An Independence Day Reminder: We Are Not Free

Last updated on: July 7, 2018 at 11:50 pm by Rebecca Bratten Weiss

An Independence Day Reminder: We Are Not Free 2018-07-07T23:50:42-04:00 Rebecca Bratten Weiss

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

My youngest woke me up this morning by waving a set of tiny American flags in my face, exclaiming about how it’s going to be a happy day. And it is. We have the day off; it’s my favorite ninety-degree-and-humid weather, and I scored some fabulous steaks from our local rancher. I’ll probably fill the stock tank so the kids can cool off in the water, and if I’m feeling like working up a sweat I’ll ignore the heat advisory and scythe some hay, the old-fashioned way: freedom, right?

Not really.

I refrained from saying “I wish we had some UK flags instead” because it’s pretty obvious that the UK has its problems, also, both in its shameful imperialist history and in its political choices today. But it feels wrong to be celebrating America. It feels like surrealism to be celebrating freedom in America, particularly. If I have any freedom, it’s a freedom that is only possibly because of chance, and because of privilege. And within narrow parameters. Yes, we have a transcendent freedom, an existential freedom, as humans, as spiritual beings. But we almost seem determined to ignore and abolish the transcendent within.

I don’t mean that I feel like nihilistically divesting myself of the genuine goods in my life – but, we have a responsibility to think beyond what is immediately available to us. We must consider also our obligation to those who are deprived of these goods we so carelessly enjoy.

How precarious our happiness is. It hangs by a thread. And if that thread should snap, would we be able to count on others to spare us a moment of mercy? Or would others not want to be made uncomfortable, by thinking about anything beyond the immediate pleasures of a bourgeois existence? “No man is an island” – the famous quotation from Donne reminds us. But in order to enjoy our pleasures without troubling ourselves about those who are suffering precisely because of our unjust regime, often precisely because of wealth and privilege we personally enjoy, we have to slice ourselves off from the great body of humanity, and wallow in an illusory independence. And this has always been the case. This is our history.

My friend Miles Woodfield captured what I was thinking perfectly, in a Facebook post today:

During your brews and barbecues today, please take some time to remember the immigrant toddlers separated from their parents by U.S. officials, the children left fatherless by police violence, the middle eastern and Muslim brothers and sisters banned from our freedoms, and the massive discrepancy of people of color incarcerated by our government.

Please take time to realize that while you get to spend time with your family, see the ones you love, and have some time to relax by the pool today, many families do not have that luxury for no reason other than injustice in the system, racism, and religious intolerance.

While you are watching the fireworks and smiling and clutching your kids close because you’re so thankful for the freedoms you have, don’t fool yourself.

We are not free.

Or, perhaps, we are as free as the least free among us. Whatever one’s fleeting individual experience of freedom to pursue the pleasures of the moment, this freedom is illusory so long as our brothers and sisters are in chains.

Remember to call your representatives, join protests when you can, support humanitarian organizations, donate to fundraisers to raise bail and hire lawyers – and VOTE.

image credit: www.maxpixel.net/Chains-Feet-Bondage-Prison-Freedom-Sand-19176

Previous Post

July 4, 2018

I Won't Be Trying To Say God Next Year: #MeToo and Catholic Writers - UPDATED

Next Post

July 9, 2018 SCOTUS Pick Kavanaugh Argued a Sitting President Shouldn’t Be Indicted, Will Respect Abortion Precedent

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion anti-semitism art Atwood Betrothed church clergy abuse coronavirus culture economics education environmentalism ethics faith family feminism gardening gun violence immigration Judaism literature MaddAddam New Pro Life Movement news pandemic personalism poem politics politics blue Pope Francis racism religion salvation sexuality social justice spirituality Station eleven Stephen King The Stand Trump Uncategorized war World Health Organization

Select a Month March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did the biblical measurement of a cubit represent?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Length of leg Length of hand Length of forearm Length of foot

Support this
Column