Owl Light
Where Inspiration & Inquiry Converge
  • Home
  • Literary Journal
  • Owl Light Sponsorship
  • Digital Owl
  • Contact Us
  • Login
  • Home
  • Literary Journal
  • Owl Light Sponsorship
  • Digital Owl
  • Contact Us
  • Login
  • Home
  • /
  • Uncategorized

Reflecting on Freedom in the “Land of the free”

Looking back on 9-11, there is no denying that we live in a dangerous world.  Some of that safety – real or perceived – comes at a cost.  More than ever before, we are under surveillance, everywhere we go, with governmental record keeping (and tax collection), with cameras and online monitoring of our personal data.

I hear that, statistically, the world is a safer, less violent place now than in our historic pasts.  This may be true for segments of the population, but many groups of people are denied the same rights and liberties in jobs, housing, health care and law that others might take for granted.  In the United States, the groups most impacted by discrimination have shifted some over time due to changes in immigration patterns (with peoples of Middle Eastern and Hispanic descent currently most targeted), education and attitudes.  Some groups, specifically African Americans and Native Americans (or First Peoples), continue to feel the legacy of abuse that lingers from our historical wrongs as a nation.

These patterns of oppressed and oppressor repeat throughout recorded time.  In many parts of the world – including parts of the U.S. – women continue to be abused and treated as second-class citizens.  Lack of understanding and outright ignorance around gender identity places some members of the LGBTQQ community at risk of discrimination and violence.  Persons with different abilities than the general population and people with mental health diagnoses are other groups where freedoms are more tenuous.  Economic status, particularly poverty, which can be exacerbated by complex co-factors, also results in threats to personal freedoms.

In general, again statistically speaking, more people in more places share legal freedoms than others that came before.   De facto freedom is not the same as what is etched into the law books, and how freedoms are understood and put into practice are constantly changing.  In the United States (and I presume elsewhere in the world), freedom means different things to different people and these disparities in belief and practice result in resentment and hostilities and social and political divides.

Merriam-Webster online defines freedom as:

1 : the quality or state of being free: such as

a : the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action

b : liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another : independence

c : the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous

freedom from care

d : unrestricted use gave him the freedom of their home

e : ease, facility spoke the language with freedom

f : the quality of being frank, open, or outspoken answered with freedom

g : improper familiarity

h : boldness of conception or execution

2  a : a political right

b : franchise, privilege

In using this series of defining characteristics, we can easily see that someone who has to choose between two different healthcare options  – one of which has a higher chance of offering an extended and pain-free life – based on ability to pay is not truly free.  Someone who has to hide their gender identity due to potential job loss or a threat of physical and emotional harm is not truly free.  Likewise, someone who is not able to speak freely (through verbal or written words or demonstrative actions) their beliefs due to potential harm of retaliation by individuals or governmental entities is not free.   Although none of us has absolute freedom absolutely, the disparity in freedoms is something that we all should be conscious of and concerned about.

The relative nature of freedom is also evident when it comes to the lives of children.  Many of my peers have shared recollections of childhood freedom to explore and move about, alone or with friends, in school, after school and during school breaks.  Children’s lives now are much more controlled, their time and whereabouts accounted for and more

decisions are made for them, reducing their abilities to learn from their actions.  If this is indeed a safer time, in general, than when we were kids – which I suspect it is – then such close monitoring of our children is not needed and could, in fact, do more harm than good.  Parents and educators can allow children opportunities to be independent and grow while still offering guidance and support.

Being able to build confidence and critical thinking skills, to learn how to move within the social world and interact with people in meaningful ways requires active exploration, trial, and error.

However, we live in a litigation nation where liability and a wide range of paternalistic measures reduce personal accountability for our actions, everything from hot coffee to a crack in a sidewalk is seen as an affront worthy of legal action.   This extends to parenting, and allowing children more room to roam also opens parents up to criticism and potential legal actions.  Over protection of children (and a citizenry) can allow for the slow deterioration of freedoms.  Dictatorships and other groups and individuals seeking absolute power favor a populace that does not know what freedom is.  Individuals, and nations, not acclimated to freedom struggle when they find themselves without the controls to which they have become accustomed, and seek security through controlling factions.  They often fail to understand that with rights come responsibilities. Freedom, and being free, is a learned skill acquired over time.  This is why the most viable democracies are those whose peoples fought for freedom, and defined their freedoms over time.  Slow progress is more likely to be lasting progress, but there is never a time when all are free.  The continued fight for freedom is inevitable – especially in the wake of the unthinkable.

D.E. Bentley ~ Editor, Owl Light News

Posted on September 6, 2018 by owllightnews.com. This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.
I am not a robot, am I?
The Village Gardener: Tithonia rotundifolia or Mexican sunflower

    Recent Posts

    • Visual Studies Workshop Announces Project Space Residency Open Application Period
    • West End Gallery showcasing Brian S. Keeler, Treacy Ziegler
    • Hard
    • Eye-Magine – Future Youth Art Exhibit
    • “These Wilds” Announcement

    Recent Comments

    • Darlene on Let’s Talk About Beep!
    • Darlene Bentley on Hello! from a new Guest Editor, and Finding Joy in Hardship.
    • owllightnews.com on The Farm
    • Douglas Morgan on The Farm
    • owllightnews.com on Energizing and Engaging Fun at GEVA

    Archives

    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • February 2025
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • June 2024
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • March 2024
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • October 2023
    • September 2023
    • August 2023
    • July 2023
    • June 2023
    • May 2023
    • April 2023
    • March 2023
    • February 2023
    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • September 2022
    • August 2022
    • July 2022
    • June 2022
    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017

    Categories

    • #2021
    • Agriculture
    • Animals
    • Antiques
    • Art
    • Astronomy
    • automobiles
    • Beekeeping
    • Birthday
    • Boating
    • books
    • Botany
    • Broome County
    • Buffalo
    • Canadice
    • Canandaigua
    • Cartoon
    • Children
    • Civics
    • Collecting
    • Comic Strip
    • Community Information
    • concert
    • Covid-19
    • Creative non-fiction
    • Dansville
    • Death
    • Democracy
    • Dogs
    • Editorial
    • Education
    • Environmental
    • Essay
    • Family Fun
    • Fantasy
    • Fiction
    • film
    • Finger Lakes
    • Food and Beverage
    • gallery
    • Gardening
    • Gender Rights
    • Great Lakes
    • Health
    • History
    • Holiday
    • Honeoye
    • Human Interest
    • Human Rights
    • In Memoriam
    • Innovation
    • Interview
    • Leisurely Pursuits
    • Literary Arts
    • Little Lakes
    • Live Theatre
    • Livingston County
    • media
    • Monroe County
    • Movies
    • Museums
    • Music
    • Naples, NY
    • Nature
    • Night Sky
    • No. 1
    • NYS
    • Obituary
    • online
    • Ontario County
    • Opinion
    • Outdoor Sports
    • OWL Light
    • Owl Light News
    • Owl Light Newsstand locations
    • Owl Light Sponsor
    • Owl Sponsor
    • OwlLight Blogpost
    • OwlLightNewsArchive
    • Performing Arts
    • Photography
    • Poetry
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Recipe
    • Reviews
    • Richmond, NY
    • Rochester
    • Satire
    • Science
    • Scifi
    • Seniors
    • Shop Local
    • Social Justice
    • sports
    • STEM
    • Steuben County
    • Sustainability
    • Theatre
    • Tioga County
    • Tompkins County
    • Travel
    • Uncategorized
    • Veterans
    • Weather
    • Women's Rights
    • Wood working
    • writing
    • Wyoming County
    • Yates County
    • Young Adult
    • youth
    • Zoom

    Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org
Powered by