FREEDOM!
Can anyone who has watched the movie “Braveheart” forget that scream by William Wallace at the end of the movie when
he is being eviscerated by the king’s men?
Having recently watched the movie
again, it started me thinking a lot about the word "freedom" and what it means to we Americans.
As a country we have a unique relationship with and devotion to freedom - we REALLY love it! Freedom in its many forms is enshrined in our Constitution which is both a cause and an effect of that love. In fact, we have gone to war many times to protect it and spent vast fortunes and countless American lives to help others have or keep those same freedoms (although with varying degrees of success in either.)
Over the centuries that our country has been in existence we have grown from thirteen colonies with 3 million people (almost exclusively white Europeans - and their slaves, of course) living on farms, to a country of fifty states with a very diverse, mostly urban population of over 330 million. In all that time we have maintained our freedoms. But it took effort. Like all modern democracies we have learned to interpret the idea of freedom to reflect the reality of our lives; the definition of "freedom" has evolved with time and circumstances. For example, we learned to give up a little so-called freedom in order to cooperate for common good, pull together and accomplish great things. It's worked pretty well for over two hundred years as we became the richest, most powerful country in the history of the world. Until recently that is. What has happened to us?
How did we go from this . . .
The difficult times we have endured over the past several years have seemed to harden our hearts and closed our minds. We were once a country driven by hope and optimism.Now, it seems, we are driven by fear and anger - about pretty much everything. Of the right wing, left wing, urban, rural, old folks, young folks, immigrants, the economy, voting, the wealthy, the poor, the homeless, the police, Black Lives Matters, Boogaloo Bois, Antifa, vaccines, masks, science in general. Oh, and smart people.
To This?
Then a protest in SUPPORT of
these treasonous turds?!
The boogey men are as numerous as each of our own individual tribe's beliefs. Fear and anger are spread by the internet that allows us all to be experts at everything - and spread our own version of the truth. They are further inflamed by the political parties and by big media and by social media - all for their benefit. Finally, they are spread by our own laziness in accepting lies as truth. The result is that now even freedom is under assault. It has been cheapened and degraded by our own actions.
Actions like:
Freedom to risk our neighbors health by refusing personal actions that our parents and grandparents would have simply considered sacrifices . . . no, not sacrifices, contributions for the common good. Were they fools?
Freedom to inflict our religious beliefs on others. Isn't that what the authors of the constituion wanted to avoid?
Freedom to avoid and silence voices that make us uncomfortable. A college "safe space?" Really, are we so weak minded?
Freedom to make preposterous and dangerous claims without penalty. Do facts and common sense no longer matter?
Perhaps I'm wrong, maybe these really are examples of the modern American ideal of freedom. If so they're a sad comment on both freedom and us. Even worse, they dishonor the sacrifices others have made for real freedoms over these many years. America, a Beacon of Freedom? Right now it's more like a tiny penlight. Is it any wonder that other countries look at "the world's greatest democracy" and shake their collective heads?
If you're looking for a solution from me, I'm sorry I don't have one. I'm just an old guy who is sad and frustrated to see a great country, a country for which I gave 28 years of my life in the military, turned into the laughing stock of the world or worse. We are fast becoming the latest example of a once-great country in moral decline - too dumb and arrogant to respect but too rich and well-armed to ignore.
Kris Kristofferson once wrote about another definition of freedom: "Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose." I doubt William Wallace would cry "freedom!" from anything as petty as wearing a mask or taking a shot . . . but he might agree with Kris.
And, like Braveheart, we too will have nothing left to lose if we continue to turn freedom into a selfish joke.
(I knew you would't be able to get this song out of you head)
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