At the core of Mod philosophy: "Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better."

I'm proud enough to let myself be labelled a Mod. Those of us who choose to be labelled Mods do so because it reflects a philosophy of life. For better or for worse it has shaped and shapes who we are and what we become. Central to this is the concept of freedom. Ah! But are we? You can see the philosophers rising to the bait. Here it comes...Rousseau. "Man is free but everywhere he is in chains." We are constrained to behave by the society we live in. True. In some societies people are repressed by rules of religion, ideology and culture; or any permutation of these you care to choose. To that extent living in a Western society we are 'freer' to be what we want to be. That is real freedom because it's based on choice.

Frequently heard among Mods is the mantra, "I don't want to be like everyone else." Do note, This does not mean Mods want to be better than everyone else. It does mean they don't want to be the same as everyone else: They want to be different. And that is a very important distinction. Now this quote from Camus should make sense. Real freedom is choice. Our choices define us. We choose to be who we are and to live freely by our choosing. Having that freedom is "...a chance to be be better" on our terms and in the way we want society at large to see us. At heart Mods are existentialist: we define ourselves throughout our lives by the choice we made to become Mods. By doing so we found a purpose for living. So how is a Mod different from anyone else? That, as they say, is question to be answered another time.