I don't want that freedom...
I watch the nightly news in the vain hope it won’t be all bad. It is. Bombs there. Murder here. Pain and suffering everywhere. And, also, talk of freedom. But I don’t want that freedom of more guns and tighter borders and lower taxes and values so shallow they obliterate me. I want the real thing. Complex. Challenging. Alive with the tension of difference and nuance and change, and seeded with love and respect and community. I do not always understand this freedom but I know with certainty it will hold me, will take me into a future not yet spoken but one that would speak for all. A future built on the freedom to be who we are, to love whom we love, to live in simple dignity. Not one up or one over the other, but side by side. This freedom is clean air to breathe, pure water to drink, real food to eat. This freedom is open borders, open hearts, open minds. Vain hope? I hope not. I hope... ...........................................................