Sovereignty

An issue that has weighed heavily on my conscience is that of sovereignty. Is the individual able to express his or her uniqueness in this world without being subjugated to domination or control?

This question is still open so far as I can tell, even though the predominant human trend is of dominating other humans. Keep in mind that domination comes in many forms, from outright physical control to more subtly inculcated indoctrination. Physical control can even take many forms itself, from plantation style sweat-shop slavery to the unlawful extrication of wealth by taxation of income from labour. The subtleties of indoctrination too have varying degrees of perceptibility, from obvious and flagrant stupidities like the general acceptance of the current state of affairs in the mass media, to the unquestioning perpetuation of cultural mythos that can certainly not be shown to be in the best interest of individuals that must suffer their torments like male and female circumcision both.

When decisions are made for a child before it is able to make its own decisions, will that child ever be free? Of course, many choices parents make on behalf of their children are absolutely necessary, like providing a healthy environment. But decisions like genital mutilation are way beyond anyone's rights to inflict on anyone else. And what to say about selling children into slavery, on the day they're born? Is that even on the same scale? If my point hasn't been made clearly enough, I am comparing the issuing of birth certificates with male and female genital mutilation as somehow equatable on the basis of severely restricting that child's ability to make decisions in life. Jean-Paul Sartre said something to the effect of the only thing in his life he felt he couldn't take back was his having been baptized, but somehow I feel more grateful for not having been circumcised, and more distressed by having been 'birthed' as a 'citizen.'

So what does it mean, then, to exist as a sovereign? It's my contribution that sovereignty is nothing more than the absence of mind control.