Hope

Just a few thoughts regarding what freedom is.  Freedom is being able to think for yourself.  To make decisions according to what you believe.  Freedom is being able to do what you want to do, without anyone telling you what is best for your life.  Freedom is knowing that you are in charge of your life, that nobody else has a say in how you conduct your life.  Freedom is knowing that hope lies in being free, maintaining the rights of yourself as well as the rights of others from being corrupted by rulers, authorities, governments, lobbyists, or other people.

I feel that freedom, in this sense, is being tested due to the current president.  That is not to say that it is because of President Obama.  Rather it is to say that people have forgotten what it means to be free and have placed their hopes, dreams, confidence, desires, needs, and their all on a man.  This is neither effective nor fair to President Obama.  Freedom is not a man.  It is an idea.  To place hope in a man will surely end in failure of the man, or failure of freedom.  Freedom must remain an idea.  Something we all strive for together.

We cannot say that Obama is our hope, when truly our hope is in the constitution and the rights and responsibilities it places before us.  It is wrong to state that the president, the person or the office, has any influence over our inalienable rights.  At least I hope that we have not come so far that the Bill of Rights is now not subject to basic human rights, but rather the whim of congress, the president, or the supreme court.  Let’s have a quick civics lesson.

We the people, of the United States of America, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America.

Wow.  Some awesome stuff there that seems to have gone by the wayside.  First off, and I stress, “We the people”.  That means us.  Not congress, not the president, but every one of us that call ourselves American citizens.  We decided to form a more perfect union (just closer to perfection, not perfect).  The supreme court, which represents justice, yeah, we established that.  It’s ours.  Everyone has a constitutional right to domestic tranquility, that is peace in our home towns, not disturbed by the government.  Stop looking to the CIA, FBI, Army, Navy, Air force, and Marines to make decisions for you, cause it’s our call.  Not a general’s.  But it doesn’t stop there.  We’re also responsible for promoting the general welfare.  That means that we must take care of each other.  We aren’t to let the government do it for us, but rather we are to do it ourselves.  Cause we’re Americans.  It’s what we do.  Help each other to become stronger.  Secure the blessings of liberty.  Make sure that liberty is around so that everyone in America can benefit from it.  And not just this generation, but make sure that it’s around for the next and the next.  We the people, do ordain and establish.  We wrote the constitution.  It’s very clear.  We don’t need a judge telling us what it means, or congress making rules to keep us in line with it, or a president to decide which direction we should take it.  Those positions are just a generalized face on a big nation.  They are at the service of the people (not to be confused with being at the whim of the people).  They have the authority they have not to guide us, for we exist to guide them, but rather to provide balance between each branch of that generalization of America.

All this to say, if you are hoping in a president, a member of congress, or a supreme court justice to make things better, you’ve missed the point of being an American.  If you want others to make decisions for you there are plenty of other forms of government we can live under.  But democracy, for all its imperfections, is the only form of government which lives under the people.  It is a delicate position.  One that requires constant vigilance.  Our fore fathers tried to make that clear in the preamble of the constitution.  It seems, though, we have either changed our minds, or forgotten.  I suppose if we have changed our minds that is all right, that is what democracy is about.  Just make sure that you have changed your mind and that someone else hasn’t changed it for you.

Freedom is free.  There will always be those who desire to take it from you, under all kinds of pretenses, which is why it must be upheld, guarded, and most of all exercised.

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!

I find myself longing deeply for a simpler life.  One uncomplicated by television, bureaucracy, electronics.  We are a social race, we need to laugh, play, dace, and sing with friends and family.  Some how we are defying nature and becoming more and more secluded.  I find a lot of damage in our society due to this odd condition.  We will all sit in a movie and wish we had a group of friends to hang out with daily just like those actors do on the screen, we will watch Christmas specials on tv and lament the fact that Christmas is too commercial and has lost that special spark like what is exhibited on the television, but we will not focus on bringing Christmas to others.  Once upon a time, not so very long ago, people danced, laughed and listened to music in such a way that was respectful and fun to each other.  This may have come in the form of square dancing, swing dancing, jitter bugging, or even the mashed potato.  I think we have lost a definate grasp on life.  The objects we cling to so desperate have spun us out of control.  Naturally we do the only thing we know to do, we look right back at those objects, but instead of comfort we find confusion and keep running and spinning.  

I would like to challenge everyone to take a day and do something just for fun, something you don’t normally do, and see how much fun it is.  The other day I was walking home and saw the painted bars on the crosswalk.  Remembering the movie Elf I chuckled to myself and thought, “That crazy elf, jumping from one bar to the other.  It looked like fun, I wish I could do that.”  Then I thought, why the heck don’t I?  And that’s exactly what I did, and I had so much fun, I did it at two other cross walks on the way home.  This did not involve anything much except that I had to take the time to walk home, and then realize that I really had nothing to hurry home to, and then realize that it wouldn’t take any time away anyway and would be a blast!

Funny how we rationalize things.  I’m too grown up, too dignified, too important, too unimportant.  Really what we are is scared and lonely.  We are social creatures.  We feel safe in numbers, we have fun with others, we find joy in the joy of those around us.  A video game is so much more fun with a partner than it is alone.  Even more fun than playing tennis on Wii, take a chance and go to a court with a friend and try to learn to play, even if you hate it, it will be a blast.  Why stay in?  Because you don’t have to get dressed up?  Because you can be a little lazier?  Because you can save money?  Is it really worth it though?  Not at all.  So invite some people over and dance!  Put on a tie or a skirt (whatever is appropriate...or makes you comfortable) and discover the world and how joyful it is once you separate yourself from what you own, and join yourself to what nature has blessed us with.  A communal spirit, a joyful heart, a mind that can discover new ways to have fun, and hands and feet to accomplish it all.

If any of you want to get together and dance, sing, play a terrible game of tennis, or just have a cup of coffee and laugh at how silly our lives are, please give me a call.  I’m tired to spending my time with my television and my lap top.