Monday, July 8, 2019

Freedom for Who?

By Sr. Meg Kymes, SC Federation Under 10 Years Vocation

      Click HERE to learn more about Meg

      Click HERE to learn more about the SC Federation

As we celebrated Independence Day on the fourth of July (and perhaps into this weekend), I reflected on one of the key concepts of our country’s founding, freedom.  In the musical, Hamilton, the song, “My Shot” states this idea well, Hamilton sings, “A colony that runs independently/Meanwhile, Britain keeps s****** on us endlessly/Essentially, they tax us relentlessly/Then King George turns around, runs a spending spree/He ain’t ever gonna set his descendants free/So there will be a revolution in this century”  Then Mulligan sings, “Yo, I’m a tailor’s apprentice/And I got y’all knuckleheads in loco parentis/I’m joining the rebellion cuz I know it’s my chance/To socially advance, instead of sewin’ some pants!” Laurens concludes, “But we’ll never be truly free/Until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me/You and I. Do or die. Wait till I sally in/On a stallion with the first black battalion.”  All of these ideals and struggles amid many others contributed to the battle that led to this great country’s birth.


In St. Peter’s first letter he states, “For the Lord’s sake accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of the foolish. As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”  (1 Peter 2:13-17) Today, for too many people in this country freedom is a faraway dream.  Children at our borders are living in squalor and bondage seeking safety and freedom; women, men and children are bought and sold for sex and servitude caught in the web of human trafficking; others are stuck in their own personal prison of addiction, homelessness and/or mental illness.  The words St. Peter are just as valid today as they were to the early church.  During this fourth of July weekend and every day we should speak truth to power, but still respect those in authority over us in government.  Challenge the foolishness we see through speaking up and do our duty as citizens of this nation by voting.  Most of all we should show our love for our brothers and sisters in need by praying and working for their freedom. 


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