freedom

Freedom is Under Attack

Lynette M Burrows

Freedom is under attack. Not by enemies, but by our neighbors. The Texas law banning abortion is the worst kind of law. Not just because it denies women the right to make decisions about their own bodies, their own lives, but because it invites neighbors, friends, and family to turn on each other. That is reprehensible. To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity. Nelson Mandela The Texas Law “The Texas law, which makes no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from incest or rape, bars state officials from enforcing it and instead deputizes private individuals to sue anyone who performs the procedure or “aids and abets” it. The patient may not be sued, but doctors, staff members at clinics, counselors, people who help pay for the procedure, and even an Uber driver taking a patient to an abortion clinic are all potential defendants. Plaintiffs, who do not need to live in Texas have any connection to the abortion or show any injury from it, are entitled to $10,000 and their legal fees recovered if they win. Prevailing defendants are not entitled to legal fees. NY Times Read that again. The law “bars state officials from enforcing it.” […]

First Lines Friday with Freedom Fighters

Lynette M Burrows

First Line Friday is a blog series posted on the first Friday of every month. The first line of a story, we’re told, must hook the reader. Implied is that the reader will not buy the book if the first line isn’t great. These entries are from Amazon, my personal library, or other online booksellers. Today’s choices honor the U.S. holiday, the Fourth of July with a freedom fighters theme. Do these first lines hook you? Do you want to read more? I don’t usually do content warnings. The book’s cover, blurb, and category should get the point across. However, a cover and first line alone doesn’t always convey that type of information.  Content Warning: Violence with graphic descriptions. It was a strikingly unlikely sight, even for a world grown accustomed to unlikely sights.  The Patriot’s Grill by Steven Day They met behind a warehouse, twice abandoned.  Rogue Cell (A Grower’s War Book 3) by DJ Molles Block, damn you! Dane did his best to raise his metal arms to catch the hammer-blow of steel, brass, and aluminum that was coming his way. Metal Warrior: Born of Steel (Mech Fighter Book 1) by James David Victor “I’m so sorry.” What […]

Do You Support the Reality of Freedom?

Lynette M Burrows

I spoke a little about the symbols of freedom a few weeks ago in my post, What’s Your Symbol of Freedom. I’m not advocating that we all see the symbols of freedom in the same way. And yet, the symbols stand for ideas or ideals that we supposedly believe and support. But do you support the idea of freedom? Do you support the reality of freedom? Here are a few quotes that speak to the ideas of freedom that I support.  What Is Freedom Freedom is the emancipation from the arbitrary rule of other men. Mortimer Adler Freedom is not the right to live as we please, but the right to find how we ought to live in order to fulfill our potential. Ralph Waldo Emerson True freedom is always spiritual. It has something to do with your innermost being, which cannot be chained, handcuffed, or put into a jail. Rajneesh For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. Nelson Mandela Liberty, taking the word in its concrete sense, consists in the ability to choose. Simone Weil What choices is Simone Weil talking about? […]