Freedom Doesn’t Hang Around on Its Own… There’s Always Work to Do

It started yesterday afternoon when I said to Lanette, “I’d like something really refreshing to drink.”

I outright vetoed iced tea. Yes, it’s refreshing… and an American favorite. But, no.

She then suggested our favorite go-to non-alcoholic summertime placebo beverage… tonic and lime over ice with a dash of bitters. After all, it wasn’t five o’clock yet. (You should try it!)

Then strategically, I played the holiday card…

“But why waste really good tonic by not finishing it off with some really good gin?”

And so it was, officially all over for any chance of making my Wednesday post.

But there’s a little more to it than that…

I wasn’t even going to try to write this post. Not this particular post.

Even though at any one time, I have a number of posts in work and in various stages of completion. Often, I have no idea what I’m going to post until I sit down at the keyboard. I didn’t on Tuesday and I still didn’t yesterday.

I usually try to write the post on Tuesday. That way it has time to simmer a while before it goes live on Wednesday (well, usually on Wednesday). Posts are kind of like chili in that way… they’re better after they’ve cooked a while.

This week, I dabbled around with several ideas that were on my virtual back burner.

At first, I was firm on my position that I wasn’t going to do a Fourth of July post. By the end of Tuesday, I was even more firm in that position.

Why? Because I felt there would be no shortage of mom and apple pie on the interwebs stirred up with far too many emotional rants on social media… I wasn’t going to play. I also didn’t feel right about it.

As time ran out on other ideas, and I began rethinking my position…

If I’m being honest with myself, I was resisting writing a Fourth of July post because this year I am disconcerted. Maybe for the first time in my cushy American life I’m more than a little bit concerned. I knew wasn’t going to be able to do a typical untucked post… and that worried me.

Why take a knee? Why let myself off the hook?

I don’t do that. Not often, if I can help it. The issues we are facing are very complex and can feel impossible to solve. There are too many problems. We’re overwhelmed.

And we’re tired. I think we are, anyway. Most of us.

So, I shouldn’t take the easy way out. I should face it outright. It’s a few hundred words to say things aren’t as good as they might be. But they are still good. That we live in a great country. And it’s all going to work itself out.

No, I don’t believe that. That it will work itself out. That’s not how things work. Things don’t do the work. We do.

You know, I’ve been a news junkie for a long time, but I’m consuming much, much less news these days. And that goes against my need to be well informed, my curiosity, and the need to be aware of what’s going on. But the absurdity of it all is making me… well, you fill in the ________ for yourself. I’m not telling anyone anything.

Can someone please shut off all this noise? Just for a minute?

My advice? At least stop with one news cycle. Remember when “breaking news” wasn’t just another tease? There won’t be anything new or different at eleven. Nothing worth losing sleep over, that is.

Oh, by the way, that’s after you’ve stopped the pointless, yet addictive social media feeds too. (Guess I’ll have to give that one a more serious thought).

If you’re a regular reader, you know that a couple of other bloggers I follow are Seth Godin at Seths.blog and Hugh MacLeod with his team at gapingvoid.com.

In their July Fourth post, @gapingvoid says “The twists and turns of our democracy may at times, be dramatic.”

Whoa Nelly! Ain’t that an understatement?

It’s being able to fight for what you believe in… It’s having a dream. It’s resistance. It’s speaking up and speaking out.”

Okay, Yes it is. I’m with you there. We live in a place where we can speak up and speak out. And that’s not to be taken lightly.

Seth’s July Fourth post was called “Responsibility Day.”

He explains that July Fourth is “Often mis-characterized as a day of independence.”

Much of what we see going on these days is freedom with the responsibility part omitted, or at least not admitted.

It’s an interesting thought… that freedom comes with responsibility. Most of us know that, but we’ve been so insulated by the freedom part that we often forget the responsibility part.

Seth reminds us, “What actually matters is what you’re going to do with it.” What? I have to do something? Yes, I think so.

And if you have the ability to change the culture, to connect with others, to make a ruckus, then yes, what you do with that is your responsibility as well.”

Ruckus is one of Seth’s favorite words.

This time, when I hear ruckus, I tend to think social media, Washington, the evening news, all the “issues” I refuse to list in number here. Yes, that all qualifies as a ruckus. But not a ruckus a la Seth Godin. Seth promotes rucki (plural of ruckus, I’m sure I have that right) that stir up the complacent and the status quo in a good way. The get off your tushes and do something ruckus.

But you may have guessed that, seeing that he relabeled Independence Day as Responsibility Day.

Again, those issues we are facing are complex and can feel impossible to solve. There are so many problems. We’re overwhelmed.

And we’re tired…

But we can solve them.

We may not remember, or they may have been before our time, but there have been difficult times before. Far more difficult and far more divided.

But, it’s still part of a great story honoring struggle, hard work, and conviction.”— @gapingvoid

It is a great story. And we pulled through.

Let’s not forget that. Happy Fourth, (er Fifth)

p.s. Yes, I do see the irony in having enjoyed such a British beverage on the Fourth of July