Yes it was over 200 years ago when a body of Congress in America reached an agreement on "The Declaration of Independence." They did it without voice mail, virtual assistants, websites, an intranet, electronic signatures, blogs, and other modern conveniences we enjoy today to reach an agreement which involved another country and come to a resolution. They didn't even have a translator to interpret how the people (Indians) who were already a part of America soil felt about it. I wonder if the Indians even knew America was under the rule of Great Britain and how it mattered to them?
Well the astounding thing was that they were able to come to an agreement. Has the onset of so much communication via social media,virtual assistants, get it quick and now type of communication availability has hindered or hurt the bare element of communicating effectively?
Thinking about it the Founding Fathers as they are more appropriately deemed didn't have the modern vehicles of communication. We can deduct from all the journals, documents, drafts, and agreements they did not have an issue with communication. Furthermore, they even laid the framework for how representatives would be elected in the future and decide upon matters for years to come. Seems almost amazing considering all the modern conveniences we have now and it takes a whole lot to come to an agreement on major issues which impact our nation like health care, prison reform, immigration, biblical passages which make it up to supreme court interpretation.
What if the Thomas Jefferson would have been able to send an email to King George III of Great Britain and copy all the other founding fathers? It didn't take all that. Apparently all it took was some Common Sense in effective communication. It took some fighting. At least they communicated the terms, conditions, and outcomes of their level of disagreement and resolution. Why can't we be better at doing that today with all the forms of communication available to us.
America claimed its Independence over 200 years ago, do we need to claim our Independence individually and collectively to not succumb and be a victim of the things and processes that bind us? What does it take to be Independent now? Are folks scared of freedom?
What about our Americans who are in disproportionate numbers incarcerated today? Do they not realize that Freedom is not free? I would say they probably realize the cost of freedom from a whole different perspective.
Speaking of "perspective". I would venture to say a lot of people may not realize one pamphlet which had a huge influence during the revolutionary years was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine back in 1776 entitled "Common Sense". One of the greatest things about the whole work was he did not write it for profit, even though it turned out to be one of the most sold publication of all times selling out in the millions. He wrote it for the oppressed and did not want to gain any profit from it. He remained anonymous as its author for a great deal of time.
Maybe there is a little pun intended but it wouldn't hurt to have some common sense to effectively communicate. We have all this technology available to us today. What good is it in the absence of good old common sense?
The costs of freedom are astronomical and some are even immeasurable. The loss of life is immeasurable. The loss of limbs, the loss of mental stability, the loss of freedom itself are all immeasurable. America gained its freedom from British rule because of oppression.
One of the most infamous lines in the Declaration of Independence is:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed;"Today we have to stay mindful as eloquently put in the words Martin Luther King, Jr.,:
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.."I feel the biggest injustice America is suffering right now is the war on drugs. We've lost too many Americans on our own soil. Our businesses have suffered due to break-ins and robberies. We have children suffering because of their parents drug and alcohol addictions. The upside is some children don't even realize they are suffering, they are dealing with it and handling it better than any adult possibly could.
One of the greatest things I was able to witness recently was a child who had gone through all the years of grade school with both parents being incarcerated for stupid stuff off and on for a great part of her grade school years. Neither biological parent ever had full custody of the child. At times both were incarcerated simultaneously. God never fails! Her parents made bad choices. Society is quick to think because a parent makes bad choices the child will follow. But God gave her the freedoms she needed to be succeed. A Presidential Excellence Award Recipient for maintaining a grade point average of 3.5 or better over the entire grade school period which runs from 1st through 5th grade. Yes a letter from the President of the United States stapled inside her promotion folder on the left side and her promotion certificate on the right inside flap. Freedom ain't free and some people just know how to make the best of it regardless of their circumstances.
Kudos to her for not letting their incarceration and loss of freedom be her incarceration. They both showed up for her promotion celebration. The child was showered with awards and accommodations and kissed the lady on the cheek who had raised her and said "thank you Ma!". Tell me God ain't good. God is great!
I know this is getting off topic but too often people are bound by those folks who show up in the 11th hour. My question would be where were you in the 1st through the 10th hours when I needed you the most? It reminds me of those friends who won't even buy you a pack of oodles of noodles when they know you're out of work with no money coming in from nowhere. But when you get back on your feet there they go smiling in your face.
One parent I knew who was having a rough time just couldn't hold down a job, I gave him a prepaid cell phone one day. He thought I didn't like him. It wasn't about whether or not I liked him it was about me knowing in his spirit he wanted to be able to provide for his child. He couldn't even receive a phone call to answer an offer of employment. Doing the right thing is not about likes or dislikes. It feels good to make a difference. It is those intrinsically rewarding things you do that you still have in your heart and spirit when you have nothing else. It is enough to get back up and want to be able to do those things again.
Have a Happy Fourth! My apologies for being long winded. Just thinking about those incarcerated today and put a heavy spirit on my heart. How do you celebrate freedom when you are not free? I know it was by their own actions or reactions. Just having a little sympathy for those non-violent offenders out there serving mandatory minimums.
