I think freedom is the most important thing on this planet. What I think isn’t necessarily what another person should think, yet we should both have the freedom and platform to think and say whatever we want to think and say so long as it doesn’t harm anyone in the process (and no, hurting feelings is not harming someone).
Freedom is what makes – or made – America such a wonderful experiment and idea. When the world was being run by kings, America formed a republic that was by and for the people. Rights were given.
These weren’t ‘rights’ like a free dinner or free tuition or a safe spaces that’s free from harmful ideas. These were real rights, like the right to pursue happiness, the right to live and practice your own religion. It’s these rights that conflicted so heavily with the idea of slavery that eventually had to see it disappear.
Freedom. Liberty. These things are so important, but we only seem to completely understand their importance when they’re forcefully taken from us.
Taken, as in when Fidel Castro took and kept the rights of Cubans. When he killed people because he opposed them or he thought they opposed him, or created forced labor camps, or re-education camps for homosexuals, or when he burned books and took over the media. Cubans want freedom more than anything else.
We here in the west, however, will gladly give our freedom if it’s in exchange for safety.
Imagine not being free. Imagine not being able to do the things you currently take for granted, like worshiping your God or aligning with whatever political belief you hold.
The thing is we’re not free. Not in comparison to how we were. And while guys like Castro overtly took freedom to control the state, our leaders are taking our freedom under the guise of safety and protection. And while you may like to be safe, it can’t be worth the nanny state that’s being created.
Fidel was a bastard. He was a horrible man. But our freedoms are being taken just the same, we’re just happy to go along with it. Maybe Trump will shake things up. Voting for him was clearly a vote against what’s been going on, so who knows. We’ll have to wait and see. For now, rejoice in the death of a dictator, but keep a keen eye out for the wolves in sheep’s clothing that take freedom just the same.
