Liberty
“We
are not to expect to be transported from despotism to liberty in a
feather bed... The boisterous sea of liberty is never without a
wave.”
Thomas
Jefferson
Liberty,
by definition, is freedom from bondage. We in America value it
greatly. So do people in the rest of the world. Khalil Gribran said,
“Life without liberty is like a body without a soul.” But,
as can be seen by a quick study of history, liberty is not often
granted on a silver platter. Most often, it must be fought for. Even
after liberty is achieved, there is constant jockeying for definition
and redefinition of the lines and boundaries. Where do my rights end
and yours begin? When do my liberties infringe upon yours? When is
the greater good more important than individual liberties?
According
to Thoreau, disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. If you
were to come to Birmingham and visit our Civil Rights Institute, you
would see photographs and video footage of African American young
people in the 1950's and 60's. They took to the streets, singing and
chanting, facing fire hoses and police dogs, and being carted off to
jail. When they were released from jail, they went right back to the
streets. They kept on in the face of despots and murders until they
achieved the simple rights we take for granted—to sit down in a
restaurant and order a meal, to go to a movie theater and sit
anywhere they want, to check into a hotel when they're traveling.
Those liberties don't seem like much, but they were hard fought
gains. People died for them.
I
think our world will be a dangerous place as long as there are people
in bondage. It is human, not just American, to strive for freedom and
liberty. Ghandi said it best: “To deprive a man of his natural
liberty, and to deny to him the ordinary amenities of life is worse
than starving the body; it is starving the soul..”
As
you go through your day today, think about all the liberties that you
enjoy and take as your perfect right. Then give thanks for those who fought and died to secure and
preserve them.
In
the spirit,
Jane
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