Finding Agency in Free Will

We have the right to say what we wish, but the right to be ignorant and unaware is a reflection of our character. Our world is enveloped in the systematic uprooting of our rudimentary thought. Social media has created a monopoly over our opinions, manipulated conversations, and monetized our responses through rage bait and other forms of social manipulation. Influencers are the conduit of a larger machine. Avatars that are responsible for mass reprogramming. If we are not honest with ourselves, we must ask: how many thoughts are truly our own?

Time and time again, we see the effects of propagandized materials, the decline in media literacy, and boomers falling victim to the very things they warned their children about: “Don’t trust anyone on the internet.” The effects of this extend beyond the internet and are mirrored in social settings, where para-social leaders can more easily exploit our beliefs and perspectives. Too often, while listening to others speak, it becomes apparent that many are merely echoing borrowed ideas. Corporate platforms dominate the cultural narrative, fostering echo chambers of “alternative facts” that dull critical reasoning. Bluntly stated, we are drowning in intellectual complacency. For the wealthiest nation in human history, this may be the most significant American tragedy.

So what is free will? It is the ability to act without the constraints of necessity or fate at your own discretion. Free will demands critical thinking. Without it, we relinquish agency and surrender ourselves to impulse, and that is the contrary. To break away from regurgitating talking points, cherry-picked information, and radical beliefs, we need to look at who we look up to and reflect on our convictions. Create a sense of identity: mold your speech to who you want to be, and put your values and positive affirmations into action. We should revere ourselves, not outsource our sense of worth. Admiration can inspire, but idolization only elevates the idol.

When free will is practiced, internal conflict gives way to clarity. We learn to question with impunity and think without permission. Life begins to take shape before us as we understand how easily others surrender themselves to certainty. Growth follows, impulses lose their grip, and action becomes aligned with thought. With free will comes empathy, born from understanding rather than dogma. We become flexible, aware, and humbler, recognizing that the more we learn, the less we truly know. Serious conversations lose their performative weight as curiosity replaces certainty. Optimism quietly takes root, our minds grow lighter, and nuance emerges where binaries once stood. Exercising free will does not merely create independence; it forges identity.

Just be mindful that some things are up to us, and some are not.