Thoughts on Freedom

I guess it has been a combination of events that has led me to write these thoughts about freedom. Thinking in terms of history, current events, and my own experience, I have been forced to consider my own beliefs about freedom. Last month was the 4th of July, a time when Americans across the country celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. However, for many, Independence Day is seen as an opportunity for grilling and lighting fireworks, not for remembering the efforts and sacrifices of those who came before. It is my personal opinion that forgetting these prices of freedom has become a national handicap, but more on this later.

In more recent news, a federal judge in California has ruled Proposition 8 to be unconstitutional, which in effect has re-legalized homosexual marriage in the state of California. Although I find such blatant judicial activism a bit disconcerting, it has made me reevaluate the argument from its simplest roots. I will try not to comment on the actual issue itself, as it is not my position to argue for or against homosexual marriage. However, it is altogether possible that my stance against such marriages may color my views, so it should be duly noted. As I see this matter, it is a struggle between the perceived rights of one group and the morals and traditions of another. I must use the phrase "perceived rights" because whether or not homosexual marriage is a right is the heart of the debate. So the basic, yet complex question is this: can one claim a right, and thus ensure its protection, and can another reject this claim, thus ensuring its destruction? In other words, can freedoms be claimed and denied by the voice of the people, or even one person? A supporter of homosexual marriage would claim that gay couples are entitled to the same rights as a straight couple, while an opponent would claim this to be a perversion of traditional marriage and deny the extension of such rights. So who has the final say in matters of such importance? Two years ago it was the voice of the people, two days ago it was a federal judge. As the Supreme Court has refused to hear the case, it must now be battled out between the people and the state.

Moving away from Prop 8, I recently watched a movie that really made me think. Invictus, nominated for several Academy Awards, follows a South African rugby team shortly after the dissolvement of apartheid. On the subject of freedom, two moments really struck me. The first was watching lines of black South Africans waiting for hours so that they could vote, a right that had previously been denied them. The other came when Nelson Mandela, portrayed by Morgan Freeman, stepped in at a meeting of the National Sporting Administration to prevent the disbandment of the Springboks, a rugby team with only one black player. His reasoning for wanting the Sprinboks to continue to play was to show white South Africans that they had nothing to fear in the new country and government system. He wished South Africans to be equal, rather than simply shifting positions of oppressors and oppressed.

After sharing one more experience, I will attempt to tie all of these together so they make sense. Last year at this time I was preparing to move into the college dorms at Brigham Young University. I was nervous, but excited as I soon became aware of all the newfound freedoms I could enjoy. I went where I wanted when I wanted and did what I wanted, because I answered to myself. Of course I knew my responsibilities and expectations, but I was in charge. AFter the school year ended, I moved back home where I discovered that I would again have limitations place upon me. Especially on the matter of curfew, I had to make adjustments I did not like. At first I was upset at losing my freedoms. However, I soon discovered an important lesson. At school I had to pay rent, buy groceries, make my own meals, and do other such things which I no longer worry about. In other words, I had payed the price for my freedoms. I have learned that when I don't pay the price, my freedoms are not mine.

Now the conclusion. America has become all too much like me at the beginning of my summer. Wanting all the freedoms but forgetting at what price these freedoms come. The blood of millions of Americans has been spilled to defend the rights and freedoms of every American citizen. Perhaps we should look to the South Africans breaking from apartheid, and exemplify their appreciation for and respect of their freedoms. While many people all over the world wait for hours to exercise their right to vote, only 18% of Utahns took the few minutes necessary to cast their votes in the recent primaries. Do Americans, to a large extent undervalue the price their freedoms came by? I must say yes. American people have come to expect too much when they appreciate too little.

In the case of Prop 8, it has become my view that gay marriage proponents have come to expect too much for themselves at the price of their fellow Americans. Whether their cause is just is not my determination to make. What I do know is that the push for the legalization of homosexual marriage has become all too much like the push for the disbandment of the Springboks as portrayed in Invictus. AS the gay rights movement has risen to prominency, its members have come to act as though they must take position atop their opponents. Should opponents of gay marriage be silenced and rendered powerless? No. However, it has already begun to happen. The voice of the people spoke out in approval of California's Prop 8. And yet one man has sought to silence the voices of many in order to push his agenda. While it is not my place to determine who is right or wrong, it is my duty as a citizen of the United States of America to speak out against such blatantly obvious abuses of freedoms granted to Americans. Unless Americans learn to appreciate and value the rights they have, and appropriately use the freedoms they have been given, we will very soon discover the Constitution of the United States hanging by a thread. Whiel I pray this day will never come, I must prepare for it, as our country's citizens appear to have no desire to deviate from their current course. All I can do is fight to uphold the ideals of American freedom and encourage others to do the same. I hope you will.