riding the freedom train?

Considering the recent inaguration speech by our great (joke joke... wink wink) president, I have been sitting here pondering freedom and liberty. I figured writing a blog may help to make it more clear to me. I may even get some response to help me to understand just what it is I'm not getting. No matter how hard I try, I cannot for the life of me understand how sending kids trying to find a way to pay for college to their deaths or killing hundreds of innocent people in a foreign land will bring us freedom. Maybe it's clear to some, but what exactly is this freedom thing? I do know there are all sorts of freedoms that we seek. There is freedom from tyranny, from self-deception, freedom to love, to be, etc. Sounds noble right? But there are some who seek freedom to indiscriminantly lie, cheat, enslave, and kill others.

The list of freedoms goes on and on yet I personally am no closer to understanding what exactly it is. Could it be because we have never had this here on the BBM? Well that might be taking it a bit far for some so let me rephrase the question. Could it be that we haven't had this in the last few thousand years? Sure, we got a savior here or there who came around offering to show us how to be free. I find it interesting that they don't usually get to stick around long. Maybe because they saw the real deal on the BBM and checked out before total entrappment. It's is curious the names of these teachers of freedoms are often invoked to deny others their freedom.

Someone somewhere once said that the most insidious form of slavery is the one in which the slave believes he is free. So in an attempt to take the issue closer to home, since it was our esteemed president's speech (wink wink) that got me to pondering about the issue anyway, I'll concern myself with my day to day activities as a so called typical urban american. What is so insidious about our culture that makes us believe that we own the patent on freedom? What is it that makes our so called leader believe that we are so free that we can force this freedom on others. Aren't they free to reject such freedoms? What forces are working on our beliefs to make us miss the biggest thing since god made the world.. (whisper now) we aint free. Even I am reminded daily of how little freedoms I really have. I am also reminded daily that it is never really given, rather, it is earned. This reminder comes in the form of the most mundane of activities as I go about each day. It must have been through these mundane activities that the institution of our enslavement came about, since many of us still think we're free. So each day I hope to examine the mundane activities and ask myself the question-have I earned my freedom today? Others are asking in various ways. Check out the links to see.