This and other textual evidence in both the novel and the speech leads to the conclusion that Solzhenitsyn believed that true freedom was attained when one's soul was liberated from evil. .
One of the most prevalent reasons for the degeneration of true freedom in Western society, according to Solzhenitsyn, is the direct meddling of the media in matters better left alone. The general media has become ignorant of its responsibility to uphold the standards of society, or perhaps it has merely become drunk with power. Using the philosophy of "everyone is entitled to know everything,"" (Speech 5) the media force-feeds its muckraking to the population and is directly responsible for the creation of "trends- in thinking. By broadcasting only "those opinions which do not too openly contradict their own and the general trend,"" (Speech 5) the public is denied access to an amount of objective information sufficient for them to form their own opinions. On rare occasions when people are presented with said information, human nature prevents many from considering it seriously due to fear of being wrong "or worse, being considered an outcast from the team. The phenomenon known as mob mentality exists as much in Western trends of thought as in Shukhov's labor camp where, with the proper encouragement, the prisoners' loyalty can be swayed between opposite poles in a matter of seconds. History has proved countless times that the mob is a fickle, vulnerable creature, and may be easily and instantly dominated by anyone with enough charisma to charm it, and enough lies to keep it happy. The mob is not free; people are tied to their choices "choices which either match the trend or are dismissed and trampled upon. The mob is left with as little freedom to choose their thoughts as the moon has to choose its cycle. The mob does not care for individuals; individuals are expendable. As Shukhov says in a comparison of individuals to stars, "The stars fall down now and then.
