If the goal is to avoid indignities great and petty, how does one become more free? Not minding them is one way, but learning to ignore evil doesn’t free us or our beloved from its pysical manifestations. Spiritual freedom does not makes on breathe easier in Zyklon-B atmosphere.
Money can insulate in some cases: TSA doesn’t screen private plane passengers yet, but that may be a matter of time. Private land affords a degree of insulation from official busy-bodies. So earn more and delegate dealing with the IRS to hired accountants? Not practical for most people.
A revolution would do it, with all the past sources of indignities becoming lead sponges. New sources of interference will arise, most likely more outrageous than the old. Changing the world significantly is a task of a lifetime, foregoing other interests and dreams.
And all that explains why political power has been so attractive to many. A Medieval Bishop or king may have gone decades without encountering anyone to whom he was in pawn. Controlling the lives or others could have been a side effect, not the intent of seeking power. The intent — at least from the freedom-seeking perspective — was to have no one above in the pecking order, to be the alpha not for the dominion over others, but to avoid being subjugated.
The last option is to go off the grid, to areas which no one claims effectively. Become a country of one family and be too obscure for the great powers to notice, too well-armed for the others to try. The USSR used to prohibit escape. Cuba and North Korea still do. The US makes expatriation more difficult with every year, but it is still a viable option. Unfortunately, expatriation requires to view this country as worthless and few are prepared to get more freedom by giving up the dream.
