well, I’ve been here, stressing over a word I—along with most of my countrymen, I’ll wager—have taken for granted for the past, forever…”freedom.” what is “freedom?” try it, it’s not as easy as first it seems, I’m telling you! I asked bruce (the husband) to define it, and he said, “well, if I had REAL FREEDOM, then I wouldn’t have to stop for stop signs or lights (we were in the car driving, at that moment) so there’s no such thing as total freedom.” One thing I realized, listening to him, was that most people seem to identify it by its negatives…no, you can’t yell “fire” in a crowded theatre!

So then we still need a definition—what is it, and where does it end? I’ve been told that my freedom ends at the tip of your nose. What do you think? I think that saying came from the days when many people smoked, but it’s true today as well…as long as you don’t hurt me, you’re pretty well free to do as you please—in this country…which means we're not free to choose whether or not to stop at lights and stop signs. sorry, bruce!

Walt and I saw a story on TV about a town in the  south called Liberty, run by the KKK well that should’ve been a clue—liberty? who do you think the country is run by? the people?  usually, places with pretty names like “the people’s republic” and the “democratic people’s whatever…”  are mighty poetic on the outside, and potentially rotting at the center.…Well, I was wondering, liberty for whom? It made me think about how often we define certain words of this kind according to our viewpoints, while we turn around and take away the freedom of those who disagree with us.  oh, well! that’s only human…part of believing what WE think is, de facto, right—otherwise, why would we believe it? where we get messed up is in having no patience for anyone else’s beliefs…which goes back to how we’re raised. I don’t think jesus ever taught that…I’m thinking about the Christians who want—even expect—the freedom to put the Bible in school libraries, and they talk as if prohibiting it would be evidence of the moral death of our country…But meanwhile, they’ll fight tooth and nail to keep out the Book of Mormon!

this topic has so many little rivers and lakes to explore...…the only freedom I personally could come up with that everyone, anyone, anywhere may have is the freedom to “THINK.” even in prison, you may lie in a meadow of heather by a beautiful mountain stream, and dream and dream...nobody can stop you…that’s POWER!

but I’ve left until the end, a powerful song from the 70s musical SHENANDOAH—which gives us a few things to think about before writing our own thoughts…please read and then join the polylogue:

“Freedom”  from the musical Shenandoah 1975
Music by Gary Geld

Lyrics by Peter Udell

Freedom ain't a state like Maine or Virginia
Freedom ain't across some county line
Freedom is a flame that burns within ya
Freedom's in the state of mind

(Chorus) Freedom, freedom,  Freedom, freedom
Freedom is a flame that burns within ya
Freedom's in the state of mind
Freedom ain't a boat that's leaving without ya
Freedom ain't a place ya float to find
Freedom's in the how ya think about ya
Freedom's in the state of mind
(Chorus) You can't get to freedom by riding on a train
The only way to freedom is right on through your brain

Freedom is a notion sweeping the nation
Freedom is the right of all mankind
Freedom is a body's imagination
Freedom is a state of mind
Freedom, freedom   Freedom, freedom
Freedom is a notion sweeping the nation
Freedom is a body's imagination
Freedom is a full-time occupation
Freedom's in the state of mind