02/27/2010: "For Free"
"Everybody makes their own fun. If you don't make it yourself, it isn't fun. It's entertainment."
This is a quote from the movie State and Main and despite its provenance I think it is profoundly true. It came to mind today when I read Seth Godin quoting Arianna Huffington in his blog (sethgodin.typepad.com).
"Self expression is the new entertainment, We never used to question why people sit on the couch for seven hours a day watching bad TV. Nobody ever asked, 'Why are they doing that for free?' We need to celebrate [this desire to contribute for free] rather than question it."
I love the idea of acting for free. Just because I can and want to. Just for the love of it or them.
I begin to think that freedom, like fun, is a do it yourself activity. To choose how we will spend ourselves is the most basic freedom we have. To choose to give a part of ourselves away instead of selling is, by this accounting, the very essence of liberty.
Three morals in this story:
1. Everybody makes their own fun.
2. Everybody names their own price.
3. "For free" is a very good reason to act.
Yours with creativity and imagination,
Darlene