Freedom
We all reserve the freedom to believe what we choose to believe, and live accordingly. We do not however reserve the right to allow our beliefs to create systems designed to accommodate only these beliefs. In my humble opinion, as long as people are living peacefully among one another, there is no reason to question how we live. Many of us still question others’ humanity and I have never understood this, but it’s not for me to understand. Many of us have said or done something we may not be proud of because we are humans, but humans are fallible. I struggle to understand the way some people behave at times, the choices they make, and the ideas they entertain, but I do not believe I have to approve of these behaviors, choices, and ideas in order for me to afford them their right to a dignified existence. Regardless of what we believe, the beauty is in the right to believe it. What I do believe is that I want to treat other people the way I want to be treated. Minding my business has always been free.
As human beings, we all have our own unique way of viewing our worlds, and this uniqueness is what makes us and the world we live in so interesting. I know our country thrives off of diversity. Diversity is what makes this country the great place it is! Can you imagine what it would be like living here, if we all believed in the exact same thing, all of the time? How boring?!? It’s only my perspective, but it is authentic. I consider seeing our country through more than one lens as an education because I know my inherent privilege as an American can sometimes create blind spots. This is why I decided to participate in our elections by volunteering my time as an Election Inspector. Regardless of how our elections turn out, I know I am doing everything in my power to support democracy.
Truth is Freedom
Since 2016, we have been told to accept someone’s personal opinion as fact, and this is not how truth works. Your truth about how you were raised, what you were taught to believe, and how you treat others are your values. They are not standards that develops into everyone’s truth. The second you begin prescribing your personally held convictions onto someone else, your fascist hand is being placed over the mouth of your neighbor. Our children are growing up during a politically volatile time and it disheartens me, because they are learning tactics that are socially harmful. They deserve a society that puts them first by holding truth to a higher standard. I understand to thine own self be true, but in my opinion this means being real with myself. It means I will be wrong sometimes, and if I am going to be successful at anything in life, I better get comfortable with it. At this stage in life, I am more focused on being kind, rather than always needing to be right.
It was the summer of my twentieth birthday, June of 1993. I was sitting in the living room watching TV with my dad before I had to leave for work. There was a hearing in Congress regarding the taxation of casinos in session. Taxation was definitely a subject matter I was paying more attention to these days. We were listening to a middle-aged millionaire whining about how “Indians” didn’t look like Indians at those “tax-free” Native Casinos. I guess he brought the case before congress to grill them about not having the same tax-free status as the Natives did. I didn’t know who he was, but his cocky attitude and pretentious language reminded me of some of the young gang members from my neighborhood. In some cases, we only develop as far as our comfortability allows us. We sell ourselves short and can neglect the growth needed to relate to others. This is what I was watching play out. A seemingly grown man, who already benefitted from a privileged life being born into money, crying about how Natives should not be more entitled than he was.
Let Us Work Together to Provide the Shade
The saddest part of this whole experience is knowing that most of the injustices I have witnessed happen will likely affect the women in my life. Even if the government wants to tell me that I do not have agency over my own body, I have already raised my family. This tactless desensitization of the truth affects the littles I love and the rest of the littles of this nation. All I can think of is the well-known quote by the Stoics, “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.” America needs to learn to start nurturing trees whose shade we may never sit.
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