Eclipsing FREEdom

If there is ever a time you should consider more about FREEdom, it is at this special time of year, when America celebrates its Independence and FREEDOM (234 years today). Are we really FREE? What does that mean, anyway? How did we even get the FREEdom we have? Is this FREEdom in danger? What happens if we don’t understand FREEdom? Corresponding with the FREEdom we do have, comes this wildly popular Twilight Series and the recently released 3rd movie—“Eclipse”—from the book series. Whether or not you have read any of those books or seen any of, or even the latest movie (and much could be discussed there), you should take this moment in history to further consider these things. I submit that America (and the world) is on a dangerous path, which is actually “Eclipsing FREEdom”!

What am I talking about? Well, you have to understand FREEdom if you are to be able to understand whether you have it or not and whether or not it is being “eclipsed” or blocked somehow. I think most of us understand that we like to make decisions on our own. Do you want other people or organizations telling you everything you must do? Is it the Government’s or the Academic Community’s job to tell you what to think and how to live? Should you simply follow what you are taught and told? Should you let outside sources tell you what to think, say and do or should you simply think, say and do what you feel like from within? These are great questions and ones that I trust will help you think more about the importance of FREEdom.

FREEDOM is so often misunderstood and even undervalued today. It is really only able to be understood and appreciated when it is compared and contrasted with its opposite, which is coercion or restraint through some force or authority. In other words, you are FREE when you, and not anything or anyone else, are in control and making the decisions. When you think about this, it quickly becomes clear that there is really no such thing as absolute FREEDOM. Like it or not, we each are subject to forces outside of our control. Every child is born needing to learn about life and living and is subject to the control and restraint of their parents and teachers. We each have some restraint through whatever governmental system is around us. Unless you own your own business (and even if you do 😉 ), you are subject to the decisions of some employer or government restraint and not free to do just anything you want (I address this reality in many of my blogs, including one of my earlier ones—05/01/08: “It is ALL about CONTROL!”). You may have the FREEdom (and not some authority stopping you) to even jump off of a tall building or run into a busy street, but you surely will experience the impact of that action, likely ending your life. We are indeed limited or controlled to varying degrees by many outside and inside natural forces, along with the invisible supernatural forces, even if we don’t really think much about them.

Much more could and should be considered here. The FREEdoms we do have are constantly being challenged and at risk. When individuals fail to stand up and fight for FREEDOM, then most certainly there will be some authority or government coming along to diminish or even take it away. Because enough people are not taking a stand for what is right and not really fighting for true FREEdom today, we are increasingly losing our liberties and FREEdom—effectively “eclipsing FREEdom.”

Foundational to our societal FREEdom is the FREEdom to worship GOD as we personally desire. America’s Founders certainly understood this and set up the initial Government and Constitution accordingly. My story and various involuntary commitments and coercions clearly illustrates the dangers we all are increasingly facing if we fail to learn and take that stand (I organized my personal story of tragedy into 10 stages, where there are gaps that led to what I have faced). Friend, will you be truly FREE (see also my “To Be FREE” poem) or will you be a part of “eclipsing FREEdom”?