Freedom

In the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus (2014), Freedom is defined as, “The quality or state of being free: INDEPENDENCE 2: EXEMPTION, RELEASE 3: EASE, FACILITY 4: FRANKNESS 5: unrestricted use 6: a political right 7: the ability or capacity to act without undue hindrance or restraint.

I also add in the concept of “thought.” I am a free thinker, and I value the idea as a substantial part of myself.

I just returned from a “road trip,” and I have been gone for two weeks. Some of you knew this, and others did not and reached out to see if I was OK and not fallen victim to some devious illness designed by man or only plain old age. I have not. As usual, I logged into my blog, and my spam catcher had been busy. I had to delete one hundred and ten spam requests to be posted. One of those items was from Barbara, a relative I have known all her life. I will share what she posted in a minute, but it did cause me to think of what I wanted to blog about, Freedom.

Each of us has the God-given right to believe what we want to believe in. However, in today’s world of emotional responses from the Left and logical responses from the Right, it does set up an excellent dichotomy for discussion. Barbara has evolved into a total Left believing person, espousing her dislike, I dare say hate, for anything and anyone within the Trump sphere of influence. A while back, I wrote a blog on my personal belief about being a Christian and believing in scripture and what appears historically that we may be in the beginnings of the end times or Revelation part of the Holy Bible. However, that is entirely my point of view. Barbara sent the following to be posted:

“You Know Who I Am: Thank goodness I am an atheist and don’t have to worry about your unproven fantasies. But coward that you are, you’ll erase this post, won’t you?”

Freedom to believe as you choose is always present. It is also an opportunity to explain to anyone that believes as she does why she has built her belief system on quicksand. She has sent comments like this before, and I shrugged them off as coming from a mind and thought process that needed prayer. She persisted. I will give her, her day in court. She wants to confront and establish that her belief that God does not exist is crucial to her. Her choice falls in line with most Left, Socialist, Marxist belief systems. Freedom of thought, even though I do not believe in her worldview, is essential!

The difference in my belief that God does exist and hers that God does not exist is simply explained. We may both think that murder is wrong. She would come at it with an “opinion” that murder is wrong. I would conclude that murder is wrong based on a moral code that God instilled in the Ten Commandments. Morally, I say murder is terrible, and the only thing she can offer is an opinion since she believes in nothing. We all know how well opinions stand up to scrutiny; many times, opinions stand on quicksand.

My road trip was to Spearfish, South Dakota. I have been there before, briefly glanced at the area as we rode through on my Harley to Sturgis. This time we stayed for five full days and explored the area. It is beautiful with the rolling green hills pushing up against the Black Hills National Forest. The people there were amicable, helpful and it was a pleasure getting to talk to them. On our first day there, we had breakfast at a local restaurant. A man walked up and asked if the vehicle parked out front was mine. Thinking I may have parked incorrectly, I answer, “Yes.” And he introduced himself as a veteran, we then talked briefly, and subsequently, he paid for our breakfast. I felt humbled as this has never happened to me before, and it moved my wife to tears. That is how our visit to Spearfish started.

What I noticed in the area was that almost no one was wearing a mask. Not once were we asked about not wearing one. Discussions followed with people, and it was apparent Freedom existed in South Dakota. Not just in Spearfish, but through the entire State, as we traveled to the Capitol of Pierre. We felt normal again.

Contrast what I just described with the States of Colorado and New Mexico, which we drove through to get to South Dakota. Both of those States had, upon entering the State, road signs, billboards, and doorways of all businesses that a mask was required under penalty of law. My impression was fear existed throughout the region. I noted people were driving alone in their vehicles, all wearing masks. One guy got out of his car in front of me at a gas station, noted I did not have a mask on, and just stared at me as if he were trying to intimidate me. Of course, that failed.

We stopped at a restaurant in Colorado as we headed north, near Denver. People were eating breakfast with masks on. They would remove the mask, shove food in their mouth, replace the mask as they chewed. Insane! We entered with a mask and immediately removed them as we sat. This caused several heads to turn in our direction. For a moment, I felt like we were in the Twilight Zone. My Freedom was being tested. No one said a word to us, but squinty eyes above the masks were evident. I expected the mask police to show at any minute. We ate and left.

New Mexico was not any different. The same atmosphere existed, and people acted scared and compliant like good Marxists. These two States caused me to reflect on our country. I have spent a lifetime, my entire chosen career defending Freedom and the principles that I believe our country stands for and our way of life. The Obiden administration is destroying it each day with its policies and conduct. Each time biden steps in front of a camera, I am reminded of the walking dead and listening to a cadaver talk. A man with almost fifty years of service in the government contributing nothing to this country is telling us what we need and should do every day. What a damn joke!

The picture taken with the former president, Carter, was outrageous, and I honestly thought it was a photoshopped event initially. However, this was a granular moment in exactly how biden operates without regard to defined standards. It is the same way he and harris have opened the southern border, allowing sexual assaults of children to take place and sexual assaults of women to continue. There is no humanity in anything I just described, and it is all politics. He cares nothing for the country or its people.

Freedom is precious. Unless you stand for it and fight for it, Freedom will be lost at some point. I am not sure atheists believe in anything like Freedom. After all, it is just an opinion to them, not a concept worth fighting for or defending. One day both Barbara and I will die, and one of us will be surprised on the other side of death. In the meantime, everyone has the Freedom to think what they will and make decisions as they will. That is why God gave us “free will.” We can believe in Him or not.