JOHN DAVID LIND: With freedom comes challenges
Published: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, February 19, 2007 at 11:29 p.m.
Over two hundred years ago, our founding fathers signed a document formalizing their decision to become independent from the rule of Britain. In that very letter they stated that the colonies would become a new nation that would be based on the certain unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It would also go on to state that all people were created with ability to change government if it went against the rights of the people because the government was the people. Though we are in a world of constant change, those exact words and that exact documents is still a basis for the United States of America. As the colonists came over to the new world, they began to have new freedoms never experienced before. The freedom to worship God freely, the freedom of speech, and many other freedoms made our country what it is today.
However, there were challenges that faced the nation. Men, women, and children used to wake up early from their beds of straw on a dirt floor. With little food in their system, they set to work a long and laborious day in the fields. Often the individuals were given little water and were sometimes whipped if they did not follow certain orders. Every once in a while, some people would try to escape. They very rarely succeeded and were usually brought back to the plantation where they were made an example of. Another great fear was also placed in the minds of these people. Radical racists later to become known as the KKK, raided slave rows in the plantations. They burned houses and often abused the residents. As the idea slavery began to invade the South, many began to wonder whether or not this was morally right. The North had abolished slavery, and they encouraged the South to do the same. Eventually, many states of the South formed the Confederate States of America and broke away from the union. Thousands of lives were lost in battles that some are still fighting today. As the Civil War ended, and the Union emerged victorious, slavery began to decline. Discrimination still prominently existed throughout the mid twentieth century, when people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks gave their lives so that one day all may become free. African-Americans were not the only ones who suffered the effects of these hate organizations. Before and during World War II, Adolf Hitler brought millions under his influence through his words and actions. How anyone could believe that what he was doing was right, is unbelievable. However he brutally killed thousands of Jews and other races that were not part of what he called the Arian Race. This was the supreme race. Everyone else was considered a waste of human flesh. This was no freedom to worship God by your own beliefs of even be part certain races. If you born to certain families, it was pretty much automatic, that unless you managed to hide, you would be killed.
When our country was attacked by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001, we became aware of the great jealousy that is in others for our country. Others want to be able to live their lives to the fullest potential and be part of one of the world’s greatest nations. Dictators such as Saddam Hussein have brought their countries into their complete rule. Because of his rule of terror, the people of Iraq knew nothing of freedom, and were forced to hate America for it.
My generation is still faced with many challenges, one of them being security and violence. Times today are not like the good old days, when everyone could leave their houses unlocked. There is a constant threat of theft, not only of belongings but also of identity. Schools are forced to lock their doors to keep the outside threat from coming in. There is a very real threat of bombs or shootings in schools. Air transportation has been greatly affected also. Every piece of baggage is now thoroughly examined, and every passenger is scanned. It seems as though most people cannot be trusted these days.
In our free country, we can be the people God intended us to be. Freedom of speech and religion, freedom of the press, the right to bear arms, the right to a fair court case, and the right to an education are just a few of the hundreds of reasons we use to call ourselves free. Many others in this world are not free. It is our duty to spread the idea of freedom and do everything we can to bring democracy to other parts of the world. As the Pledge of Allegiance states, “We are a republic, “One nation under God, with liberty and justice for all." If only everyone in this world had the privilege to be free from all hate, poverty, despair, and violence. If only everyone believed in the same Dream that Martin Luther King Jr. had. If only everyone stood up for their beliefs and did not concede to those of others. If only everyone could live the dream of life, being free, and being whoever you wanted, the world would certainly be a better place.
John David Lind is a student at Holy Spirit School.
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