with liberty and justice for all.
i've mostly seen the bumpersticker or heard the saying freedom isn't free in relationship to our wars and the veterans that fought them.
i have nothing but respect for men and women veterans, and i feel deeply regretful of the homecoming the veterans of vietnam received.
it was the first time we saw the ugliness of war and the damage it does to both the civilian "collateral damage" and to the soldiers who fight.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/11/global-spirit-forgiveness-and-healing-in-vietnam_n_1665470.html
the blame was never with the soldiers but with the people who sent them from a comfortable distance away.
we did not bring freedom to vietnam. we did not bring freedom to our own country. we brought lasting damage to both countries both physically and spiritually.
real freedom comes from forgiveness of the wrong that was done on all sides.
that kind of freedom is costly.
http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Texts/Narrative/Henry_Forgive&Forget.html
but this blog is not about war. the problems with our recent conflicts would take another blog.
this blog is about freedom not being free.
this blog is about the cost of freedom in this country to bring about the liberty and justice for all that we pledge allegiance to.
for elizabeth eckford, freedom was not free.
she walked alone through a hate-filled crowd fearing for her life in order to exercise her right to get the same educational opportunities as her white peers.
for the parents of ruby bridges, they heroically sent their baby.
what do we mean by freedom in the united states?
no state would agree to ratify the constitution until the bill of rights became part of it.
the first amendment represented their top priority.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
freedom from a government sanctioned religion
our forefathers, the ones who feared a national religion, gave us this national motto
e pluribus unum
out of many one
in the 1950's we moved to a government approved
freedom isn't free.
too often the minority must fight for the same rights as the majority.
christianity and the belief in one god is the majority professed belief in this country. it is not the only one for whom religious freedom is extended.
freedom to practice any religion freely
that includes islam.
it included quakers.
it included huguenots.
it includes buddhists
it includes tribal beliefs.
non-christian believers pay a cost for their freedom. not only do they face intimidation and verbal persecution. they face the threat of physical persecution.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/us/politics/hate-crimes-american-muslims-rise.html
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/11/15/assaults-against-muslims-in-u-s-surpass-2001-level/
freedom of speech and of the press
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/02/AR2005100201237.html
journalists have risked prison and their careers to keep sources confidential. how many stories of corruption would have been stifled or unaddressed had they not fought for this? freedom of the press has always cost.
people in power will do everything to keep their crown
- mary gauthier
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQwu4wff7lI#action=share
the american civil liberties union has been an advocate of free speech since 1920.
they have defended the rights of flag burners, the kkk, conscientious objectors, nazis...
freedom of speech is a precious freedom extended to all.
https://www.aclu.org/issues/free-speech
freedom to peacefully assemble
also, costly
selma
double v campaign of african american soldiers from world war II for victory from discrimination at home... like the victory they fought for abroad
(i didn't realize fox news has been spreading its agenda for so long)
freedom must sometimes be fought for from your own government
freedom to petition the government for the redress of grievances
african americans in the united states have had some pretty strong grievances.
for freedman after the civil war, they were not free men. they died at the whim of white people. four years of a bloody civil war gave them legal freedom. it didn't give them the freedom of other men. it did not give them freedom from being hung in front of smiling children.
freedom to poison our children with hatred also has a price, and african-americans have been fighting throughout our history for the freedom that hatred denies them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1hm5fxJEkY&list=RDz1hm5fxJEkY&t=69
freedom has never been free.
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