I Wish

I Wish

"I wish, I knew how, it would a be to be free,

I wish I could break all of these chains, that are holdin' me." by Levon Helm

You might think you know what Freedom looks like.
Or you might see aspects of freedom, while
simultaneously wanting to Attain  Freedom,
Maintain Freedom, then to Have & to Own Freedom.

Think again about what you see as being free.
Look again.
We can vote here in the US. So many do not.
Are they free?
Do the un-voters give away our rights, our freedoms too?
How can one vote be free?

We listened to Levon's song, over and over.
As true as the first time. "I wish I knew how....

We own/?rent land with a deed that allows the town to tax
us individually based on their valuation.
They & a few voters decided we pay $20 a day.
If we do not pay, that price goes up and they take the land.
They said we cannot change the rules. We cannot question
we cannot participate. We wait for punishment for speaking up.

I see people in other parts of the world, they look pretty free to me,
leading me to conclude,
it is not so obvious, by a photo,
who is free.

Levon told his story in This Wheel's on Fire.
His hardships, his family history, farmers.
He talked about his grandfather getting "papered",
the bank called in a note or other document took away land.

Now recurrent themes of the 1930's depression.
Papers, mortgages, tax liens letting vulture barons bite at the wealth
of the common people.
So if you see pictures of the 2012's USA and wonder how free we are,
remember you cannot tell how free a person is just by looking.
Look closer and then start to see what free is to you.
Are you free?