Ever since September 11, 2001 it is doubtful many things will ever be the same. One thing for sure, the word “freedom” might need some clarification.

Freedom, like the proverbial “free lunch” is simply no longer available, carte blanche. There is no such thing as a free lunch. That is, of course, unless you go to the local Soup Kitchen or some church’s Free Dinners – and even then, the following comments unfortunately may apply.

Freedom has a kicker. Some freedoms we may consider: We are free to buy, choose, sell, trade, and give away whatever we want. Well, maybe. A smile always comes to my face when I see a realtor’s sign “For Sale by Owner”. Why do I smile? I hope it is the owner who is selling the place, and not some crook or thief! And, the well-known axiom, “We are free to speak but not scream ‘FIRE’ in a crowd.” (That is, of course, when there is no fire.) We are not free to choose if our choice demands us to shove an old person or a child aside to get to our choice. We are not free to sell something that is not our property. We are not free to trade things we have in our possession but do not belong to us. We are not free to give something away that we have in our possession that does not belong to us. Some churches have a “Give Away Day” but I prefer such free items are not “given” with the provision we register with the church – “I thought it was a gift, now they want my name, address and phone so they can contact me and convert me to their way of thinking.” If it is a gift, then give it away, period, with no strings attached.

Freedom has a kicker. Until we are ready to make a new set of rules that the immigration authorities officially deny passage, at any of the borders of the United States and state, “all people with brown eyes (or whatever color is decided objectionable)” then everyone and anyone, regardless of the color of their eyes is welcome to America and go through the procedures to become an American citizen.

Freedom has a kicker. We are free to assemble in public but common sense (that which is rapidly becoming a lost art) dictates some guidelines regarding this subject. So, what specific item or items in our lives as a people or nation do we want to label or identify as not free? Unfortunately, the Freedom of Speech (or the Press) is one of the primary issues today. The old war slogan “loose lips sink ships” is obviously unknown to some government leaders or the news media. Wonder why certain leaders or the news media do not consider whatever they write, publish or televise will not be noticed by “the enemy”? One “for instance” is what a naïve anchor person said in regard to the terrorist activity about bio-terrorism, “It’s a good thing they didn’t think of small pox.” Well, duh, now that you put it that way, that might well be the next thing terrorists dream up for a threat!

Freedom involves trust. And only when we can trust everyone can we really believe freedom really exists – you know, freedom from fear, freedom from all kinds of dangers. I don’t look for this to occur in the near future, but really, when you stop to think about it, we live every day with trust and faith. We trust that the people at the water treatment plant are doing their job; we trust that the milk distributors are honest when they say the milk is pasteurized; we trust the gasoline refiners to provide honest-to-goodness reliable fuel; we trust that grocers keep their food displays clean, and the list goes on. We not only “walk by faith” we “eat by faith”, we “drive by faith” – everything is done, at least in most of life as I see it, is done in faith or trust that whatever we ingest, use or handle is “OK”.

When we give up completely on others, then get ready to reach for those gas masks, 15 foot chain link fences with razor cutters at the top, armor clad autos, bullet proof vests, shotguns or what have you because without faith of “some kind” we can never really think we are safe, let alone be free. Christianity, Judaism and some other religious groups have long been trying to instill the need and virtual necessity of developing faith and trust that will govern our nation but for some reason, such “radical changes” as trust, faith and belief have been avoided like the plague and thought to be divisive. You figure it out and you “get the cigar”.

Freedom cannot be taken for granted.

THE WORDWRIGHT