FREE

To be free. I believe, and this is my opinion, that freedom, like peace, begins in the same spot. The human heart. And at the heart of true religion is a personal freedom that gives a lasting, i.e. eternal, peace. I’m old enough to remember the Kent State Massacre. I wasn’t there, but today, and for many days now, I seem to be living there in spirit. I remember Tiananmen Square too. I wasn’t there either, but I remember vividly the visual of tanks rolling along, and bouncing a bit from time to time. The bounce was created by the tank tracks rolling over the prone bodies of unarmed peaceful demonstrators. God is undoubtedly on the side of people who honestly love and desire an honest freedom. And I believe He deals with folks where they are, in the heart, in the streets, in the square. I watched for 18 days as a group of demonstrators said “No!” and refused to be cowed. I saw them overthrow, by and large via peaceful means, a despot’s 30 year rule. And I’m not sure what any of this has to do with my “Catholic eclectic” blog but I do know this … I took it all very personally. The Egyptian people stood up and peacefully claimed freedom. They give me hope. Hope for this world and the people in it. I feel like I just relived Kent State. Only this time … we won.