Free Me, please

Imagine standing on the USA/Mexico border. You look at them as they look at you. Do they see freedom while you see slavery, or bondage? Depends on which side of this simulation you stand on.

What has always struck me as odd is how different the passage is depending on which direction [northward, southward] you're heading. Getting into Mexico, for most USA residents [almost typed 'citizens'] is uneventful, unless you're trying to bring a truckload of rifles and fresh cut weed into the country. In fact you keep going after crossing the border with almost zero friction, save for a few handout-seeking locals or local cops trying to make a meaningless bust an event [for dollar cash flow]. But heading into the USA is the grand sojourn, the right of passage journey made more spectacular with increased scrutiny applied to anyone with brown skin and eyes.

Today we celebrate independence from a mother country who just didn't understand the latest colony was not the same as those dark skinned people they previously conquered. We left their shores defiant, further empowered by surviving the journey across an ocean only crazy explorers and witches had the skills to master. And when they landed - this tiny petri dish of society waiting to mutate quickly, like a bacteria blessed with perfect conditions - the greeting was the first border encounter. One side looked at the other and wondered who was free.

Freedom is national, but it's also human in terms of natural drive to be unleashed from any restriction to complete awareness. We are species uncomfortable in chains, yet we have a long history of placing our kind in chains - real and virtual. I personally would enjoy spirited debate in the upcoming elections on the standard for freedom in the USA. Let's define it in words and actions every member of our society [again, not going to apply 'citizen' here] can agree on. Then we can move the masses toward this common definition. Who is 'we'? We are we; we are the people living in freedom, of some sort. Funny thing about freedom; you know it when you're not.

Bang bang; boom boom. Let the rockets red glare be bright in the sky above us; never to fall back down on any woman, child or man.

con paz,
frank