A Reflection on

“Freedom”
Daniel Spaulding July 5, 2014 3 Comments

The Fourth of July holiday (decreasingly referred to as Independence

Day) is an opportunity for countless Americans to have a day off to
gorge themselves on food and beer, watch fireworks, and utter a few
superficial platitudes about freedom. Minimal thought is given to these
assumed freedoms, and even less to the founding myth that lays behind
them. As long as homosexuals can “marry,” everyone can fornicate in
the manner of barnyard animals, and Wal-Mart remains stocked with
cheap Chinese-made trinkets, the masses are content to believe they are
free.

That this Independence Day takes place in the growing shadow of the
violently rising “Caliphate” (an offshoot of al-Qaeda) in Syria and Iraq
passes without notice by the proletariat, who would rather be entertained
with televised sports. One can hardly fault them for this; the intricacies
of Middle Eastern sectarian politics are in and of themselves irrelevant
to their lives.
What is actually ominous is the genesis of this self-proclaimed
Caliphate. The Caliphate and the resurgent jihadist movement that
preceded it have been cited by the U.S. government as an immediate
terrorist threat to the “Homeland”. Indeed, the “terrorist threat” has been
continuously used by the elites to perpetuate and expand the surveillance
state and peddle for more war in the Middle East, with the ever-lovable
former Vice President Dick Cheney spouting that if America fails to
reinvade Iraq, then the United States would suffer an attack at the hands
of terrorists to dwarf the 9-11 operation of 2001. Thus our ruling elites
assure us that we need more domestic control and more foreign
interventions to keep us safe, what the late Gore Vidal termed perpetual
war for perpetual peace.
That the same terrorists who now supposedly threaten our lives and our
“freedom” have been sponsored and armed by the American government
shows the level of willful ignorance that most of our citizenry is happy
to live with.

Americans are told that they must forfeit their freedoms, the same ones
the terrorists supposedly wish to destroy, in order be kept safe from the
terrorists that the U.S. openly funds and arms. This state of affairs is
telling both about oligarch-run Washington, which cynically creates both
the problem and then offers a “solution”, laughing all the way to the
bank, and the American people, who have become the proverbial frog in
the slowly boiling pot.

For a people whose common perception of freedom is that it consists of

self-gratification, such a program of elite manipulation is not only
expected, but perhaps even deserved. But manipulative, technocratic
elites and passive, subservient populations are not the final word. And
while America’s Independence Day may be more myth than reality,
there is indeed a true, spiritual freedom to be sought out and achieved.
The twentieth century Russian philosopher Nicholas
Berdyaev proclaimedsuch a freedom. A freedom, in his words, that
“presupposes the existence of truth, of meaning, of God.” He knew that
“Truth and meaning liberate, and liberation leads to truth and meaning.”
And that true freedom “must also be love, and love must be free.”
Unless and until Americans forsake mindless consumerism, nihilistic
self-gratification, and allowing the corporate media to do their thinking
for them, they will never attain to the true freedom spoken of by
Berdyaev. Americans must realize that their true enemies are neither
manufactured terrorists nor a revived Russia, but their own amoral,
decadent elites, and even more so their own complacency and sloth.

Yet there is always hope that the people will awake from their spiritual
slumber. May we lay claim to a true spiritual freedom and nobility that
will shake the thrones of the parasitic elites and lead to the creation of a
healthy, godly society.

Reflection of values
My family is a quasi-traditional Catholic family with many strongly held beliefs
interwoven with some rather progressive ones. My parents are both
approaching 70, and they used to have a very strong impact on my beliefs.
Ever since I entered college, I have systematically developed my own beliefs
which are based on personal experiences, relationships and research.

I believe myself to be an emotionally intelligent person which helps me not

only “read” the feelings of others, but it also allows me to see both viewpoints
on almost all topics. This is a blessing and a curse. While it gives me the
ability to comprehend people’s values and stances, it also at times prevents
me from forming concrete beliefs of my own. I constantly struggle with my
faith and political views, wavering from both ends of the spectrum.

I inherently believe in the values set forth in the Ten Commandments, and
excluding the first two, I would infer that most people hold these values. Don’t
lie, cheat, steal, kill, or lust. Because I don’t want to fill this reflection with a
bunch of fluff, I will be blunt. I am a libertarian who is against abortion, against
capital punishment, wishy-washy about the PPACA, for a free-market, against
the way we have traditionally (as a country) handle overseas “affairs”, for gay
marriage, for the legalization of marijuana, for the protection of religious
freedoms, and against anti-gun legislation. I am a mixed bag of values.
In terms of abortion, my mother was 44 when she became pregnant with me.
Her gynecologist gently encouraged her to have me aborted as I had a high
probability of being born mentally or physically deficient. If my mother were
not a staunch Catholic, I would not be here today, and I would not have the
opportunity to make a difference or grow as a person. Now I know that’s not
grounds to nix abortion rights in this country, and it actually comes off as quite
selfish. However, I understand that the freedom of choice for women is here to
stay. It is impossible to perfectly classify unwanted pregnancies based on
rape or incest (which is a place I believe abortion is an appropriate option).
There is also the instance where the pregnancy endangers both the lives of
the fetus and mother. In my eyes, this is also grounds for abortion. Because
there is such complexity in regulating abortion in terms of rape or incest, I
believe it should be legal even though I believe it to be morally wrong. Instead
of wasting effort fighting abortion, we as a society need to put a bigger
emphasis on sexual education in this country. I believe in being proactive
above reactive any day of the week.

I am a person who wants people to have their freedoms as long as they don’t
step on the freedoms of others. And I know that someone could take all of my
values and pick them apart, saying “But your beliefs are counter-intuitive to
that.” That’s the great thing about having values though. They are something
that can’t be taken away from you without consent.

I suppose the thesis of my values would have to be that they are dynamic,
much like this essay. My values are all over the place, but they are my values.
They will change in the future. And I welcome that change because it means
that I am educating myself. We cannot be set in our ways regardless of the
facts set before us. My goal as I shape my values is to not be blind to truth
and to mold my values around it.
Reflection of Studies

This paper will reflect on my study skills. I will use a reflective

model to discuss this, I have chosen Gibbs model of
reflection, and this model includes the following: description,
feelings, evaluation, analysis, action plan and conclusion.
(Gibbs 1988)

The first stage of Gibbs (1988) model of reflection requires a

description of events. We were asked to do three things
designed to test our study skills, Information technology,
Literacy and Numeracy. For Information technology I
downloaded a paper from the journal of community nursing
online, the subject was falls and the elderly; I chose this
because I have worked in the community as a District nurse
auxiliary and have a particular interest in promoting health for
the elderly. Having downloaded this paper I had to write a
précis of the paper in 300 words and e-mail as an attachment
to our facilitator, testing our Information technology and
literacy skills. To test our numerical skills, we had to complete
an online test.

Reflection of relationship with family

”No one is ever born into Life alone. Everyone has shared the
bond of family, at least at birth, and for many people it is a
bond that will follow them throughout life. For many people it
is the most important bond of all.”

Family means many things to different people, yet the word

itself can bring about a host of emotions from anyone who
hears the word uttered. As a child growing up in the 60s and
70s the family dynamic was defined by the people we grew up
with were related to by blood, and extended to the many
family members of the different generations that made up the
family unit.

I have fond memories of growing up with love and

compassion, by the people who I was surrounded with. The
feeling of security and warmth that was created by the family I
was lucky enough to have in my life. I always knew that any
fear I might have experienced by an outside source would be
eradicated, by my comfort zone, the people in my life. The
feeling of belonging and acceptance was rewarding to the
spirit and learning to live and become who I am is a direct
result of my family's part in my life.

As the bonds of love and intimacy are formed, we will develop

closeness to our family who are usually there for us through
thick and thin. The father, son’s bond, the mother, daughter’s
bond, the rivalry of siblings and the relationship of all family
members gives us the unity we as human beings need to feel,
as we strive for a sense of belonging and security, to function
adequately in life. We do know that a family can be defined in
many ways, two dads, two moms, a dad, and a mom, a mom
and her offspring, or a dad and his brood. Whoever is in our
family we will see that unit as the cornerstone of our
existence.

Reflections on Dignity
By contributing writer Ryeaan Chaudry for KidSpirit’s Human Dignity issue.

Today, society seems more socially and technologically evolved than ever
before.

With smartphones and social media, we are able to get timely updates of
world events. Observing the many conflicts around the world today, I can
clearly see disregard for the important concept of dignity.

Dignity is the connective tissue of any relationship. It serves to inculcate

equality and unity in society. My faith and culture have been the major
sources of my understanding of our inherent worth as humans. The Quran
has a very famous verse about Prophet Adam, who in Islam is known as the
first prophet and the father of mankind: “We have bestowed dignity on the
children of Adam . . . and conferred upon them special favors above the
greater part of Our creation” (Q. 17:70).

This is an important verse that I try to apply as much as I can in my life. It

explains that the rights to equality and fair treatment were given to people
regardless of their caste, creed, or even social or geographical boundary.
Everyone is entitled to be heard, recognized, and respected, and hence I try
to be as fair and just as possible with everyone around me.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) brought Islam to the world and
was a true model of excellence for human values and rights. He worked
tirelessly to reduce the social and economic injustices in Arabia. He
advocated for the rights of all living beings in a society where very almost
nobody understood dignity, respect, or even self-worth.

In those times, women were silenced, female infants were buried alive, slaves
were beaten, animals were abused, and honor was reserved solely for the
influential and wealthy in society. After Islam began to spread, Prophet
Muhammad freed slaves and openly preached about the rights of all humans,
including women, because the teachings of the Quran are all based upon the
upholding of fair and universal human rights.