Freedom?
What would I do for freedom? I can start writing about how I would protest and participate in everything to gain my freedom. I can say that I would be part of every protest and be okay with getting arrested and staying in jail for however long the law deems fit like the Freedom Fighters did when fighting for their freedom and rights. The reality of the situation is that I do not know what I would do in that situation until it actually happens. When you grow up in a life without freedom you can start to lose hope and think that nothing will ever change no matter how hard you try. That mentality would seriously diminish any fight you could have had to make changes in your freedom and others’ freedom. That is not to say I have never spoken out and been an activist but I have never gone to protests because I could not. I had wanted to go to protests in DC when Roe v Wade was overturned and during the BLM movement but I was never able to because I had no way of getting there. I would always try to sign petitions and do as much as I could with what I was able to. The thing is you never know if signing petitions actually helps anything or if it is just a way to make the person feel as if they had done something helpful. Even though I have spoken out about issues in government and things I disagree with I will never know if I could be part of their sit-ins and be completely peaceful when people shout and throw stuff at me. I would like to say that I would do everything in my power to get freedom for myself but that is just a hope I have for myself.
You are absolutely right when you say that you do not know exactly what you would do for freedom because you’ve not found yourself in that situation. You are also right linking Roe vs Wade to this concept of freedom because overturning that ruling took freedom from all women in this country whether they realize it or not. And if the government can take away that right, they can take away others just as easily. Women in this country should be very, very concerned.
I agree with you completely. I recently went to a protest and I can say it felt good to be doing something and not just watching. I have never been able to participate in any protests. Due to a lack of transportation and the fear of what might happen I never made it to a protest. Being at Longwood opened up that opportunity for me as a safe space. Getting arrested would be the least of my worries if it meant being seen as well as heard. There is doubt in your mind that all the work will do nothing for the issue. What if all you do for your freedom leads to nothing? What if it leads to worse things than before? Will it have all been for nothing? One might ask what is our freedom going to cost us? Not our freedom as women, black people, gay people, etc. but simply our freedom as people. Are lives going to be lost? Are more rights going to be taken away? No one knows what the government might take or what it will truly cost to be free. The true question is, “Is there such a thing as absolute freedom?”.