Let Freedom Ring

Words convey meaning, but mostly as a result of the emotions, based on human experiences, we associate with these words. Words such as 'love' have a cultural understanding of 'great affection', but every individual assigns the amount of value 'great' actually becomes. Love for ice cream is incrementally different than love for our pets, just as love for our pets would be incrementally different than the value of love we have for our parents or children.

We may not give a great deal of thought to it, but most words in our lexicon hold evaluative meanings. Our community's recent Veteran's Day celebrations brought to light this conundrum. What is freedom? Many knew freedom wasn't free. Most used the word 'free' when describing freedom, or used phrases such as, "you can do whatever you want." Perhaps what they meant, specifically, was the power of self-determination…which may, indeed, mean you can do whatever you want, but, again, this would ultimately be determined by evaluative judgments. If freedom is not free, but 'doing whatever you want' is too relative a statement to truly capture all the implications of this elusive word,  why do so many Americans sign up to give their lives to protect it…what is it?

Ultimately the term 'inalienable rights' (incidentally, the Declaration of Independence uses 'unalienable,' which means the same thing) gets tossed into the definition…but what are 'inalienable rights'? These are rights which cannot be bought or sold or transferred to another…they are preordained by God and distributed to ALL people…it is the human construct of oppression which denies these rights to another….so, in essence, freedom IS free. Humans are the interlopers who place the price tag upon that which should be granted to all.

ABC's "What Would You Do?" put freedom to the test when they created a make-believe scenario of discrimination at a local deli. (You can watch the video in its entirety here.) Multiple individuals respond in both applaud-able and despicable ways when a customer harasses an employee, but a serving United States soldier responds the most remarkably when he says, "Get out…you have a choice to shop anywhere, just like he has a choice to practice his religion anywhere. THAT’S the reason I wear the uniform. So anyone can live free in this country. Leave the man alone…” When the program reveals the scenario is a fake and the individuals involved are all actors, this is what the soldier had to say when the show's host said he was heroic, "…heroes come in many shapes and sizes. That wasn't heroic at all; that was just being a person standing up for someone else." When asked what principles he was defending his response was, "Everyone's inalienable rights…everyone's."

Inalienable rights are also known in America as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But, because of our inability to see everyone as EVERYONE, we sometimes deny freedom to groups of individuals who come here seeking that which we so proudly proclaim is inalienable. That is where the cost for freedom comes…the barriers we erect around these inalienable rights become something we have to fight to obtain or to protect…for ourselves and for others. Some choose to fight with their voices…working towards education and the eradication of all the ‘isms’ that grow in our hearts and lead us to unintended forms of oppression. But, for Veteran’s Day, we honor those who are willing to go so much further if necessary. We are all grateful for their service, as well as their willingness to serve. May we all work to create a world where their sacrifices become unnecessary.

Blessings,
Tracy