Lessons on freedom and sovereignty on the last train home

Let me share with you a curious experience I had earlier this week.

It had been an eventful day, holding a fundraising dinner in London, and my team and I were visibly exhausted and looking forward to getting home. Bed was almost a two hour journey away though, with our train’s arrival time back in Bath scheduled for 01h15.

We settled down in a quiet carriage where most people were doing their best to sleep, but the quiet was soon disrupted by a group of twentysomethings who entered armed with a bag of beers, loudly enamoured with their own drunken wit.  After sitting down at a table row behind us and cracking open a couple more cans, they turned to a mobile phone karaoke app and began singing – Bohemian Rhapsody no less.

Arguably, the two men in the adjacent seats were most affected. Gathering from the minor provocation that they were hockey players, they did admirably well not to rise to it. However, it was clear that the presence of these noisy youths had the potential to ruin everyone’s day.

Don’t get me wrong, I could empathise with their youthful exuberance and also the disinhibition that comes with alcohol. I remember a slightly tipsy teenage version of me singing “Morning has Broken” late at night at the top of my voice at a mountain resort in South Africa, where most people had gone to bed by nine to be up for an early hike, egged on by the barman who was an ex-chorister… yes, it’s a rather embarrassing story. However, here we had some young people who clearly had some insight into the disruption they were causing and revelling in it.

I turned around and the chap whose face I could see told me to use my earphones if I didn’t like his singing.  It was clear, that the other passengers were becoming increasingly uncomfortable with this situation but felt helpless to do anything about it; nobody wishes unpleasantness at the start of a midnight train journey, least of all fisticuffs.

Nevertheless, it was clear that these youths were infringing on the fundamental human rights of at least 30 people in that carriage – the right to peace.

So, I decided to say something.

I turned around with a friendly smile and this is how the conversation went:

Me: Excuse me…

Noisy guy 1 shushes his mates, grinning. He thinks he knows what’s coming, but turns out he doesn’t.

Me: Have you guys heard of inalienable rights?

Noisy Guy 1:  Inali what?

Me: Fundamental human rights. We all have them. You, me, everyone. As well as fundamental freedoms – like the freedom to travel, freedom of speech, freedom of bodily autonomy –”

Noisy Guy 1: And freedom to sing!

Me: Yes, absolutely! Freedom to sing too. The thing is, that your rights end where another person’s rights begin.

Noisy Guy 1: What?

Me: Yes, it’s true. Also, we all have this wonderful power of choice, so we can choose how we behave, what we say, think and do, and we’re responsible for all of it…”

At this point, you could have heard a pin drop – the entire carriage was completely silent, expecting the noisy guy to erupt no doubt, and perhaps wishing I had just kept quiet and minded my own business.

Noisy Guy 1 starts guffawing, when suddenly Noisy Guy 2’s face appears around the side of the backrest.

Noisy Guy 2: Wait, wait, wait. So let me get this straight. You had a long day at work, and you’re really tired, it’s late. You got onto this train to go home, you people want some quiet and we’re here making a big noise, and that’s not fair. That’s what you’re trying to tell us. Am I right?

His noisy friend starts to remonstrate but he says: Wait man, I want to hear what this lady is saying.

Me (very relieved): Yes, I say. You are quite right. We are all on this train, we are all equal and we all have the same rights. Your freedom to sing must be balanced with our right to peace. Your rights end where other people’s rights begin.

Noisy Guy 2: Okay I get it. So we must be quiet?

Me nodding: Yeah, that’s it, thank you so much for hearing me.

His mate laughs raucously in the background and the now reflective Noisy Guy 2 shuts him up: “She’s right, she had a long day, everyone on this train has, and we’re going to be quiet now.” He asks me what my name is and we shake hands.

Boy, I was amazed, and was not the only one – the relief and amazement of the entire carriage was palpable. In peace and quiet, I continued contemplating what had just happened. I thought about my many conversations about sovereignty with our team’s “natural law guru” Karen-Ruth Skolmli who recently appeared on Richard Vobes’ podcast:

It occurred to me that this situation served several purposes.

It reminded me (and my fellow travellers too, I feel) what human rights actually are and how they need to be remembered, are very relevant and can be applied to everyday life situations. We don’t have to feel helpless armed with the knowledge of our inalienable rights. Had I not said anything, most likely I would have felt not only tired, but violated, by the time I got home – and not just me but the other 30 people on the train. Having ventured a conversation about inalienable rights, I arrived home with mine intact.

Like I said, we are all equal; no one is above anyone else. Sovereignty is a state of being, managing oneself and solving our own problems, operating within the laws of nature, acting on one’s conscience and knowing right from wrong. As sovereign beings, when we see a wrong, it is our duty to right it. Continuing to tolerate the infringements of our rights, no matter how trivial they may seem, is a slippery slope to having no rights at all.

Freedom involves living without fear and doing what we are designed to do without interference or control by others. I challenge everyone reading this to embrace your birth rights and freedom and live today and every day without fear of reproach or censure.

I’m glad to have remained sovereign and free on my journey home. I deserved and had a good night’s sleep!

I would love to hear your thoughts on the significance of this interaction in the context of natural law, personal sovereignty and the Better Way Charter.