In preparation for July 4th, I decided to google search the definition of “freedom”. These are the first four definitions…
free·dom
[ˈfrēdəm]
NOUN
1. The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.
2. absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government.separation · nonalignment · emancipation · enfranchisement · manumissionantonyms: dependence
3. The state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.[more]antonyms: captivity
4. The state of being physically unrestricted and able to move easily.
Is America really living into the value of freedom established so many moons ago? Is America really a place that lets everyone walk without constraint and fear? Does America really deserve to be known as “the land of the free”?
Thousands of families and hundreds of small children have come across the southern borders in hopes of a better life, to the “land of the free” only to be faced with the opposite of freedom – restraint on their ability to act, speak, or think for themselves, subjection from a cruel government, imprisonment, and physically being restricted and kept in warehouses and tight spaces…. All four definitions of freedom are broken and tossed away to be used for those that “deserve” it… those that are “American,” and born in this land… but we neglect to acknowledge that this was stolen land from the onset. America was a land of immigrants who sought refuge in a foreign place and displaced a whole other group of people they deemed as “other” to do so. We apparently have not learned from history and our past.
Coming up on the Fourth of July, the day of freedom and independence for this country, my heart is heavy. How can I celebrate this freedom when so many other individuals are being denied these same rights in the same country, and even more seriously, the same state? I go into this holiday reflecting on my own life and recognizing the privileges and freedoms I have been given… it is my responsibility and duty to extend grace to those deemed unworthy of such liberty. To truly make America great again we need to stop creating borders, stop separating families, stop labeling people as something other than human… we need to start loving more, owning up to our faults, and valuing every person as someone who deserves freedom and a life without restraint.
On Wednesday, the official day of independence, there will be groups of protestors going to local detention centers across America to stand up against the injustice seen at the border. This is the most patriotic and freedom affirming action I can imagine; fireworks and cookouts are enjoyable and bring family together, but they focus on our own pleasures and forgot about all those individuals not given the opportunity to choose and who are actively fighting to be free. I will see my family tomorrow and the next day… other children of God do not know if they will ever see their families again… the least I can do is stand beside them and hold them in love. America has a lot of work to do to earn its name… this is not truly the land of the free until everyone walking on this soil is treating equally, justly, and with compassion and love.
Further, the issues at the border are but one piece of a much bigger puzzle of injustice seen here in the United States and around the world…
What will you do to make America truly free?
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