Our Freedom

For this blog, I was inspired by a friend of mine. She went to Japan for a year through a program where she helps kids/people with language. She posts updates about her adventures there. This is the second time she has been there. She has also talked about some of the cultural differences like how they look at tattoos differently there and usually (not all but I guess a lot) if someone has one, it might mean they are in some kind of mob/gang so it's still seen as not that great to have one. Some people in Japan may want to get a tattoo but they are afraid to since there is a bad stigma about it.

One of the post I read today was about their pride fest. Yes apparently they have one but it's really different. It isn't huge crowds like it is here. That is pretty much the only place one can express themselves but still not completely. Some hide behind masks. At their pride there are 3 different groups that people get into like who doesn't care if their photo is taken, ones who don't want their photo taken and ones who dress up.

There still wasn't a lot of support since it is still looked down upon even though they have their version of a pride fest. Their parade is more of a march along the side of the road while cars are still going by. There were welcomes from passerby but it still is very different from what we experience here in the US. They may have freedoms there but not completely if they can't be who they are.

This got me thinking and wanting to write. Here in the US, we have freedoms. The freedom to say what we want, to dress how we want, to be who we are. We don't have to live in fear and shut down everything about ourselves. Yes we still have fear because for some reason there are people out there who bully, discriminate, have hate and create violence all because they don't like certain things. The catch, they have the freedom to express their hate (within the laws), we still have the freedom to be who we are.

We have forgotten that others are not so lucky. We have the freedom to kneel during the national anthem, to bare arms, to speak out when we don't like something, to be gay etc, to dress the way we want, to wear tattoos, to have our hair they way we want, marry who we want and so much more. Our soldiers fight for our freedoms. 

We are so very lucky to have them. To live in a place where we can be ourselves without the worry of getting put in prison or killed just for simple little things. Women have the same rights as men where in other places they have next to none.

We sit here and argue and fight with each about if it's wrong for a football player to kneel during the anthem. Whether we think it's right or wrong, they have the right. We fight and argue about gun control. Even though there should be some kind of gun laws, them being too strict doesn't do a damn thing except take our rights away. We have the right to bare arms. To protect our family (I will save my thoughts on guns for another blog). We have the right to marry who we love. Despite if one thinks it's wrong, as humans, we have and deserve that right. We have the right to say what's on our minds even if it's bad things about our government or hate speech. We have the right.

When I hear people in their government offices debating and making laws that will take some our freedoms away just because THEY don't agree with something, it makes me sick. Our freedoms shouldn't be taken away just because someone in the oval office thinks it's immoral. 

To everyone in the government, present and future: Just because you don't like something or don't agree with something, it doesn't give you the moral human right to take that freedom from everyone else. Laws should be made (some anyways) by what is human morally right, not by opinion.

We as the people need to make sure our government doesn't take our freedoms away. Even if we don't like something and think it's wrong, it doesn't mean everyone else needs to live that way. Rights/freedoms should never be taken away based on opinions. NEVER! We need to make sure we continue to live in a country where we are free. Sure we need laws to keep people in line and to take care of the bad people, I get that.

Please people, for heaven's sake, stop fighting over stupid things. We can disagree on something but always remember, WE HAVE THE FREEDOM, WE HAVE THE RIGHT. Let the football players kneel if they choose to, let someone in the army no matter their sexual orientation, let someone marry the person they love regardless on the sex, let everyone have the same rights, let women choose what they want/need to do with their own bodies. We need to continue to fight for freedoms and our rights even if we don't like some of those things. It's the human thing to do. We need to realize how good we have it, be thankful for it, fight for it.