The Sweetness of Freedom

My husband and I traveled to Italy before COVID to celebrate our anniversary. While at an outdoor café, I conversed with a young woman from a country a dictator ruled.

As we chatted, I asked her about her feelings concerning her freedom. Did she feel free to speak, come and go, and live the life she wanted?

She became very quiet. Very hesitant. She glanced around, and even though we were outside and no one was around, it was as if she were looking for someone or something that could be listening in.

Then, in an unemotional voice, and as though the lines were memorized, she said, “Our government takes care of the people. I have no concerns.”

I dropped the subject altogether, and we talked about her trip.

But my heart broke for her.

She is a woman who has learned not to speak the truth.

She is a woman who looks over her shoulder, even when she is over a thousand miles away from those who oppress her.

She lives in fear.

Not freedom.

Friends, never take the freedom you have for granted. Some would snatch it from you if they could under the guise of protecting you and doing the greater good.

Once gone, it is not easy to get back.

Cemeteries worldwide contain men and women who dearly loved their families, but they put YOUR freedom first.

Realize how precious it is.

And do not allow anyone to take it from you—even in small snatches.

Celebrate your freedom and those who died to secure it for all of us!