Freedom is one of those things we all value. It’s upkeep is expensive, but worth it. It’s our home really, the home of the free we sometimes say. Just what is freedom? Are you free to do whatever you want? No, of course not. But we can do a lot with freedom. Much more than we realize.
A month long trip to Tanzania back in the 90’s opened my eyes a bit. The people were beautiful. The ones I spent time around were very happy. I think they had a lot of freedom to be and do what they wanted to do. I was told that Tanzania was a Marxist country when I went. I didn’t really know what that would look or feel like.I came to experience a lesser feel of freedom there. I was not prepared for what I found and I was not sure how to describe it either. I liked a lot of my experience there. And some things left me cold.
One day, in the town square, I saw a military truck pull up and soldiers jumped out to grab a man on a bicycle and toss him into the truck, then back over his bicycle with the truck. Then they sped off. I have no idea where or why. I had a camera around my neck just about the whole time I was there and whenever I got close to some kind of public or government office, I noticed military guards starring at me, making it clear that photos were not welcome in that area.
And bribes were common. I never offered or gave one, but felt the need to get away from the authorities at such times. In fact, I wasn’t sure we were going to be allowed to leave the country if I didn’t give into the bribe culture.
All in all, these were not life altering, or life threatening circumstances for me but they had a sobering effect on me. I admit, I was very glad to land in New York and be back home. I’ve thought about that trip a lot. For me, it’s a comparison of my rights and freedoms here and my rights and freedoms there. In one sense, the scale of freedom seems wider, deeper here. I feel less scrutinized, controlled, watched. I feel more free.
My main thought about that freedom is what do I do with it? If we admit that I am more free here than in most places in the world, so what? What’s the big deal? This is where this idea of freedom becomes practical. I can worship here like very few places in the world. I can complain here without fear of government interference. I can say what I want to say without fear. And I can go where I want to go without pulling out papers or giving a 20 dollar bill to get into the next county. A little common sense and courtesy goes along with those freedoms of course.
Take any one of those things away from us Americans and you might as well take all our freedoms away. It will be a dark day for freedom all over the world. America has moved the needle on freedom more than any other country in history. I’m well aware of our setbacks as well. We have hindered the freedom cause at times, there is no question. Nevertheless, America needs to fight on for this freedom, this experiment in freedom if you will. It’s not over, it has much to learn and offer.
Freedom can be compared to pain in one sense. There are many aspects to pain, physical, spiritual, emotional, relational, financial, and so on. Pain can be caused, distress can be felt, anxiety can be triggered by any of those factors. Freedom is like this as well, having some of the same causes. There is financial freedom, relational freedom, health care freedom, emotional well being, courage to be a happy purposeful citizen, not only of a country but of the world. We enjoy these, and many more, not so obvious freedoms.
We are not the only country in the world that champions and exports these freedoms, but if you had a chance to survey the people of the world that are unhappy in their land and ask them where they would like to go so that they could be happier, you would find out quickly that you are already there. Freedom is our home. I like to think that this is God’s plan for all people. Freedom on this earth as we can use it and live in it and a kind of unimaginable freedom in heaven that will be amazing to say the least. Till then, I plan to work for your freedom on this planet.