Individual Freedom

(Pictured is from my perspective, looking down at my military issued, "old school" boon docker while on the rocky river's edge-- Oct 2011)

18 Nov 2011

INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM

It's hard to imagine that my children's generation has no clue what "Individual Freedom" means, that they don't know what "privacy" means. These concepts disappeared with the advent of technology in common hands. What was once classified is now in "smart phones," and GPS can track within a few feet. The cell phone I have has more information and technology in it than the room-size computers that I operated when I was Navy.

I'm thinking a lot about this subject, because of being a veteran and Veteran's Day having just past, and my husband's service, and oh yeah, today his chain saw was stolen from our carport-- the carport was closed. We've only had the chainsaw about a month or so, and not many people even knew we had it. This morning we heard a chainsaw running, and it sounded new. It sounded a lot like Hubby's, in fact, and though I was busy making coffee and he was in bed, we had the same thought-- "That's ours." So when Hubby went out to get his chain saw-- after it stopped snowing-- to buck up a couple of trees that have come down on our property, he was furious to find it missing. We searched everywhere for it, thinking perhaps he absent-mindedly misplaced it. But it's no where. We even drove to the other house and checked there.

Individual freedom extends only as far as another person's-- when they meet, that's the end, and to go beyond requires permission or it is a violation. These are lessons I am trying very hard to teach my children-- to respect other people, other people's property and other people's boundaries. To treat people, at least initially, with respect and dignity. Say "please" and "thank you," and other sayings and actions that used to be common courtesy.

It's difficult being a parent in an age where there is no trust. It seems impossible that trust can exist if there are no boundaries.

Who controls the boundary? I hope that I am teaching my children that they do; they control how they are influenced and how they influence others. That there is positive and negative influences, and we should always strive to positively influence others, and to be positively influenced by others. To always learn from the big world around us. It's a hard job, to be sure. And it'd be nice to say that it's more difficult than in the "good ol' days," but the truth is there were no "good ol' days." They are memories, and perhaps even mythical at that.

So the challenge is to be in control of one's self today. To exercise individual freedom, and allowing others to exercise theirs, without there being negative conflict. It's a lesson that Life will teach my children, as Life is teaching me.

~Cedeham~
p.s.
Don't forget, you can thank a veteran any day of the year.