On Freedom
Fourth of July thoughts
Greetings to you all on this day of ultimate freedom. I woke up this morning in a country that my parents were each dragged to as tiny tots, to escape a threat so dire their parents were willing to give up family and friends, comfort, language, traditions, security, and homes that had been in the family for generations — just to escape with their kids in the hopes that the kids would be able to make life choices without being imprisoned or shot by someone who did not like what they were thinking.
Their freedom was earned.
I am the victim of that freedom. About a year ago, because this country gave him the opportunity and education to make his own choices and a terrific job that paid him so much he started to believe he was wealthy, and because game shows told him that Door Number 2 might possibly offer better prizes, because the advertisements that chose and groomed him as their target market suggested that “family” was a group of beautifully matched-people in a distant, rugged location, with a dog that frisks happily into the car where two kid sit waiting cheerfully and quietly, while the slim eternally-young mom joyfully tosses a heavy bag into the trunk, and the rugged and adventure-filled mountain moments leave no litter at all, no trace of dirt on the children, no bruises or scrapes, no one gets tired, there’s plenty of food and everyone eats…
