we want to be free or not and what we do with that freedom. We must decide if we want to be slaves or if we want to become masters of our own lives.
Being free is not always easy. There are times when we choose to remain bound, even when the chains holding us are brittle and begin to break. I think some people feel as though they cannot claim ownership of their lives because they were born into the wrong family or because they were born in poverty.
They believe that their parents did not give them a chance and that they should give up on themselves and let someone else take responsibility for them. However, the fact of the matter is that anyone can be free and anything can be possible, regardless of how many chains lead us into captivity or how many barriers constrain our lives.
Source: Beloved
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