This was supposed to go out last week. Sorry for the technical difficulties.
I celebrate my freedom on this day. The long-ago freedom from British rule has been very beneficial for me and worth celebrating.
I have thought a lot about freedom in my lifetime. I think of freedom in terms of the number of choices I have. The more choices, the more freedom. A person with ten choices has more freedom than a person with five choices.
The freedom I have is enormous. I have food, shelter, transportation, temperature, entertainment, election and worship choices that exceed what many people in America are afforded and certainly beyond most people in the world. I am privileged. I am blessed,
Freedom has Costs. My freedom is worth celebrating. In that celebration, it is important to always remember my freedoms are made possible because of costs.
I certainly remember the military sacrifices that made my freedom possible. Not just the deaths that have occurred in war but the other sacrifices. My father and mother gave up four years of their lives in WWII.
In my own thinking about the cost of freedom, I go two steps further than the military sacrifices. First, I remember the cost to Native Americans. Taking land from them made my life have more opportunity. Even though I am seven and eight generations removed, I still understand that in a sense, I am an immigrant.
Second, the economy and other benefits I have, come in part due to slavery. There can be no denial I benefitted from past treatment of First Nation tribes and African slaves. Many of our soldiers paid the ultimate cost as did many Indians and slaves. I try to respect the memory of all who made my freedom possible.
Freedom has Consequences. I am glad I have the freedoms I have in America, but I constantly remind myself — no choice I make is free from consequences. Every free choice I make determines a consequence. I wish we took more time to teach responsibility for the choices we make. I wish more people took resposibility for the choices they make.
In golf we have a great example of people unwilling to accept the consequences for their choices. Saudia Arabia offered golfers big money to join LIV (Roman Numerals for 54) golf. The choice to join brought big money but had other consequences. The change meant LIV golfers no longer qualified for World Ranking points. Many LIV golfers have lost benefits because of the change. Some are now whining. They do not want to accept the consequences for their decisions.
One final note about freedom. Both political parties are in the business of reducing freedom. Both justify it in various ways.
For example, a woman’s choices for an abortion were greatly reduced by a recent Supreme Court decision. My point is not to speak for or against abortion, but only to make the point freedom was reduced.
Similarly, Governor DeSantis, vetoed a bill supporting the Arts in Florida. He argued some of the art was sexual in nature and would be offensive to some. In doing so, he not only reduced the freedom of expression by artists, he reduced the choices of citizens to experience symphony music and many other forms of art.
Democrats frequently have instilled regulations they believe support health and well-being. Their work often reduces the freedom of a business to operate the way they want. Recent Supreme court decisions have restricted the power of the government to regulate and increased the freedom for businesses.
Democrats also have worked to reduce the names and words that are acceptable. My high school removed the word Redskin from the athletic teams.
As I said both parties have justifications for the losses of freedom. You may agree or disagree with those justifications. My point is not to argue justification either way but to point out both parties are in the loss of freedom business.
This and That
Climate change. This week a category 5 hurricane entered the Gulf of Mexico It was the earliest a hurricane of that size had occurred in our history.
Climate change is here—whether it is human made or a cycle I will let others debate. What is needed is thinking about how to survive and thrive in the changing climate.
An interesting article in the New York Times and the BBC report how nature is making Pacific islands bigger in respose to climate change. https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/56114092
Discrimination in housing is alive in Alexandria Virginia.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/realestate/race-home-buying-raven-baxter.html
While it is certainly sad that Dr. Baxter had to face prejudice from an old woman selling her home, I think it is important to note we have the legal process in place to overcome the issue. The seller did not get away with her bigotry.
Good News
Kindness changing lives for the better
MrBeast Builds 100 Homes For Families In Need (sunnyskyz.com)
Love in action
A Lifetime Of Love: Single Mother Who Fostered 40 Children Retires (sunnyskyz.com)
First Responder
Peace,
Jerry
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