Freedom

From time to time it is good to reflect on what we have in our lives and why we have them. I'm not speaking of material things, as they hold little if any real value. From Ashes to Ashes. From Dust to Dust. That is the way of the World, the way of Nature, the way of the Universe.

On July 4th, 1776, the Founding Fathers of the United States made the bold assertion that we are all Created Equal, and endowed with the Rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. They claimed this to be a Truth, an Axiom of human existence.

To borrow a bit from Hamlet, who pondered:

"Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles

And by opposing end them.

To die, to sleep--

No more--and by a sleep to say we end

The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep-

To sleep--perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub,

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come...."

Freedom is the fortune that we have that is always worth fighting for, and that failing to do so will surely be our death, and what dreams may come will be Nightmares

We cannot take lightly the burden that comes with our Freedom! And with that, I'll share the thoughts of a few others on Freedom:

"We will never be through with our fight for Liberty, because their will always be people who do not want the responsibility of freedom, and the will always be people who will gladly take that responsibility away from them, for the power it brings." N. Scott Mills

"Liberty has never come from Government. It is always come from the subjects of Government. The history of Liberty is the history of resistance." Woodrow Wilson

"The basis of a democratic state is Liberty." Aristotle

"The object and practice of Liberty lies in the limitation of Governmental power." General Douglas MacArthur

"In any free society, the conflict between social conformity and individual Liberty is permanent, unsolvable, and necessary." Kathleen Morris

"It is seldom that any Liberty is lost all at once." David Hugh

"Of Liberty I would say that, in the whole plenitude of its existence, is unobstructed action according to our will. But Rightful Liberty is within limits drawn around us by the Equal Rights of others. And I do not add ‘within the limits of the law’, because the law is often but the Tyrants-will, and always so when it violates the Rights of an individual." Thomas Jefferson

"The tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of Patriots and Tyrants." Thomas Jefferson

"Individuality is freedom lived." John Dos Pessos

"Political freedom means the absence of coercion of a man by his fellow men." Milton Friedman

"We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first Revolution. Let the word Go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.... Let every Nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to ensure the survival and success of Liberty." John Fitzgerald Kennedy

"Freedom is the right to question and change the established way of doing things. It is ... continuous revolution... It is the understanding that allows us to recognize shortcomings and seek solutions." Ronald Reagan

"True freedom has only the power of individuals; to think for themselves, to choose for themselves, to take responsibility for themselves, their actions and their lives." N. Scott Mills

Let Freedom Ring...

Happy Independence Day!