The meeting of the minds, in law, is an intelligent consensus when two or more persons concur on terms and considerations. The agreement is as fluid as water filling the receptacle every cubic centimeter of the receptacle. Both parties do unto each other what was agreed in words so tight, even air trapped in a nook cannot escape.
There are countless matters in everyday life painted with colors of legality. Arching overall, the 1987 constitution, the written fundamental law. From the collective wisdom (or lack thereof) of representatives of the Filipino people, it granted rights expressly to many citizens, most of which do not have the competent degrees and eloquence of the masters who drafted the law. In the delivery of the terms, trust was essential in the crafting of the social contract.
Hooray, we were given the right to speak freely. Hep hep, with pens mightier than swords, we can exercise expression freely with no fear of retribution. We are taught to look up to and emulate Jose Rizal whose novels exposed the abuses of Spanish authoritarianism as colonial masters. Or on the other end of spectrum, just be benign. To the like Rizal, the hero, is not mandatory. Express yourself in another way. Be as graceful ballerinas in a stage and immersed in the harmony of the orchestra. Do not offend not deceivers, thieves and sex offenders. Stay in the safety bubble.
How beautiful is freedom? Is the air is sweeter; grass is greener and tomorrow looks brighter. Perhaps freedom was like the atmosphere in garden of Eden without the serpent introducing deception. But evil was in it. And even better with an Eve who was more attentive to the words of her Maker than being swayed by the wily words of the creature. And perhaps even more wonderful with an Adam who can say to the woman he loves, “Father commanded from all of the trees we may eat but not this one from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”
In expressing freedoms granted by the written law, who is the guarantor that it is free? The courts of law? Does it come with a cost of preserving freedoms threatened by another? If freedom is defended, who shoulders the costs of freedom. In real life, lawyer charges acceptance and professional fees. The Juan of simple means do not have the resources to defend the preservation of the grant by the sovereign social contract which others snip away systematically. Rizal, Bonifacio and thousands of unnamed heroes not found in the history books died as the economic cost of the freedoms being enjoyed today.
But not the lighter side, not everything is legal. Not everything between persons is subjected to the law of contracts and obligations and other acts of the legislature. A man and a woman, or even, two men, biologically alike, can walk together, be flirtatious and mutually fall in love. Or five men can assemble, go to the basketball gym and hoop for recreation, health or competition. Agreement is present without the participation of legal documentation. They can just do it? Or twerk it like Miley? The paper work and consent is uncalled for.
Sans the legalese, mutually agreeing to be in love is free. Feelings are exchanged at no monetary cost. Developing the relationship from flirtation mode to a serious commitment comes with a cost. A lunch at Jollibee? Or a road trip to Tagaytay? Are there less financially burdensome freedoms?
When I was caught in the swirl of infatuation, the cost was a 30 minute walk from my house to her house to knock at her father’s door and the fear of asking, “May I visit your daughter?” Free? Not a pisong duling. Nowadays, I cannot see the laborious walk to the next neighborhood. The roads and doors are virtual; the exchange of sweet nothings are seamless; and parental override of any developing relationship, if any, needs techie skills to breach the freedom of their impetuous adolescent privacy. But again, in an agreement to be emotionally bound to another, there is an upkeep? How much is an internet connection? A gadget? Both essential are not free. All for the joy and pain of exercising the right to express oneself freely.
