Each year on the 4th of July, millions of Americans flock to beaches, festivals, and block parties to enjoy tasty food, comfortable camaraderie, and spectacular fireworks. Many will reflect on the price our forefathers paid for the liberties we enjoy. Others will castigate current administration policies; the rest will simply relax, savoring a work holiday.
And herein lies the beauty; the priceless gift of independence guarantees we exercise those sovereignties without fear of repercussion. Or do we??
Certainly, as Americans, we enjoy many freedoms other countries do not. For example, in communist China, Facebook, “AKA the Birthplace of All Drama,” is blocked. I know this from firsthand experience using social media in China; thank God I wasn’t arrested!
Embarking on a trip to Southern China in 2009, I’d been warned of the “Great Facebook Wall.” Undoubtedly, with my somewhat defiant rebel-type personality, I had to test the boundaries. While waiting in a Chinese train station, I cautiously posted to Facebook via my smartphone. Surprisingly, it worked. HaHa! Take that Chinese government!
All was well until my phone curiously stopped working. Suddenly I could not access my email, text, or use the internet; nothing worked. On a borrowed device, I contacted my husband and Verizon. It seemed there was no apparent reason for the blackout, which ironically lasted the duration of my trip. Arriving in Hong Kong at the end of our trip, my phone magically began working again.
Wait, there’s more! In order to keep team members’ families updated during our trip, each afternoon, I paid to use the computers in a Chinese internet café. I typed my blog entry like an email, sent it to my husband in the U.S., and he published it for me from Texas.
Ironically, I could access my personal email from the café, and nothing I emailed to the states was blocked, intercepted, or censored. The only issue I had was that the Facebook notifications sent to my email address appeared in Chinese instead of English.
Fortunately, as Americans, we are not subject to that type of censorship, for the most part. Or perhaps we’ve become so consumed with our own agendas that we fail to see our civil liberties stealthily being stripped away. In many ways, it seems that President Franklin Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms: freedom of speech and expression, freedom to worship God in his own way, freedom from want, and freedom from fear; are no longer fully operative in this country.
Although we call ourselves the United States of America, it is an oxymoron, for, in many ways, we are really a nation divided. For example, expressing his freedom to worship God in his own way, John puts a nativity scene in his front yard during the Christmas season. Bob, who does not believe in a god, takes offense and petitions the homeowners association to remove the manger scene. Why? It’s John’s yard. If Tom is offended, he doesn’t have to look.
I find some Halloween decorations gruesome, frightening, and well, hellish. Do I raise a stink? Nope. I tolerate these expressions because I understand that not everyone shares my perspective.
In this current climate, I encourage each of us to pause and reflect on the reasons why we celebrate our independence as American citizens. Perhaps we do not agree on everything, but much blood was shed so future generations could be free to disagree without taking up arms.
Why not take it a step further? Rather than taking offense, try offering an olive branch to someone standing on the opposite side. Making peace instead of war is never a bad idea.
Until Next Time,
Becky J Miller
“Warrior Princess”
*Miller, Becky J. (2018, July 3). Living Outside The Lines: “In Honor Of Independence” – Corridor News. https://smcorridornews.com/living-outside-the-lines-in-honor-of-independence-2/